Goupie meets demand for a longer shelf life as export demand grows

06-Jul-2018 - Last updated on 06-Jul-2018 at 10:17 GMT

Goupie Orange Mini. Photo: Goupie.

Goupie, which makes handmade chewy confectionery, has extended the shelf life of its entire portfolio of products from six to nine months.

The project took one year to complete following demand from customers and a series of testing and trials and it has now switched to a Julian dating system, to offer more transparency, starting this month.

Track & Trace

Grace Simpson, brand manager, Goupie told ConfectioneryNews, the Julian dating system is a code which combines the year, and day of the year so customers can pinpoint the exact date the batch was made.

“This combined with our own process systems means we will easily be able to trace any product directly to who made it, and which stage each employee was involved in,” she said.

“As a best before date, there is no danger, or risk of the product 'going off' as with a use by date. Our only concern was maintaining the quality of the product for the full timescale within the best before date.

“Although we make all our products to order, meaning local customers often receive products within a week of them being produced, customers who are further afield require extended shelf-life due to the increased transportation times, etc.

“Provided the products are kept in the correct conditions, there will be no impact on their freshness or quality - rather it allows export customers to buy the quantity required to make sense of those extra costs and still keep our products affordable.”

Improved recipes

According to Janet Simpson, co-founder, Goupie, it was determined to improve the traceability of its products, to give customers more flexibility and it had been testing its products for well over a year to ensure the quality of its improved recipes.

Goupie is available in 18 flavours from a variety of specialist food retailers or online.

“We’ve been reviewing and product developing since IFE (International Food & Drink Exhibition, London) as we had an overwhelmingly positive response from export customers, with the only concern being the six-month shelf-life,” added Simpson.

“Finally, we managed to develop our products to a standard where we’re happy with the quality up to nine-months after production.

“Our Christmas flavors have always had a 12-month shelf-life and so our next aim is to roll the 12-months shelf-life across the entire range.”