Breaking News on Confectionery & Biscuit Processing

Special Focus: food industry careers

Buoyant jobs market driven by Europe-wide demand for skills

27-Jul-2011 - The jobs market in the food and drink industry is extremely buoyant, with skills shortages and growing demand set to push up salaries across the board.

South African market sweet; sales up 19 per cent, notes Leatherhead

25-Jul-2011 - South Africa saw a hike in confectionery sales of over 19 per cent between 2006 and 2010, notes a recent overview of that country’s sweets and chocolate market by Leatherhead Food Research.

Focused product strategy key to Chinese choc market success, say analysts

21-Jul-2011 - Confectionery market watchers are training their eyes on the Chinese market following Nestle’s recent acquisition of a majority stake in leading domestic player, Hsu Fu Chi, with Mars and Ferrero deemed to be winning the race for the hearts, minds and wallets of the Chinese sweet consumer.

Nestlé boosts its distribution of disease-resistant cocoa trees

21-Jul-2011 - 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.

Cargill in bid to boost sustainable cocoa in Cameroon

18-Jul-2011 - Cargill’s Cocoa and Chocolate division is rolling out its Ivory Coast UTZ certification farmer training programme in Cameroon - a move the processor anticipates will dramatically boost sustainable cocoa output in the fourth largest producer country.

Codex approval will open new stevia markets: PureCircle

11-Jul-2011 - Stevia producer PureCircle says the adoption of proposed maximum levels for steviol glycosides by the Codex Alimentarius Commission will open up new markets for the high-intensity sweetener.

Hershey and Godrej dissolve Indian tie-up, report

06-Jul-2011 - A four-year long partnership between chocolate powerhouse Hershey and the Godrej Group in India has been disbanded, according to media reports.

News in brief

General Mills awards grant for sustainable vanilla research

06-Jul-2011 - General Mills has awarded a $200,000 grant to researchers at the University of California-Davis to help create a more sustainable vanilla supply.

Confectionery merger forms business with annual revenue of $200m

01-Jul-2011 - A new merger in the US private label confectionery sector will result in the formation of a packaging and distribution business with annual revenues of over $200m, claims the two companies involved in the deal.

Indonesia wants more investors in cocoa processing sector

01-Jul-2011 - The Indonesian cocoa processing sector is ripe for further investment from multinational food manufacturers, a spokesperson from the country’s investment authority said.

Italy: Health concerns drive dark and organic chocolate boom

30-Jun-2011 - Sales of chocolate rose by nearly 19 per cent in Italy in the four years up to 2010, driven by the trend towards premium, but also higher selling prices, finds a market review from Leatherhead.

Cargill sets up dedicated team to accelerate sustainable cocoa agenda

30-Jun-2011 - Cargill has appointed a specialist team to drive forward its work on the production and supply of sustainable cocoa.

Heavy rain puts Ivorian cocoa quality under threat

29-Jun-2011 - Questions have been raised about the quality of the cocoa crop in the Ivory Coast following heavy rainfall in the region.

Comment

Risk, rationality and that schizophrenic beast called the food industry

27-Jun-2011 - If the food industry wants journalists and consumers to get real about risk, then it has to get real too.

Barry Callebaut pushes onward into Latin America

27-Jun-2011 - Reflecting the continuing industry trend toward outsourcing and its growing foothold in emerging markets, pod to pallet chocolate supplier Barry Callebaut said it has signed a long-term agreement with Mexican manufacturer, Chocolates Turin.

Chocolate and gum boost Indian confectionery sales, Euromonitor

27-Jun-2011 - Indian confectionery retail sales grew by seven per cent last year, boosted by “key indulgence categories” such as chocolate and functional gum, says Euromonitor.

News in brief

CIAA renamed FoodDrinkEurope to be “more immediately identifiable”

24-Jun-2011 - Europe’s food industry trade association CIAA has been renamed FoodDrinkEurope as part of a rebranding exercise that includes the launch of a new website and logo.

Cocoa shortage by 2020 unless industry acts now, warns Mars

23-Jun-2011 - 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.

AAK: If you make palm oil claims you must play by RSPO rules

23-Jun-2011 - Food manufacturers are using certified sustainable palm oil in their products – and making claims about it – when they are not members of the Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and have not have their facilities RSPO audited and certified, one leading supplier has claimed.

Details of labelling rules released as EU gives “green light”

23-Jun-2011 - A final deal on EU food labelling legislation is heading towards the finish line with the provisional agreement approved by council yesterday.

DKSH opens bakery and confectionery innovation centre in Thailand

22-Jun-2011 - DKSH Holdings Ltd, the Swiss market expansion services group, has invested in a new innovation centre in Thailand as part of an initiative to introduce new concepts and ingredients to the local confectionery and bakery industry.

Dairy industry takes joined up approach to health research

22-Jun-2011 - Against the backdrop of a difficult financial climate and more stringent health claims regulation, the dairy industry is taking a coordinated approach to nutrition and health research with the formation of a global research consortium.

Demand dip will see cocoa prices levelling off, Rabobank

20-Jun-2011 - Lacklustre demand for cocoa in Europe and North America and expectations of an average crop next season will see cocoa prices remain steady over the coming months, claims a market analyst.

ADM launches “crucial” cocoa training project in Ghana

16-Jun-2011 - A new education and training scheme in Ghana that aims to develop the country’s cocoa supply chain is the “first of its kind” for Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM), says the firm.