Two major chocolate brands have been launched in block format as Mars Chocolate unveils Maltesers Teasers and Lindt introduces Lindor single serve bars.
Oxfam has called on the three biggest chocolate manufacturers to conduct independent audits on conditions for women on cocoa farms supplying their factories after finding evidence of unequal pay, discrimination and hunger.
Oxfam will step up its campaign to improve the treatment of people and resources that form part of the supply chain of the world’s biggest food conglomerates, after it cast industry responses to its damning Behind the Brands report as ‘bland’ and ‘complacent’.
Associated British Foods – worst-in-class in an Oxfam report critical of 10 food giants for essentially operating under a corporate social responsibility (CSR) “veil of secrecy” – has hit back, slamming the report ‘s findings as “ridiculous”.
Candy makers must take responsibility to tackle obesity and should act before regulators force their hands, says Mars Chocolate North America's president.
China will be the number two market behind the US for Hershey within five years, predicted senior executives at the Consumer Analyst Group of New York (CAGNY) conference yesterday.
Nestlé’s share price fell 2.3% on Thursday as the company announced its slowest growth in three years, with developing markets hit by natural disasters and continued market weakness in Europe and the Americas.
GMO Inside, a national coalition of companies and organizations, has marshaled a public Valentine’s Day campaign to pressure Hershey and Mars to drop GMO ingredients or to label them in their chocolate candies.
The Hershey Company has become embroiled in a trademark dispute with carpet firm Shaw Industries over the latter’s use of “Chocolate Kiss” as a color name for carpet collections.
A US not-for-profit organisation has slammed the “murky issue” around potential risks of nanomaterial use and pledged to test products to assess their safety.
Eleven chocolate companies including Nestlé and Kraft have been fined over €60m ($82m) for colluding to raise chocolate prices in Germany, while price fixing investigations continue in the US and Canada.
Food giant Nestlé has chosen the UK for the global launch of its new digital scanning system, designed to provide customers with smartphone access to information about the nutritional profile and environmental and social impacts of its products.
Hershey gained market share in every category in the fourth quarter but admits it is still struggling to excite US consumers with Air Delight - the aerated chocolate range it launched in 2011.
Mondelez is expanding in the Middle East having recently signed a joint venture in Saudi Arabia last week. ConfectioneryNews.com asks the industry giant if halal certification and alcohol-free labeling have been factored into its growth plans.
Should the EU extend sugar quotas until 2020 any temporary measures to improve supply for food manufacturers will have little impact on prices and availability, according to Nestlé.
Cadbury owner Mondelez International has entered a joint venture to expand distribution in Saudi Arabia, which it calls an “important and strategic market” in the region.
The chocolate industry is behind in tackling some cocoa supply issues and must work more closely to avert shortages, according to Mars’ head of sustainability.
Lindt & Sprüngli recorded strong sales growth in 2012 and could prove an attractive “end game” acquisition for fellow Swiss confectioner Nestlé, according to one analyst.
Wrigley UK is expecting an additional £12m ($19.3m) in sales by introducing smaller sized bottle packs for chewing gum that are more affordable for consumers.
Confectioners can move beyond classical marketing and reach consumers through mobile technology to encourage impulse buying, according to Mondelez International's innovation chief.
Hershey has filed a patent for an alternative to conventional coating and robing of confectionery products that uses film coating normally used to encase medical pills.
The Hershey Company has joined the advisory council of a new non-profit organization – the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) - that aims to develop industry-wide standards on sustainability.
The trend toward natural colours for foods, drinks and sweets is here to stay – but raises huge technical challenges, according to Steve Tolliday, principal product technologist at Nestlé’s Product and Technology Centre in York, UK.
Nutexpa has acquired Spanish biscuit manufacturer Galletas Artiach in a deal that means Mondelez International will lose its license for the Dinosaurus biscuit brand to Lotus Bakeries
Nestlé has opened an extended product technology center for confectionery in the UK, which will better enable it to develop products and packaging with sustainable materials.
Nestlé has spent more than any other confectioner on lobbying in the US this year and has focused its efforts on waste-to-energy legislation and cocoa sourcing in West Africa.
