Eating dark chocolate improves glucose metabolism and decreases
blood pressure, reveals fresh research, bringing new leverage to
the market potential of chocolate for food makers,writes Lindsey
Partos.
Swiss chocolatier Lindt and Sprüngli has announced record sales
figures during 2004, on the back of improved export sales and
burgeoning consumer demand for premium chocolate products in
Western Europe, Tom Armitage reports.
Mars, one of the most recognisable chocolate confectionery brands
in the world, has confirmed that UK production of its Twix and
Starburst brands is to be outsourced to Continental Europe, ending
weeks of speculation and axing 700...
Democrats Tom Harkin and Eliot L. Engel wrote a hard-hitting piece
in the LA Times on Monday about the human cost of the chocolate
trade, but the cocoa industry has hit back by reaffirming its
commitment to responsible farming.
Swiss chocolatier Lindt & Sprüngli has reported its
highest-ever rate of organic growth for 2004, with its focus on
premium products allowing it to buck the general trend towards
reduced consumption of chocolate in favour of healthier...
Mars, one of the most recognisable chocolate confectionery brands
in the world, could soon have its UK production outsourced to
Europe following increasing competition in the domestic
confectionery sector and flagging overall sales...
Chocolate consumption in the UK is slowing down as health and diet
concerns impact sales, a trend which has created opportunities for
major players to roll out sugar free and low carbohydrate products,
according to market analysts...
Ladco Advanced Engineering, the parent company of Scotland-based
MacIntyre Chocolate Systems, has acquired Petzholdt-Heidenauer
International, in a bid to extend both companies' global reach in
the competitive chocolate processing...
A novelty from the UK is set to take Europe by storm, using
cost-effective design moulds to add substantial value to simple
chocolate products. With a wide range of potential applications,
and customers, the team behind Chocpix is...
Evidence backing the health promoting benefits of chocolate
continues to mount, bringing dynamism to slacking sales, reports
Lindsey Partos. Researchers from Spain have discovered that
polyphenols found in cocoa extract influence...
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.
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.
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...
Chocolate makers could see savings from new research that sets out
to tackle the common problem of fat bloom, an unsightly white
powdery film that forms on the outside of chocolate, writes
Lindsey Partos.
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....
Confectionery giant Mars is one of several food companies
collaborating on a new research project designed to provide more
information about phytonutrients, beneficial compounds found in a
range of products, including chocolate.
For 47 years, the UK's most consistently popular chocolate bar has
been advertised with the slogan 'Have a break, have a Kit Kat', a
phrase which has entered the British lexicon and become synonymous
with the two- or...
Two of the biggest chocolate makers in the UK are to launch
products which will directly compete with some of each other's
biggest brands - an indication, perhaps, that the rich vein of new
product innovation of the last few...
Leading chocolate ingredients supplier Barry Callebaut is targeting
the European chocolate and cappuccino vending mix business with the
acquisition of cappuccino mix company AM Foods from Nordic dairy
firm Arla Foods.
Hanging as a persistent threat to the chocolate industry witches'
broom disease is capable of wiping out entire cacao crops and
sending the price of chocolate rocketing. Despite ongoing research
into the threat confirmed by the...
US agri-giant Cargill has carved a deeper position in the European
chocolate market after Swiss firm Nestlé sold two cocoa processing
activities to the acquisitive private company.
UK scientists are warning that world chocolate production could
fall dramatically if diseases, which have devastated South American
cultivation of cacao (the raw material used for producing
chocolate) over the past 15 years, were...
Despite cheaper alternatives to cocoa butter on the market and new
European rules allowing vegetable fats in chocolate formulations,
uptake for the replacers has been slower than expected as reticent
food makers and marketers stick...
Keeping French consumers interested in chocolate has been the
driving force behind brand owners' investment in innovation in
recent years, and the latest product launches highlighted by the
Global New Products Database (GNPD)...
With a plethora of brands from which to choose and long-established
patterns of consumption, the prospects of significant growth in the
French chocolate market might seem remote. But a new report
suggests that there is plenty of movement...
A roasting system equipped with state-of-the-art debacterisation
has been developed for US chocolate and cocoa producer Blommer. The
process is claimed to preserve the properties of cocoa better.
Arla Foods Ingredients is to launch chocolate using tagatose
sweetner supplied by Spherix Incorporated for products to be sold
in the Australia and New Zealand markets.
Leading Swiss Chocolate processor Barry Callebaut says that on the
back of strong six monthly results it will be looking to increase
its presence in the consumer sector.
The dynamic performance of the Romanian chocolate sector continues
to gather pace with the announcement from Supreme Chocolat that it
has increased its sales in the first quarter by an impressive 120
per cent.
A new US study reports that the higher cocoa, lower sugar content
and antioxidant properties of premium dark chocolate are making it
a more attractive for health-conscious consumers, especially the
growing number of those counting...
Chocolate dominates the latest product launches from Mintel, which
this week focus on Eastern Europe. The launches also reflect a
growing trend towards maximizing the marketing potential of brands
that have been long established in...
Improving the molecular structure of certain foods such as ice
cream and cocoa, can dramatically improve the taste, texture and
mouth feel of a particular product. This is something Marcos
Bobzin, Buhler's product manager for...
War and disease have marked volatile prices for cocoa in the past
three years, peaking at 17 year highs in 2002 when the Ivory Coast
- source of two fifths of the world cocoa crop - endured civil war.
Research into genomes could contribute...
The British are the biggest consumers of chocolate in Europe,
munching their way through more than 10 kg each every year. A
reflection of Britain's ongoing love affair with snacking - and
consumers' reluctance to choose...
The British are the biggest consumers of chocolate in Europe,
munching their way through more than 10 kg each every year. A
reflection of Britain's ongoing love affair with snacking - and
consumers' reluctance to choose...
Hard negotiations followed by new European rules put to bed
long-standing disputes over labelling issues that hung over
chocolate manufacturers. As more European manufacturers turn to
vegetable fats, the challenge is on for ingredients...
Controversial changes over two years ago to Europe's chocolate
rules - that had cocoa puritans and producers up in arms - came
into force in the summer, providing ingredients companies with a
raft of new opportunities.
Cadbury's India has announced that it is to change the packaging
for its Dary Milk chocolate bar following last month's revelation
that a batch had been infested with insects.
Japanese chocolate output remained relatively constant throughout
the first six months of 2003, according to the latest figures from
the Chocolate and Cocoa Association of Japan.
Two of Spain's biggest confectionery producers are feeling the
pressure of competition in the market and are actively seeking
partners to help them survive in the increasingly cut-throat
market. Joyco could sell out to Wrigley,...
US confectionery giant Hershey Foods has partnered with fashion
designer Cynthia Rowley to unwrap her Candyland themed Spring 2004
collection at the Elizabeth Street Garden during New York's Fashion
Week.
Confectioner Swiss Delice announced back in May its intention to
target the UK premium confectionery and biscuit market with a range
of products aimed at a young affluent market.
Nestlé's popular confectionery brands will soon be found on a range
of cakes and muffins in most of the UK's major retail chains
following a deal aimed at lifting the Swiss group's share of UK
cake sales.
