How the confectionery space is avoiding the impact of plastic on the environment
PFAS and their impact on public health remain a key issue as the industry swaps plastic for paper.
Processing & packaging
Sustainable packaging
Will flexible packaging revolutionise confectionery casing?
Or perhaps it already is?
Five ways robotics tech is revolutionising confectionery
How Hershey, Nestle, Mars and Nutresa México are ramping up and re-imagining their production using robots
Scientists develop better-for-you chocolate, and it’s better for the planet
Healthier and more sustainable chocolate? While it sounds almost too good to be true, that’s exactly what scientists have created in Switzerland.
How is Ferrero balancing M&A growth with packaging sustainability?
A strong acquisition strategy is fuelling growth at Ferrero. But inevitably, with that growth comes more packaging. How is the confectionery major working to decouple the two?
The top 4 packaging trends in confectionery in 2024
With packaging as diverse and innovative as the sweet treats it houses, 2024 sees brands accelerate their environmental, visual and technological know-how
How Fazer makes confectionery with upcycled ingredients
Finnish food group Fazer is experimenting with side streams to make confectionery production more sustainable.
The top five sustainability trends in confectionery
As consumers’ ethical values become ever more baked into their confectionery choices, from Hershey to Mondelez and Nestle, we explore the ways brands are pivoting to more sustainable practises
Packaging
British chocolate brand introduces new paper flow wrap for bars
Independent chocolatiers Cox & Co has developed new paper flow wrap chocolate packaging, allowing it to phase out all plastics on its production line and give consumers curbside recyclable wrapping.
News
69% of Brits say Easter egg packaging is excessive
While Britain is a nation of chocolate lovers, two thirds of consumers believe chocolate eggs comprise too much packaging – yet despite concerns over sustainability and inflation, we’ll still be dipping into our pockets for the sweet stuff.
Natural Products Expo West
Expo West: Clean Label Project helps brands align with ‘consumer definition of safety’
As consumer concerns rise over a variety of food ingredients and food additive bans increase, the non-profit Clean Label Project is helping brands make sense of it all, the organization’s executive director Jaclyn Bowen told FoodNavigator-USA in an...
Manufacturing
Blommer Chocolate to close its Chicago factory with the loss of 250 jobs
The company has announced it will close its Chicago factory, ending 85 years of chocolate manufacturing in the city with the loss of 250 jobs.
SOTIC 2024
NCA’s Sweet Life video candy shorts return for second season
The NCA launched the second season of its award-winning streaming series, The Sweet Life, at its State of the Industry Conference for a behind-the-scenes look at the secrets of the confectionery industry.
Special report: Dominican Republic organic cocoa
YACAO’s organic cocoa becomes first in LATAM to be ROC-certified
Swiss subsidiary with a long history of sourcing its premium organic cocoa from Dominican Republic sees demand skyrocket as suppliers look to other regions for sustainable beans.
News
OFI to open green powered cocoa bean warehouse
A new cocoa bean warehouse powered exclusively by green energy has been created by Olam Food Ingredients (OFI) at the Port of Amsterdam.
ProSweets/ISM 2024
Confectionery makers and suppliers prepare for ‘Sweet Week’ in Cologne
ProSweets Cologne and ISM have lined up a strong ‘Sweet Week’ when it opens on Sunday 28 January attracting hundreds of international exhibitors showcasing at the city’s Koelnmesse exhibition centre.
ProSweets Cologne 2024
EXBERRY to showcase plant-based colours at ProSweets Cologne
GNT, the company behind EXBERRY food colors, will demonstrate how its plant-based, sustainable portfolio can help maximize product appeal for manufacturers at ProSweets Cologne, which runs this year from 28-31 January.
ProSweets Cologne 24
ProSweets Cologne focuses on the reformulation of sweets and snacks
More than 30 ingredients specialists are set to attend ProSweets Cologne, the supplier fair that runs along side ISM sweets and snacks trade show, to offer natural and sustainable solutions that contain less sugar or carry a clean label declaration.
Free from
Vegan chocolate brand NOMO wins big at Grocer and Free From Food Awards
Vegan and free-from-chocolate brand NOMO has won Best Independent Brand for the third consecutive year at the Free From Food Awards and a big win at William Reed’s The Grocer New Product & Packaging Awards.
Futureproofing The Food System
Can third-party certification protect against greenwashing allegations? Maybe, maybe not
Increased scrutiny of environmental sustainability claims by regulators and competitors has many brands turning to third-party certifications to reassure consumers about claims’ veracity and to protect against litigation – but recent movements in the...
News
Fox’s Burton’s invests in a multi-million pound marketing campaign for Maryland cookies
The manufacturer of the cookie and mini biscuits brand is launching a 360-marketing campaign, including social and in-store campaigns and a new TV advert, as it debuts new-look packaging.
Clean label
EU consumers back call for more stringent eco-labels on confectionery and other food products
There is widespread public support for a universal eco-label to be introduced for food products, with more than two-thirds of consumers across Europe saying they would use such a tool to help them make more sustainable choices, according to a new...
Natural and clean label confectionery
Greenwashing in confectionery: EU expected to clamp down on blurring the lines between marketing and verifications
One of the major challenges facing the premium chocolate industry is the practice of ‘greenwashing’ where consumers are deceived by meaningless icons and false claims on labels purporting that the brand is committed to a responsible and transparent...
Special Edition: Natural & Clean label confectionery
What it means to eat ‘clean’
In the realm of the food and beverage industry, few terms carry as much weight and complexity as the term 'clean.
Packaging
Cocoa Canopy repackages its beads for the service sector
UK-based drinking chocolate brand, Cocoa Canopy, has announced a new format for its 900g foodservice packs across all five of its varieties, supplying the sector with a product they can display all year round.
Unilever research: Greenwashing fears thwart sustainability messaging among influencers
Research suggests influencers want to mention sustainability more in their content, but most are hesitant. Unilever wants to change this narrative.
Green packaging
New packaging innovations are addressing sustainability issues, survey finds
Recent international research has revealed that professionals in the food packaging industry are addressing demands for greater sustainability and consumer preference with innovative approaches to material choice and the processes involved in production.
Nestlé and Cargill partner to turn cocoa shells into low carbon fertiliser
The project will see Cargill supply cocoa shells to CCm Technologies, who in turn will manufacture fertiliser for two farms supplying Nestlé UK & Ireland.
Packaging
Love Cocoa unveils ‘Modern Chocolatier’ rebrand
The rebranding includes a stylish new logo and strapline - ‘The Modern Chocolatier’ - and the business has also embraced a brighter, bolder colour palette across the range while maintaining its signature gold foiling detail.
Green packaging
Moo Free upgrades packaging machinery with greener wrapper
Vegan chocolate brand Moo Free has announced a deal with leading packaging machinery manufacturer ULMA Packaging to produce more sustainable wrappers across its portfolio.
GUEST ARTICLE
The top 5 trends driving innovation in packaging science
Packaging is the shop window for your brand, the primary interface through which food and beverage manufacturers interact with consumers. Packaging innovation, therefore, cannot be taken lightly. How are R&D teams leveraging packaging science to develop...
News
Chewing gum brand Milliways bags £3m in funding to scale business
Plastic free and plant-based chewing gum brand Milliways has secured £3m in funding to further propel its growth.
Manufacturing
Fudge Kitchen celebrates 10 Years of confectionery production in Kent
Leading UK high street brand Fudge Kitchen is celebrating the 10-year anniversary of its state-of-the-art production site in Kent which has been a hub of innovation and excellence in confectionery manufacturing since its inception.
Blends of emulsifiers and stabilizers can offer cost-effective alternative to locust bean gum
Ice cream makers could innovate with emulsifier-stabilizer blends if they wish to avoid paying a premium for single-ingredient options such as LBG, claims Palsgaard’s Claus Prior Hansen.
Don’t get caught in the greenwashing trap
Despite high inflation, the majority of consumers are happy to pay more for products with a sustainable backstory. So there’s money to be made from environmental credentials, which makes falling into the greenwashing trap a bigger temptation than ever...
Ingredients
New breakthrough in cacaofruit reduces refined sugar in confectionery
Cabosse Naturals, established by Barry Callebaut to unlock the potential of the entire cacaofruit, has launched a ‘free-flowing, 100% pure cacaofruit powder’, a new ingredient that can replace refined sugar in food manufacture, which also caters to...
'We need to have the right products, because the consumers are demanding it': How politics can drive recycling in plastic packaging
The UK throws away around 100 billion pieces of plastic each year, much of which goes into landfill. Tetra Pak North Europe managing director Alex Henriksen told FoodNavigator about how inexorably politics and food packaging are tied together.
Upcycled ingredients: Challenges and opportunities in securing side stream supply
How do upcycling innovators ensure they have abundant supply of side stream raw materials to develop new ingredients for the food and beverage industry?
Colourful crunch: Ritter Sport bets on prominent packaging and textures to overcome low APAC chocolate consumption rates
Chocolate specialist Ritter Sport believes that a focus on prominent packaging and experiential textures is important to overcome the challenge of lower chocolate consumption rates in the Asia Pacific region.
Sustainabilty
Mars bars undergo paper packaging trials in UK
Mars Wrigley UK has announced that its Mars bars will be wrapped in more environmentally friendly paper packaging rather than its traditional plastic wrapper.
UK to ban single-use plastics and EU suggests wide-ranging changes to plastic use
On 1 October 2023, the UK will ban single-use plastics, with the guidance having been released on 23 May. The EU have also released wide-ranging guidance on plastics.
Interpack 2023
Mettler-Toledo launches 100% automated label inspection solution suite
Mettler-Toledo Product Inspection has launched a completely automated, full label inspection service for food manufacturers in time for Interpack, which takes place in Messe Düsseldorf from 4 May until - 10 May 2023.
ProSweets 2023
ProSweets Cologne to showcase latest in better-for-you gummies
GELITA has announced it will be showcasing its versatile portfolio of tailored gelatins for gummies at the year’s ProSweets, along with its fast-setting gelatin CONFIXX, the innovative leader in gelatins and collagen peptides.
Interpack 2023
New packaging solutions for cookies and chocolate bars to be unveiled at Interpack 2023
Syntegon is set to showcase its line expertise in horizontal packaging solutions for cookies and bars at this year’s Interpack trade fair in Germany.
Interpack 2023
Cremer heads to Interpack with new machine counting solutions for the confectionery sector
US-based company Cremer is heading to Düsseldorf, Germany, in May where it will showcase new hygienic counting equipment for confectionery and gummies at Interpack (4 May to 10 May)
Green packaging
Puratos packaging to become 100% recycle-ready
Patisserie and chocolate ingredients supplier Puratos, has announced it is switching to more sustainable packaging solutions as part of its sustainability mission.
ProSweets Cologne 2023
New ProSweets Cologne format attracts exhibitors
Koelnmesse, the organisers of ProSweets Cologne 2023 - Special Edition, have announced they are increasing floor space due to strong demand from exhibitors wanting to take part in this year’s special format.
Enviornment
Perfetti Van Melle joins the UK Plastics Act
Perfetti Van Melle, one of the world’s largest confectionary companies, has announced it has joined the UK Plastics Pact, a bold and unique initiative that aims to transform the UK’s plastic system.
Packaging
KitKat Vegan gets nationwide launch as trials begin in Australia for recyclable packaging
Nestlé is set to roll-out its hugely popular KitKat Vegan bar across the UK after a successful limited launch – and has also announced a pilot test to use 100% recyclable paper at its production facility in Australia.
Logistics
How a small chocolate business is unwrapping the importance of digital supply chain management
York Cocoa House, like many confectionery businesses, has taken steps to diversify its supply chain to combat recent and future market uncertainty.