UK confectionery and bakery maker Lees Food claims an increased focus on production planning helped generate greater efficiencies and boost growth as it announces a 43 per cent jump in half-year profits.
Robot-based product packaging and palletizing remain the areas for quick wins in the confectionery sector but robots, albeit in the leading EU based confectioners, are gradually taking on more tasks a step earlier at the processing stage.
High production volumes, a reduction in the total cost of ownership, flexibility and a speedy delivery time are benefits claimed by Bosch for its new range of infeed systems launched this week at FachPack in Germany.
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
Take up of robotic technology in the food sector is set to steadily increase as processors are forced to seek further efficiency gains and demand could challenge that of the automotive industry within a decade, said the head of a leading trade body.
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.
Once upon a time sugar was sugar, and sugar was most definitely not good for you. So the Corn Refiners Association move to rebrand high fructose corn syrup as corn sugar is a daring move – but should do little to sweeten its reputation.
UK based confectionery and snack foods firm Zetar said a refinancing deal with lender HSBC Holdings to the tune of £45m will help it meet its organic sales growth plans for the next four years.
Consumer sentiment is forcing confectionery manufacture Cadbury to revert to metal tin for its long established brand, Roses, following an unsuccessful trial-run of cardboard packaging for the chocolates in the UK retail chain, Tesco.
Sara Lee has become the latest food manufacturer to join the voluntary Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI) that aims to restrict advertising of junk food to children.
The decision by the Finnish government to reintroduce a tax on sweets, chocolate, cocoa products, ice cream, and ice lollies is unfair and will discriminate against individual companies in the food industry, said the Finnish Association of Biscuits and...
DoehlerGroup and PureCircle, Corn Products and Galam, Tereos and PureCircle… This week has seen a new flurry of alliances over stevia sweeteners, as the ingredients sector gets on its marks for EU approval – and a significant new market.
PureCircle has launched a joint venture with the sugar company Tereos to provide sugar/stevia blends to the European market and gain a stronger international presence through Tereos’ Brazilian facilities.
Production of more than a million teacakes could be in jeopardy if a strike at leading Scottish biscuit and confectionery maker, Tunnock’s, goes ahead.
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 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.
An innovative sealing technology for flexible packaging could save food processors thousands of tonnes of film annually, provide greater seal integrity, increase product shelf life and cut operating costs, said International Food Partners (IFP).
M-real has unveiled plans to invest €26m in boosting its folding boxboard capacity at one of its plants in Finland on historically high demand for the material from the food packaging sector.
There’s something incongruous about the hi-tech modern food industry sniffing around the Palaeolithic era for the next big consumer trend. But hold the side order of cynicism. There might just be some logic to good old-fashioned instinctive eating.
Omega Ingredients claims that pilot production phase application of its China sourced monk fruit juice concentrate indicates that it effectively masks the bitter notes in dark chocolate products.
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.
Investments in European food processing machinery R&D are up on 2008 levels, with considerable innovation noted among exhibiting companies, reports the organisers of a trade event in Paris next month.
Significant downgauging, improved strength and greater puncture resistance are benefits claimed by Borealis for its new linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) range of films.
There was a serious fire yesterday at Amcor Flexibles Europe & America’s (AFEA) plant in Livingston, Scotland causing significant damage to the main facility as well as the secondary buildings.
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...
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...
Cereplast said an agreement reached with Turkish company Sezersan Ambalaj will see bio-based twist film packaging launched onto the European market for the first time
Kraft has said it expects to make an additional $1bn in revenue by 2013 because of better access to global markets and distribution networks following its takeover of Cadbury earlier this year.
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...
Kids are not going to stop liking chocolate, pizza, ice cream, or fries. Heck, neither am I. So why is industry so afraid of mandatory restrictions on marketing to children?
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has advised that safe usage levels of seven flavouring substances commonly used in or on food in member states should be reassessed, due to reservations about industry data submitted.
Environmentally-friendly packaging accounted for 4 per cent of global confectionery launches in the first half of 2010 compared to 3 per cent for the period July to December 2009, according to Mintel, with novelty packs and colourful designs dominating.
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.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is again requiring companies to disclose information about how they market their products to children and adolescents, the agency has said.
The Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board has requested comments on a proposed definition of candy for tax purposes, which excludes confectionery that requires refrigeration or contains flour.
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.
Industrial chocolate supplier Barry Callebaut has secured a key, long-term supply contract with Kraft Foods, which will see the Swiss firm invest €51m to expand production capacity in North America, the Ivory Coast, Malaysia and Europe.
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.
A hike in demand for lactose free products prompted leading industrial chocolate supplier Barry Callebaut to reformulate a 100 per cent dairy free alternative to milk chocolate.
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.
Increasing demand from retailers for rigorous quality control from suppliers was one of the drivers behind the enhancement of the sensitivity and early warning system of a throat metal detection system aimed at confectionery and snack food production.
A request from US snack manufacturer General Mills for a further hearing over a product shape trademark ruling has been denied by the Israeli Supreme Court.
The great carve up of the UK’s Food Standards Agency responsibilities has come into effect, with the agency retaining only the food safety remit and other aspects going to the Defra and the Department of Health.
Food research group Leatherhead is in the final stages of a testing project on natural food colours, which it expects will provide clear guidance on the stability and shelf-life of the ingredients.
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.
