On the eve of the World Cocoa Foundation Partnership Meeting in Berlin, ConfectioneryNews caught up with Antonie Fountain, managing director of The VOICE Network, which describes itself as ‘a watchdog and catalyst for a reformed cocoa sector’, for a special...
Until now, 70% of a cocoa pod was discarded as waste so ‘Cacaofruit Experiences’ marks the next generation of a food & drink category and it’s bang on the clean label trend. We talk to Pablo Perversi, Barry Callebaut’s chief innovation, sustainability...
Mondelēz International’s Cocoa Life sustainability program aims to strengthen the company’s supply chain and the Cadbury maker’s on-pack claims are only to signal brands contain sustainable cocoa, says Cathy Pieters, the director of the program.
Emily Stone, co-founder and CEO of Uncommon Cacao, joins us in the CN podcast studio to discuss the organization’s recently released Transparency Report and to explain how it is disrupting the cocoa supply chain in the wake of ongoing industry challenges...
CREATIVE CONVERSATIONS is a regular Confectionery News podcast and online feature profiling influential people working in the confectionery industry. Our next podcast guest is Sarah Lynn, founder of Sweets in the City.
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standard on sustainable cocoa will help mainstream ethical cocoa, says the chair of the standard, while an NGO worries uptake will be limited.
The Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) argues palm oil boycotts pave the way for unsustainable alternatives, but Greenpeace says that if the palm industry operates as usual, brands are left with little choice.
CREATIVE CONVERSATIONS is a regular Confectionery News podcast and online feature profiling influential people working in the confectionery industry. Our first podcast guest is James Cadbury, founder of ethical chocolate company Love Cocoa, and yes, a...
The World Cocoa Farmers Organization (WCFO) is asking Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire to reconsider setting a minimum cocoa price, while the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) is suprised the price was not higher.
In this exclusive ConfectioneryNews’ podcast we talk to Kaylee Dugan and Laura Renaud, part of the company’s communications team, on what’s trending and how Hershey are managing to keep ahead of the competition.
A new exhibition at York Chocolate Story delves into the one of the world’s most popular chocolate bars. We speak to the man behind the exhibition, guest experience manager Bernie Fleck.
Rick Scobey, the president of the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF), outlines how cocoa outside sustainability programmes can be deforestation-free and what happens to farmers encroaching on protected areas.
Jen Shepherd, Fairtrade Foundation’s cocoa supply chain manager, talks to CN editor Anthony Myers on how the organization is working with its producer networks to address key issues such as climate change, gender empowerment and living incomes in the...
Ecuador’s efforts to create value at origin could be damaged by the EU’s recent regulation of heavy metal cadmium in chocolate, claims the president of the country’s cocoa export association.
The wellbeing of children and youth in cocoa-growing communities was an important item on the agenda of WCF’s recent partnership meeting in Brazil. Taco Terheijden, Cargill group director, sustainability, explains what his company is doing to improve...
Nestlé’s child labor prevention system in its Cocoa Plan will cover around half of the company’s supply by 2020, but full scale up may never be possible, says its public affairs director.
Despite significant headwinds generated by the escalating war on sugar and increasing consumer preferences for healthy products, the confectionery industry is holding its own with sales climbing 1.2% in the last year to reach a whopping $25 billion, according...
Eight-minute podcast: Fairtrade’s new cocoa director
Fairtrade International plans next year to review its minimum price and premium for certified cocoa against a study measuring the drivers of income for farmers.
Yield increases must be coupled with agricultural reforms in origin countries and stronger financing packages to bring cocoa farmers out of poverty, according to the World Cocoa Foundation’s new president.
Cult personality David Klein speaks to ConfectioneryNews about his new jelly bean business that is seeking online funding through a Kickstarter campaign.
Our teams of journalists were out in force at Food Ingredients Europe (FiE) last week. We’ve picked out some of our highlights from over one thousand exhibitors, a packed conference programme and talks on industry insights.
Nestlé has expansion opportunities in developing markets in Asia and Latin America for its leading confectionery brand KitKat, according to the company’s head of chocolate countlines.
Dispatches from Euro Fed Lipid Congress, Montpellier
Africa’s chocolate market remains a little behind but Asia and South America are booming, and each market needs to be approached differently, says the executive director of Sollich.
Snacks and confectionery have truly blurred from a product perspective and retail slant, says the president of the National Confectioners Association (NCA).
For the most part, confectioners have continued to innovate in known areas like flavor, product size and packaging rather than innovating for health, says Euromonitor International.
Chocolate and cocoa firm Barry Callebaut has identified the flavored milk market as one of the best opportunities for use of its cocoa flavanol EU health claim.
Functional confectionery has made only small gains since approval of Barry Callebaut’s cocoa flavanol health claim but opportunities exist for premiumized chocolate products, says a Euromonitor analyst.
Food manufacturers, retailers and other food industry players are failing to connect with consumers who are tuning out of mainstream messaging and infesting their own comms channels, says angel investor, business mentor and philanthropist, Mike Greene.
The confectionery industry is in good shape and demand for sustainable products and those catering to health needs has never been higher, according to ISM organizer Koelnmesse.
Specialty ingredients distributor IMCD says that working with a distributor, rather than individual suppliers, allows food companies to tap into application-driven expertise - beyond their own R&D capabilities.
Mondelēz International’s heat resistant chocolate, new product development and increased penetration in under-represented parts of the world offers the company considerable potential for the future, chocolate head Bharat Puri has claimed.
Food manufacturing giant Unilever will work with international non-profit Solidaridad to drive the sustainable development of the sugar cane industry in Central America.
As the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) welcomed a broad range of stakeholders to its Italian HQ today to debate data and process transparency, the food industry asked at what point openness brakes innovation and competitive advantage?
From the 20th International Congress of Nutrition in Granada, Spain
The food industry came under attack last week at the International Congress of Nutrition (#ICN20) for not doing enough to improve the healthiness of its portfolios…unfairly, says Unilever.
A company making handmade fudge is predicting a 40% to 60% rise in turnover over each of the next two years as high-end retailers increasingly seek to stock its products.
Confectionery is a novel way to control your weight, according to private label firm Carmit Candy which has just launched a weight management chocolate wafer bar.
Chocolate is a strong carrier for probiotics and could present an opportunity for brand manufacturers to introduce products to improve gut health, according to supplier DuPont.
Aggrieved companies and trade groups have already mounted legal actions against the EU’s strict health claim laws – they are in process – but the regulation’s workings could face fresh challenge from governments signed up to the World Trade Organization...
A new interactive graphical database offering market insights for food and beverage ingredients will help manufacturers and suppliers identify new trends and grow their business, according to RTS.
Natural colours have overtaken their synthetic counterparts for the first time ever, and the trend towards clean label products is one of the key drivers according to new data from Mintel and Leatherhead Food Research.
German confectionery coatings firm Capol plans to venture into the supplements sector to establish a second business pillar for growth and gain technological knowledge, its CEO says.
Danish equipment supplier Aasted has been exhibiting a chocolate tempering machine at ProSweets in Germany that it claims uses an old process consuming 50% less energy than conventional tempering.
Anti-microbial air treatment systems will become a “very important” hygiene factor in the food manufacturing industry in coming years, Ecolab’s Marcus Ley told reporter Mark Astley.
FoodProductionDaily.com caught up with Dr Ian Davidson of ExxonMobil at Anuga FoodTec in Cologne last week to talk about new energy saving claims the company is making for its range of food-grade lubricants.
