Ruby chocolate may become as popular as white chocolate within three decades, but observers say the craft movement is skeptical and secrecy of the process may mean it is unjustly associated with GM.
Reporting effective approaches to tackle deep-rooted poverty and child labor in the cocoa sector should take precedence over shock headlines, writes ConfectioneryNews’ editor.
Confectionery brands can inspire loyalty by communicating heritage and social actions on-pack, but these features should never overshadow flavor, says a Mintel analyst and the CEO of Project7.
ConfectioneryNews selects seven product launches that tap into contemporary shopper demands, including chocolate containing cocoa fruit pulp and mints created by dentists.
Confectionery may be spared from a category specific tax in Europe, but it remains threatened by added sugar taxes levied on all food and drinks, writes ConfectioneryNews editor Oliver Nieburg.
Sustainability in sugar has been side lined by the health debate, but the confectionery industry is a heavy user and must now decide whether it will support cane growers in the developing world, says Bonsucro.
Mars M&M’s, Hershey’s Reese’s and Nestlé’s Butterfinger are among the top US chocolate brands for the year to date, but which are gaining and which are losing share?
Efforts are under way to bring cocoa farmers together under a single voice, but divisions still exist that hinder the chocolate industry’s push to a sustainable cocoa sector, writes ConfectioneryNews editor Oliver Nieburg.
The majority of ConfectioneryNews readers polled expect the UK’s exit from the European Union will hit sales volumes for their businesses and lead to price hikes for cocoa and sugar.
Confectionery could be the next target for national sugar taxes after the UK’s levy on sugared soft drinks, but the industry still has time to act to thwart levies, writes ConfectioneryNews editor Oliver Nieburg.
ConfectioneryNews is hosting three live debates at the world’s largest confectionery trade fair next year, featuring representatives from the industry’s biggest players.
Ferrero should move its newly acquired Thorntons business out of discount stores to help it capitalize on the growing premium segment in the UK and abroad.
ConfectioneryNews is launching its inaugural Personality of the Year competition to recognize unhailed innovators and industry stalwarts for a job well done.
Not quite the choc-pocalypse, but retail prices for chocolate are expected to rise in the face of cocoa price hikes, which could see the taste, shape and size of chocolate change significantly in the year ahead.
UTZ Certified argues that guaranteeing cocoa farmers a premium distorts the market by discouraging them from adopting good agricultural practices as they are guaranteed a premium regardless of quality. Fairtrade International disagrees.
We’ve delved into the ConfectioneryNews archives to chart newly built factories and major investments on existing plants by the industry’s major players over the past five years to discover where capacity is moving.
Fair Trade USA is considering much maligned changes to its labeling policy that would no longer require brands to source ingredients from a Fair Trade source even when one is available – is its draft policy fair or misleading?
ConfectioneryNews,com presents an interactive timeline taking a look back at some of the most significant mergers and acquisitions in the sector in 2012.
Cadbury has recently been successful in extending the trademark protection for its purple colour, despite spirited resistance by Nestlé, writes Christopher Pett, consultant at Dehns Patent & Trade Mark Attorneys. But what are the implications of the...
New chocolate powerhouse Mondelez International will be the next major player to come under the spotlight over child labor on cocoa farms in Africa and will face pressure from NGOs to source 100% certified cocoa.
‘Fat tax’ is a neat thought, but like all simplistic ideas it falls down at the execution, as the progress of the policy in Denmark shows – it simply doesn’t work in practice.
The more we move, the slimmer we will become, right? However, with ballooning obesity rates over the past 30 years, research suggests that this is not the case. US adults are moving more than ever – but eating more than ever too.
ConfectioneryNews.com explores how the leading players are gearing up for a PR brand building exercise that comes around only once every four years and asks how high-fat, high-sugar chocolate can be reconciled with the health charged London Olympics.
ConfectioneryNews.com asks what the two biggest players in the chewing gum market are doing to introduce non-stick gums that degrade quickly in the environment.
Sourcing cocoa from certified farms can minimise incidence of child labour, but if that’s enough, why else should chocolate manufacturers commit to third-party certification?
Vitafoods celebrates its 15th birthday next week. It’ll be my 11th consecutive May visit to Geneva for the jamboree and promises to be one of the most intriguing chapters with the (partial and belated) resolution of years of ambiguity regarding health...
Five years ago the European Union nutrition and health claims regulation (NHCR) became law. Around the bloc, hopeful EU healthy foods and supplements stakeholders submitted more than 44,000 health claim applications.
The European Food Safety Authority last week delivered the fifth batch of article 13, general function health claim opinions bringing the total issued to 2723. There are just 35 to go – to be published next month in a final mini-batch that will conclude...
The United States lists sodium on nutrition labels while salt is more common in the European Union. Salt and sodium are not the same, and a standardized term would only cause confusion.
‘I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter!’ When it comes to transparency you can’t get much clearer than Unilever’s famous exclamation-turned-margarine-brand. But new labelling rules to prevent one food masquerading as another should distinguish between intent...
All is not well down on the novel foods farm. If food innovation in Europe is to thrive anew, MEPs and the Council need to get past the recriminations over the failed talks and remove the troublesome question of cloned foods from the negotiating table.
The new PepsiCo plant bottle appears to tick all the “green” boxes for a disposable drinks bottle but the innovation should not be taken too seriously until it arrives on shelves.
Today is Pancake Day. It is also International Women’s Day. An important date, then, not just for food lovers in countries where Mardi Gras is a big deal, but a day to consider the role – and the potential – of women involved in food provision all over...
