Mars plans to quit industry-funded science group, the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI), and says it will support research regardless of results after making its science policy public.
Nine major cocoa and chocolate companies have committed $8.5m to an initiative aiming to prove a business case to improve the quality of education in Ivorian cocoa communities.
Mars Wrigley Confectionery has defended accusations it is fueling an unjust association between chocolate and health by funding cocoa flavanol research and says chocolate ‘should not be considered a health food’.
While Mars is currently the market leader in China’s chocolate confectionery space, Ferrero has been growing over the past five years with increased shares year-over-year, the latest Euromonitor data shows.
Hershey has decided not to renew its membership with the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) in 2018, but it remains part of the National Confectioners Association (NCA).
A scientist at the Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI) said chocolate would not go extinct as reported by multiple media outlets recently, even though global warming could shrink the cultivatable areas for cocoa trees.
Sourcing to fair trade standards, such as UTZ, Rainforest Alliance and Fairtrade, is an important first step for chocolate makers towards cocoa sustainability, but will not necessarily bring farmers out of extreme poverty, say supply chain actors.
Barry Callebaut has made available a range of low-sugar chocolate designed to promote an improved nutritional profile to confectionery that doesn’t compromise on taste.
The M&M’s maker Mars will take a minority stake in KIND Snacks, a deal that aims to bring KIND's nutrition bars and granola products onto the global stage.
