The Big Picture

Aarhus investor sells majority stake

26-Oct-2004 - United International Enterprises Limited (UIE), the majority stakeholder in vegetable oil firm Aarhus United, confirms it will sell its considerable stake in the Danish firm, due to be divested by January 2005.

Karlshamns seeks savings through job cuts

26-Oct-2004 - Squeezed margins from 'fierce competition' have hit profits at Swedish oils and fats firm Karlshamns, which this week announced job cuts in the context of a cost saving programme.

Breath strip downturn prompts Wrigley production changes

22-Oct-2004 - Flagging consumer interest in Wrigley's Eclipse Flash dissolvable breath strip product has prompted the US confectioner to shut down production facilities in the US and shift manufacturing to Europe, where, it seems, consumers are still attracted by the novelty, writes Chris Jones.

UK rejig drives Nestlé confectionery growth

22-Oct-2004 - A change of management and a number of new product launches in the UK were the main reason for a solid nine-month sales performance from the confectionery arm of Swiss food group Nestlé.

Hershey Foods making steady headway

22-Oct-2004 - After a slightly slow start to the year, the confectionery group Hershey Foods, saw sales rise and the gross margin expand in the third quarter, despite rising commodity costs.

Kraft considering confectionery sell-off

20-Oct-2004 - Kraft Foods, the biggest packaged foods producer in North America, is thought to be mulling the sale of its confectionery business, including the Altoids and Life Savers brands, as part of a move to focus on a smaller number of stronger brands. And with the company's latest results revealing further declines from the sugar confectionery business, the sale looks ever more likely.

Fiske Food links up with Avebe

19-Oct-2004 - Greater market penetration is expected for Avebe starch products as Fiske Food Denmark, a distributor of food and beverage ingredients, links up with the potato starch firm to distribute products from the Dutch farming co-operative.

Cadbury on track to deliver confectionery growth

15-Oct-2004 - Cadbury Schweppes is well on the way to delivering growth at its European confectionery unit, despite an increasingly gloomy outlook for the packaged food sector as a whole, according to investment bank Goldman Sachs.

Danone shows steady growth

14-Oct-2004 - French food group Danone has reported steady if unspectacular growth for the third quarter of the year, with poor weather in much of northern Europe impacting sales compared to last year's heatwave-boosted performance.

Degussa to exit from food ingredients business?

13-Oct-2004 - Ending months of speculation, the flavours and texturants units at Degussa, Germany's third largest chemicals group, are up for sale as the firm looks at selling the food ingredients arm or finding a partner for its business.

Low carb dip hits MGPI sales

08-Oct-2004 - A drop in the order book for low carb ingredients will impact sales in the first quarter of 2005 for wheat protein and starch supplier MGP Ingredients that has up to now enjoyed soaring revenues on the back of the fad US diet, that appears to be slowing down.

KitKat growth boosted by innovation

07-Oct-2004 - KitKat may have lost its crown as the UK's biggest chocolate countline brand to Cadbury's Dairy Milk last year, but brand owner Nestlé Rowntree has wasted no time in its bid to regain the top spot. Extensions of the core brand have come thick and fast over the past few months, and consumer interest has been high, writes Chris Jones.

Nestlé forced to sell Brazilian unit

06-Oct-2004 - Switzerland's Nestlé will have to sell its Brazilian chocolate business Garoto, acquired in 2002, after the authorities there ruled that the takeover would damage competition, proof that even the world's biggest food company cannot always have things its own way.

Huber completes CP Kelco acquisition

04-Oct-2004 - Family-owned US firm JM Huber completes on the CP Kelco purchase, buying straight into the number one pectin and xanthan gum slot.

Profit forecast goes up for Chr Hansen

04-Oct-2004 - Leading colours supplier Chr Hansen raises the end of year outlook as natural colours spear growth in the final quarter.

Northern Foods shuts factories to increase efficiency

30-Sep-2004 - Northern Foods is to close two of its UK factories with the loss of 1,000 jobs in an attempt to drive down costs as it struggles against rising raw material bills and price squeezes from supermarkets.

Sweetener business booms for Tate & Lyle

23-Sep-2004 - Month-on-month growth for Tate & Lyle's zero calorie sweetener will offset a dip in figures at the firm's European starch operations as long term investment in added-value ingredients starts to pay off.

Cloetta Fazer to close confectionery plant

22-Sep-2004 - A strategy of concentrating on a handful of core confectionery brands has left Sweden's Cloetta Fazer group with significant overcapacity - and an inevitable programme of factory closures.

Majority Aarhus slice up for sale?

21-Sep-2004 - The majority shareholder in Danish vegetable oil firm Aarhus United could soon place its considerable stake on the market, citing a potential difference in long-term investment interests.

Rhodia boosts challenging Q1 for Danisco

17-Sep-2004 - The recent bolt on acquisition of Rhodia Food Ingredients lifted sales for Danisco in an otherwise challenging first quarter for 2004/2005 but efforts to improve margins appear to be paying off, writes Lindsey Partos.

Liquidation for pectin leader Citrico, except German plant

15-Sep-2004 - Continued consolidation in the hydrocolloid industry seems imminent as leading pectin supplier Citrico International goes into liquidation, but the firm's German-based production plant Citrico GmbH is not up for sale, reports Lindsey Partos.

Nutrinova raises sorbate prices

15-Sep-2004 - German-based ingredients firm Nutrinova has announced a double-digit price hike for its sorbate range of additives, used increasingly by global food developers to preserve food products such as confectionery and baked goods.

Glisten revels in niche position

14-Sep-2004 - In just two years, the UK's Glisten group has garnered a substantial share of the confectionery market by supplying most of the country's leading retailers with an increasing range of niche products, from chocolate buttons to popcorn. But as Chris Jones discovered, growing the business further will mean an even tighter focus on these niches.

Patchi seeks Continental success

14-Sep-2004 - Patchi, a London-based company producing popular Middle Eastern confectioneries such as baklava and mamoul, is keen to spread its gospel of quality to the rest of Europe. But while France is its first export destination, the company will not specifically target the sizeable Arab population there.

Barry Callebaut sees own label potential

13-Sep-2004 - Switzerland's Barry Callebaut group has made no secret of its desire to move into the added-value segment of the confectionery market, reducing its reliance on the volatile commodity segment through a number of acquisitions. And a burgeoning own label business is the driving force behind a newly streamlined company offering 'Centres of Excellence' at every stage of the confectionery chain.

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