The king-size candy bar has emerged as the fastest growing pack type in convenience stores this year and was a key driver of sales for Hershey in the third quarter, bosses have revealed.
Gum titans Wrigley and Kraft Foods plan to introduce smaller five-piece chewing gum packs at reduced rates to boost US sales and reflect consumer spending trends.
Mars chocolate bars in the Netherlands are to carry UTZ certified marks from Feburary 2012 as Mars sets targets for its cocoa to be fully sustainable worldwide by 2020.
Nestlé’s sales for the nine months to the end of September rose 7.3% to reach CHF60.89bn (€49.24bn), slightly short of expectations, but its positive European performance blindsided analysts.
More functional foods capitalizing on the health benefits of cocoa should hit shelves next year as confectionery giant Hershey seeks to gain a stronger foothold in the health and wellness market via its new Apure subsidiary.
The Ferrero Group and The Hershey Company have announced a partnership under which they will share North American supply chain processes in order to reduce costs and carbon emissions.
Marshmallow colour and flavour innovation and an extension of its red shade portfolio have been the focus of recent R&D work at natural ingredients producer Wild.
Mars has announced that Maltesers will be its first brand to carry the Fairtrade mark from June 2012, the commitment follows similar moves from Cadbury and Nestle.
Nestlé’s scheme to expand operations at its Product Technology Centre in York cleared the final hurdle last week at a planning meeting of City of York Council.
New rules for takeover deals are designed to put an end to the kind of prolonged, acrimonious struggle that preceded Kraft’s acquisition of Cadbury in 2010.
Nestlé will start a multi-million pound investment in its global confectionery research centre in York if, as expected, it receives planning approval at a city council meeting this Thursday, September 22.
In an attempt to rebrand its pitch to Indian customers who are yet to transition towards healthier food products, Nestle India Ltd has phased out its existing probiotic dahi (curd) product in India for a new brand.
Kraft has confirmed that it has chosen Cadbury’s site in Bournville as the site of a new chocolate centre to “drive new product development and new technologies” for chocolate brands.
Nestlé’s plans to build an anaerobic digestion plant for treating waste at its Fawdon site in Newcastle, UK, have been given the green light by planners.
Cadbury has become the latest food brand to dip a toe in the in the experimental waters of augmented reality as part of a growing trend in interactive packaging.
The economic downturn has put the brakes on the development of the Russian confectionery market and led to subdued growth for Nestlé in Russia in the first half of 2011, according to the company.
Improved productivity, reduced cardboard consumption and the elimination of waste have followed the installation of Witness simulation software at Kraft’s Cadbury plant in Bournville, according to the company.
While the boss of Kraft Foods believes the whole of the business is worth less than the sum of its parts, it is by no means obvious that cutting it up and rearranging it will transform its growth prospects, according to one analyst.
Kraft, in its second quarter results, reports continuing challenges ahead for its gum and candy division in developed markets, and claims the Cadbury takeover is a fundamental earnings driver, with its global chocolate earnings up 9 per cent.
Union the Unite is seeking assurances about UK jobs and production at Kraft and Cadbury’s, following the announcement that Kraft is set to split its business into two independent companies.
Kraft Foods has said it intends to split into two companies, in a move that would create a global snacks powerhouse separate from its North American grocery business.
Indonesia is the focus of an extension of Nestlé’s sustainable Cocoa Plan initiative, with the Swiss food group aiming to pump $4m (€2.7m) into bean production in that country.
US chocolate giant Hershey reported net income of $130.12m for the second quarter, with net income for the period up o $129.56m from $117.05m in the same quarter in 2010.
Nestlé said it has increased its donations of disease-resistant cocoa trees to farmers in Ivory Coast in a bid to boost the quality of the beans that are produced in the country.
Nestlé has paid out bought €1.2bn for a majority stake in leading Chinese confectionery maker Hsu Fu Chi, with the Swiss group flagging up access to extensive production capabilities and a major distribution network as its wins.
Kraft is considering bids from developers interested in buying the iconic former Cadbury factory in Keynsham, while the site's equipment is being sold via an online auction.
Mars says growing demand for its confectionery products in the US has prompted the firm to invest in a new “state-of-the-art” manufacturing facility in the country.
Consumer advocates Foodwatch say a chocolate product from Ferrero has the ‘most misleading advertising’ by any food manufacturer this year; the chocolate maker has rejected the claim.
Confectionery giant Mars predicts a major cocoa shortage by 2020 and reveals harmonization of global cocoa certification programmes to ensure meaningful income hikes for farmers is one of its sustainable cocoa project goals.
Dr Anne Roulin, head of packaging and design at Nestle, has given FoodProductionDaily.com a unique insight into the mega-trends that are informing packing developments at the global giant.
Hershey’s has dropped a trademark infringement case against Mars, in which it had accused the rival candy maker of using packaging for Dove peanut butter Promises similar to that of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.
David J. West has resigned from the top job at Hershey’s to take on the role of CEO at Del Monte – and John P. Bilbrey has been appointed as interim president and CEO at The Hershey Company.
Nestlé has revealed to FoodManufacture.co.uk that it is planning a significant extension to its confectionery and biscuit product technology centre (PTC) in York.
Nestlé UK may keep its headquarters in Croydon, despite reissuing a warning that it is "reviewing other options" outside the London borough in a bid to escape its dilapidated site by 2014.
Kraft Foods has reported strong sales and profit growth in the first quarter as it increased prices and advertising efforts for core brands to tackle higher commodity costs.
Reflecting the continuing industry trend toward outsourcing, Barry Callebaut said a new supply deal it has agreed with Hershey will put its annual deliveries beyond the current 80,000 metric tonnes.
Kraft Foods is leveraging the growing trend for chocolate and biscuits in developing markets with the opening of a new $80m production facility in Brazil.
Nestlé UK is recalling some of its Milkybar Buttons due to a possible rubber contamination risk, but the company said the action is just a precautionary measure.
Hershey clocked a profit for the first quarter of 2011, with it citing new product launches, expansion outside the US and a 30 percent increase advertising spending as key to the positive financials.
Cadbury and Nestlé say their Easter egg packaging is meeting high sustainability standards, amid calls from a UK government authority for confectioners to further reduce this seasonal packaging and ensure it is readily recyclable.
Kraft/Cadbury in Thailand has cut its energy use by 60 per cent and operating expenses by 50 per cent after changing the dehumidifier it used at its chewing gum plant.
Comments made by the Nestlé chair that child labour is “almost impossible” to stop, contradicts the company’s commitments to ending child exploitation in Africa, said the IUF, a global trade union representing food workers.
