Ingredients

Confectionery industry can go beyond RSPO palm standards, says Palm Done Right

23-May-2017 By Oliver Nieburg

Confectionery firms can go further than RSPO standards by sourcing organic palm oil that meets the standards of Palm Done Right, claims the developer.

Mondelēz invests $2.9m in Cadbury 'Spider' production in Austrailia

23-May-2017 By Douglas Yu

Mondelēz Australia has invested around $2.9m in its Hobart, Tasmania, factory to produce two new lines – Cadbury Dark Milk and Cadbury Dairy Milk Marvelous Creations Spider – with new equipment.

The right dose: Are confectionery players misreading the sugar obesity debate?

18-May-2017 By Oliver Nieburg

Confectionery companies should print teaspoon visualization of sugar doses front of pack instead of focusing on calories, says a consultant.

Olam Cocoa to source 100% sustainable beans by 2020

18-May-2017 By Douglas Yu

Olam Cocoa has announced it will increase its volume of sustainably sourced cocoa beans by 20% over the next year, and ultimately reach 100% by 2020.

Co-op UK to source 100% Fairtrade cocoa under hybrid model for retailers

17-May-2017 By Oliver Nieburg

Co-op UK has invested in a women's leadership program in Côte d’Ivoire as part a move to source all cocoa for own label products as Fairtrade.

General Mills releases 10,000 boxes of Lucky Charms branded marshmallows

16-May-2017 By Douglas Yu

Consumers who purchase General Mills' Lucky Charms could win a box of limited edition marshmallows.

Mars joins Nestlé, Lindt and Ferrero in calorie reduction goal

15-May-2017 By Douglas Yu

Mars-Wrigley, Nestlé USA, Ferrero, Lindt, and Ferrara Candy say half of their individually wrapped products will be 200 calories or less by 2022.

Chocolate and candy tax proposed in the UK

12-May-2017 By Oliver Nieburg

Pressure group Action on Sugar is urging the UK government to expand a sugar tax on soft drinks to chocolate and sweet confectionery – a move seen as “punitive” and "discriminatory” by industry bodies.

Olam Cocoa unveils US innovation center

11-May-2017 By Douglas Yu

Olam Cocoa has opened its latest innovation center in Williowbrook, Illinois, to scale up its North American business.

EFSA: Sucralose is safe and does not cause cancer

10-May-2017 By Will Chu

Scientific evaluations of sucralose, conducted by The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), find no link between the sweetener and cancer.

Startup Watch

Energy chocolate brand Zippy Bites expects ‘contagious’ growth in the US, CEO says

10-May-2017 By Douglas Yu

Natural caffeine added chocolate truffle company Zippy Bites is looking to scale up its business by expanding beyond coastal areas in the US.

Former Kraft exec launches Artisan Kettle organic chocolate chips

09-May-2017 By Douglas Yu

Artisan Kettle, an organic baking chocolate line created by former Kraft Foods’ brand manager Beth Goeddel, is rolling out across the US market.

Startup Watch

Oral care gum startup Confadent to launch in US

09-May-2017 By Douglas Yu

Startup Confadent is planning to bring an oral care gum brand to the US public after a test launch earlier this year.

Puratos has 'absolutely no intention to go public,' CEO Daniel Malcorps says

05-May-2017 By Douglas Yu

The bakery, chocolate and patisserie applications development company has no plans to go public, despite being run like a public firm.

Hershey releases US summer flavors: KitKat, Kisses, Reese’s, PayDay and Twizzlers

02-May-2017 By Douglas Yu

Hershey has launched a series of traveler destinations-themed candy and snack products for this coming summer in the US.

Mars pledges to use 100% high-oleic peanuts in M&Ms, Munch Bar, by end of 2017

01-May-2017 By Adi Menayang

Confectionery giant Mars announced its pledge to use only high-oleic peanuts in its Peanut M&M’s and Munch Bar products by the end of 2017.

Mars launches first M&M’s chocolate block in Australia

27-Apr-2017 By Douglas Yu

Mars has launched its first M&M’s chocolate block in Australia

Hershey seeks to reduce calorie counts with product reformulation, size adjustment

25-Apr-2017 By Douglas Yu

Hershey has included in its five-year plan a goal that 50% of its total offering of individually wrapped standard- and king-size confectionery products will be 200 calories or less.

How to reduce sugar scientifically and creatively in confectionery

24-Apr-2017 By Kathy Groves, Head of Microscopy, Leatherhead Food Research

Soluble dietary fibers, dextrins and added vanilla can help manufacturers cut sugar beyond reducing portion size, writes Leatherhead Food Research’s head of microscopy.

Project 7 partners with Weight Watchers

24-Apr-2017 By Douglas Yu

Gourmet gum brand Project 7 is aiming to capture a new target consumer – fitness enthusiasts – upon partnering with Weight Watchers.

‘Simplest way’ is to pay more: Chocolate industry urged to up farm gate price to avert poverty in cocoa

21-Apr-2017 By Oliver Nieburg

A group of NGOs, including the VOICE Network, Solidaridad and Oxfam, are encouraging chocolate makers to set a minimum price for cocoa and to eventually move to a flexible premium system.

Our own cocoa buying company in Ghana cuts out middlemen to benefit farmers, says Cargill

20-Apr-2017 By Douglas Yu

Cargill says its recently established licensed buying company (LBC) in Ghana helps cocoa farmers avoid being paid through a third party.

Daelmans Stroopwafels faces no ‘direct pressure’ from M&M’s at Walgreens

18-Apr-2017 By Douglas Yu

Daelman’s Stroopwafels is now available in about 6,000 Walgreens stores, a year after European snack importer The Brand Passport introduced it to the US market.

Radfords Fine Fudge to launch Fairtrade fudge and honeycomb

13-Apr-2017 By Jenny Eagle

Radfords Fine Fudge has started a crowdfunding campaign to launch a range of Fairtrade fudge and honeycomb confectionery.

Aldomak to expand globally after BRC certificate

12-Apr-2017 By Jenny Eagle

Aldomak says it will expand its portfolio globally after receiving an A-grade certificate from the British Retail Consortium (BRC).

AkzoNobel pilot project to track bio-based raw materials

‘Despite growing attention for sustainability, we still cannot track bio-based raw materials’

11-Apr-2017 By Jenny Eagle

AkzoNobel, Advanced Biochemical (Thailand) Co. (ABT) and EY, have launched an online tool that can track the use of bio-based raw materials in products.

Barry Callebaut-owned Mona Lisa brand ups cocoa sustainability by joining Horizons

06-Apr-2017 By Douglas Yu

Barry Callebaut is one step closer to its goal of sourcing fully sustainable cocoa by 2025 as its chocolate cups and decorations making subsidiary, Mona Lisa, has joined the Cocoa Horizons program.

Popping confection SoundyCandy goes sugarfree

06-Apr-2017 By Oliver Nieburg

Turkish startup Toller Gida has collaborated with ingredients supplier Beneo for a sugar-free version of its hard-boiled sweet SoundyCandy.

Werther’s Original NPD pairs caramel and chocolate

04-Apr-2017 By Douglas Yu

August Storck, has introduced a caramel product with a chocolate filling to the US under its Werther’s Original brand.

Healthy Chocolate Florida targets traditional retail

04-Apr-2017 By Douglas Yu

Supplement chocolate firm Healthy Chocolate Florida plans to expand beyond medical supply and into traditional retail.

Equal partners: Cocoa farmer group calls to implement sustainable chocolate programs

03-Apr-2017 By Oliver Nieburg

Sustainable chocolate programs must treat cocoa farmers as equal implementing partners, says the World Cocoa Farmers Organization (WCFO).

First solid chocolate Easter Egg hits UK shelves

30-Mar-2017 By Jenny Eagle

The Solid Chocolate Company has launched what it claims is the world’s first Solid Chocolate Egg.

UK sets portion size and sugar reduction guidance for chocolate and candy

30-Mar-2017 By Oliver Nieburg

Public Health England (PHE) recommends chocolate should contain 43.7g of sugar per 100g by 2020 in voluntary health guidelines published today.

Seasonal

Easter chocolate NPD 2017: Hershey, Cadbury, M&M’s and Godiva

30-Mar-2017 By Douglas Yu

ConfectioneryNews highlights new items from Hershey, Cadbury, Mars and Godiva for Easter, a major contributor to overall US candy sales.

Startup Watch

UK popcorn and crisp brand Yumsh Snacks enters chocolate category

29-Mar-2017 By Douglas Yu

Manchester-based Yumsh Snacks has started producing Bean & Pod chocolates while waiting for its manufacturing facility to be certified free-from, CEO Tony Goodman told BakeryandSnacks.

ECOM buys Euromar to guard against cocoa price volatility, says commodity insider

29-Mar-2017 By Douglas Yu

ECOM's proposed deal to acquire German cocoa grinder Euromar will help protect it from cocoa price fluctuations, says a commodities consultant.

KitKat cocoa content upped 13% in sugar reduction push

28-Mar-2017 By Oliver Nieburg

Nestlé UK & Ireland has upped the cocoa and milk content of KitKat in its bid to cut sugar by 10% across its confectionery range.

Bean to bar Chocolate Tree crowdfunds to move into bigger premises

28-Mar-2017 By Jenny Eagle

Chocolate Tree, co-founded by Alastair and Friederike Gower, has launched a £30k ($37k) crowdfunding campaign to transform an East Lothian farmhouse into a chocolate factory, employing 18 staff.

Nestlé cuts 30% sugar in Rowntree’s gummy and chewy candy

28-Mar-2017 By Douglas Yu

Nestlé has launched 30% reduced sugar versions of two of its best-selling Rowntree’s products: Fruit Pastilles and Randoms.

'Nextgen sweetener': Meringue kisses hold reduced sugar chocolate potential

27-Mar-2017 By Oliver Nieburg

Lampados International will launch a non-dissolvable version of its sugar-free meringue kisses as inclusions in chocolate bars and cookies.

M&M’s White Chocolate transitions from seasonal to everyday candy

27-Mar-2017 By Douglas Yu

Mars Chocolate will launch M&M’s White Chocolate as an everyday product at select food, mass, convenience and drug stores across the US in May, 2017.

Cocoa price for Ivorian farmers may drop 30% amid widespread poverty

24-Mar-2017 By Oliver Nieburg

Ivorian regulator Conseil Café Cacao (CCC) says it may lower guaranteed farm gate prices for cocoa in the primary growing nation.

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups among Hershey’s first brands to test Sourcemap

23-Mar-2017 By Douglas Yu

US chocolate maker Hershey has launched Sourcemap for consumers to explore the origins of its agricultural ingredients, such as cocoa beans, sunflower oil and vanilla.

Free2b Foods primes for free-from chocolate snacking expansion

23-Mar-2017 By Oliver Nieburg

Sun Cups maker Free2b Foods hopes to move beyond confections and into allergen-free snacks with investor VG Growth Partners.

Simply Gum: ‘We want to be an everyday gum sitting next to Wrigley’

23-Mar-2017 By Douglas Yu

Simply Gum aspires to sit on shelf next to Wrigley, and hopes its expansion into mints can help the company gain listings across the US.

Fudge Kitchen taps Zùsto sweetener for sugar-free brittle

22-Mar-2017 By Oliver Nieburg

UK firm Fudge Kitchen is using a sweetener created recently in Belgium for a sugar-free peanut brittle launching this week.

'The best kind of bad': Chocolate makers need premium ingredients not sugar reduction

22-Mar-2017 By Douglas Yu

Sugar and calorie reduction has taken its toll on the chocolate category, but focusing on quality ingredients can foster growth, suggests a Euromonitor analyst.

Ferrara Candy teams with 7-Eleven for sloth-themed Trolli gummies

20-Mar-2017 By Douglas Yu

US gummy manufacturer Ferrara Candy has developed Trolli Sour Brite Sloths candy in partnership with c-store chain 7-Eleven.

M&A

Ferrero USA outlook positive with Fannie May Confections acquisition - analyst

17-Mar-2017 By Douglas Yu

Ferrero is to acquire all the equity of Fannie May Confections brands, including its subsidiaries Fannie May Confections and Harry London Candies from 1-800-Flowers.com for $115m.