Markets

07-Oct-2010 - A new tagging system is said to provide enhanced levels of quality control and transparency in a leading cocoa supplier’s production chain to provide assurance to chocolate product manufacturers about the quality and origin of the bean.

Kraft opens Swiss R&D centre to ensure gum has regional flavour

05-Oct-2010 - Kraft said its new innovation centre in Switzerland, inaugurated today, will ensure innovations in chewing gum and sugar confectionery have regional appeal.

Japan seeing hike in value-added confectionery launches

29-Sep-2010 - The chocolate category still accounts for over half of new confectionery product launches in Japan, but the functional segment is beginning to steal some of the limelight, according to a new report from market researchers Datamonitor

Perfetti to boost Indian plant capacity on market gains

28-Sep-2010 - Perfetti van Melle is set to increase capacity in a plant in southern India as its two year long marketing efforts pay dividends in terms of its gum and éclair market penetration, according to a report in the Hindu Business Line.

News in brief

Chr Hansen sees natural colour potential in North Africa

28-Sep-2010 - Food manufacturers in Morocco and other North African countries are facing the same pressure as those in Europe to remove synthetic colours form products, reports Chr Hansen.

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Nestle to build R&D centre in India

23-Sep-2010 - Nestle is investing around CHF50m in a new R&D centre in Gurgaon, India, as it expects 45 per cent of its global sales to come from emerging markets within a decade.

Ed Haas expands Pez production capacity in Hungary

22-Sep-2010 - Ed Haas, the Austrian confectionery manufacturer, has expanded production capabilities at its facility in Janossomorja in western Hungary.

ADM Cocoa’s expansion reflects Eastern European sales focus

22-Sep-2010 - ADM (Archer Daniels Midland) Cocoa has appointed new managers to reflect its expansion and Eastern European sales focus, while an announcement on new European research centres is imminent.

Frequent chocolate consumption could reduce CHD risk, US study

21-Sep-2010 - Frequent chocolate consumption was associated with a lower prevalence of coronary heart disease (CHD) in men and women independent of traditional risk factors, according to a review of a national US based heart, lung and blood study.

Innovation key to keeping up with growing private label, report

17-Sep-2010 - Increased competition from private label products means that food and beverage manufacturers must focus on innovation in order to maintain market share, warns a new report.

Unilever says palm oil deal edges it closer to 2015 pledge

16-Sep-2010 - Unilever said its deal with leading supplier, Unimills, for segregated certified sustainable palm oil represents a small start for the Dutch food and personal care group but takes the company in the right direction in terms of its 2015 total palm oil usage sourcing pledge.

Leading scientists welcome Mars backed cocoa genome breakthrough

16-Sep-2010 - A breakthrough in cocoa genetics by a collaboration involving Mars, USDA and IBM will accelerate research into the production of trees that can better resist drought, disease and pests, and has met with an enthusiastic welcome from leading cocoa scientists in the UK.

News in brief

DD Williamson introduces student food coloring competition

15-Sep-2010 - DD Williamson has introduced a food coloring competition aiming to develop student awareness of natural colorants for beverage applications.

Hershey's cocoa sourcing held to account

15-Sep-2010 - Hershey lags behind its competitors when it comes to purchasing cocoa that has been certified to meet certain labour, social, and environmental standards, argues four non-governmental organisations in a highly critical report about the US confectionery maker.

Cargill looks to tackle child labour in cocoa growing

10-Sep-2010 - Cargill said its planned investment of $5m over the next three years in sustainable cocoa initiatives will help address the worst forms of child labour in cocoa growing communities in the Ivory Coast and Ghana.

New R&D centre for Spanish food company Grupo Siro

09-Sep-2010 - Leading Spanish food company Grupo Siro has opened a €6m research and development facility in El Espinar, northern Spain to develop a range of new products including ones suitable for consumers who are intolerant to gluten and for children.

Mint market in decline in UK but gum could revive, says YouGov report

08-Sep-2010 - Sweets showed impressive growth, but in terms of other segments within sugar confectionery, gum suffered a dramatic loss of sales in 2009 and mints are in a long term decline, finds a new YouGov Sixth Sense report on the UK confectionery market.

News in brief

Resveratrol gum maker expects “great interest” in US

07-Sep-2010 - The launch of a chewing gum containing resveratrol is expected to be greeted with “great interest” in the US, say the Danish makers of the gum.

Heavy rains hit Indonesian cocoa exports

06-Sep-2010 - Cocoa bean exports were hit for the first time in four months as heavy rains damaged crops and disrupted transport, according to the Indonesian Cocoa Association.

Vanilla flavoured gum may cut nicotine withdrawal effects, study

01-Sep-2010 - New research from the US shows that some flavours of chewing gum are effective in reducing the negative effects associated with nicotine withdrawal such as anxiety.

Cocoa initiative to boost farmer incomes and supply, claims Kraft

31-Aug-2010 - Kraft said work conducted by the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership initiative in Ghana will see more cocoa farmer organisations becoming Fairtrade certified by the end of 2010, to ensure sustainability of supply and a guaranteed income for growers.

Nestle invests in premium Russian choc plant

30-Aug-2010 - Nestlé reports that an upgrade to its premium chocolate manufacturing facility in the Samara region of Russia will transform it into a key competence centre for confectionery products in Europe.