Mondelēz International has announced that certification body FLOCERT will join Havard University in verifying the chocolate firm’s cocoa sustainability program Cocoa Life.
Visitors at the International Sweets and Biscuits Fair (ISM) in Cologne have chosen ‘the most innovative’ new products to enter the global candy and snacks market.
Confectionery brands must ensure the packaging for new products is as innovative as the flavors, particularly to stave off competition from private label imitators, says packaging specialists Smithers Pira.
What does the future hold for 3-D chocolate printing?
Asia’s cocoa grind dropped 17.2% in the fourth quarter after an economic slowdown in China, adding another cocoa processing decline to the world jigsaw.
Chocolate bar manufacturers turn to die-fold, hermetically sealed single-wraps
Manufacturers who previously relied on sealed aluminum foil or flow pack for chocolate bars can now use OPP hermetically folded and sealed die-fold packaging, according to Sapal, a Bosch Packaging Technology company.
Barry Callebaut says it has developed a thermo-tolerant chocolate that can withstand four degrees more heat than a standard chocolate recipe without compromising on taste.
Danish premium chocolatier Michelsen hopes to break into China after teaming with a start-up company that produces hollow Hans Christian Andersen books containing chocolate.
UK chocolate firm Thorntons has posted sales declines in the second quarter and has no other option but to follow major supermarkets downmarket, according to an analyst.
Weak fourth quarter cocoa grinds in developed markets suggest that consumers have reacted negatively to wholesale chocolate price hikes from the major brands, according to an analyst.
Mondelēz International is letting 250 staff go at its chocolate factory at Bournville, which makes a range of Cadbury branded products, including Cadbury Dairy Milk.
ConfectioneryNews will be reporting from ISM and ProSweets 2015 next month in Cologne where the organizers anticipate growing interest in organic products, natural ingredients and sustainable packaging.
Companies hoping to appeal to consumers interested in the heart health benefits of dark chocolate now have another marketing tool at their disposal: the percentage of cocoa labeled on their bars.
Lindt reached record annual sales this morning, surpassing CHF 3bn for the first time - surprising growth given cocoa price hikes and a tough market, an analyst says.
Mango butter can be added to chocolate as a water-in-oil emulsion type gel, which will reduce the brittleness and improve the mouthfeel of the finished product.
Biggest challenge for digital is to change the mindset concerning price and volumes
The printing industry is increasingly turning to digital as conventional offset printing requires time-consuming steps such as making colour proofs and plates. Diffractive optical element (D0e) options are available from personalised printing to special...
The leading cocoa processors say they will support brand manufacturers to achieve fully sustainable cocoa, but decline to publicly set their own targets.
The chocolates contaminated by salmonella, which Aldi recalled at the end of last week, came from a German manufacturer, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has confirmed.
BARRY CALLEBAUT WORKS WITH PRINCETON UNIVERSITY RESEARCHERS
Chocolate may have a compressive strength-to-weight ratio 24 times less than concrete but that hasn’t stopped US scientists probing its potential as a building material and even building a ‘chocolate pavilion’.
Elmer Chocolate is aiming to be ‘the most efficient gift chocolate manufacturer in the world’ as it announces plans to add 70,000 square-foot to its production site in Ponchatoula.
Olam’s $1.3bn deal to acquire ADM Cocoa is likely to have little impact on the price of cocoa ingredients for chocolate makers because grinding capacity is still concentrated with three players.
Budelpack Poortvliet is installing a Bosch vertical form-fill-seal machine (vffs) to package loose items such as chocolates, confectionery, nuts and snacks, to start operations in January 2015.
Chocolate maker Mars has invested a total of US$140m in new manufacturing facilities in Saudi Arabia and the UAE to increase production of its Galaxy and Snickers lines.
International Chocolate Award winner Chocolat Madagascar
International Chocolate Award winner Chocolaterie Robert says that fine chocolates, like fine wine, should process the main commodity freshly and at origin.
The Malaysian government says it is assessing what action it should take to address ‘no palm oil’ labels in France and Belgium, the legal grounds for which have come under scrutiny.
Confectionery manufacturers are expected to put twists on classic Easter eggs in 2015 as consumers start to display Easter treats at home like works of art, according to Barry Callebaut.
Multinational chocolate manufacturers are failing to cater to Indian tastes and should experiment with spices such as green cumin and saffron, according to India’s only professional chocolate taster.
Food Empowerment Project urges transparency on child slavery
The Food Empowerment Project has called on US chocolate makers to list cocoa country of origin on pack so consumers can avoid brands that use cocoa from West Africa, where it claims unlawful child labor is common.
Hershey has acquired its contract manufacturer for Jolly Rancher and Lancaster brands in North America Allan Candy, which also owns a series of Canadian confectionery brands.
Barry Callebaut is receiving a growing number of requests for confections with sparkling colors that combine crunch and bitterness at its decorations lab in the Netherlands.
A Californian court has upheld an injunction preventing Posh Nosh, an importer of UK candy, from selling a number of confectionery brands that Hershey contends infringe its marks.
The chocolate industry and fairtrade movement are perpetuating poverty in Africa by relying on the continent for it’s agricultural assets rather than manufacturing potential, says Madagascan chocolate maker Madécasse.