As supply and demand issues for non-GM lecithin propel ingredients
manufacturers to push alternatives onto the market, Danish
emulsifier firm Palsgaard launches citric acid ester as a lecithin
replacer.
Freshly created AarhusKarlshamn, a merger between former vegetable
fats competitors Aarhus and Karlshmans, completes the building
blocks of its new structure.
Seasonal chocolate sales in the US are forecast to reach $3.3bn
(€2.6bn) in 2005, marking a substantial decline over the past five
years, according to a new report published by Research and Markets.
Key to successful premium chocolate product development is an
understanding of the varying consumer habits, expectations and
behaviour in different countries, according to leading Swiss
premium chocolate manufacturer Lindt &...
Leading premium chocolate manufacturer Lindt & Sprüngli has
reported record first half results on the back of increased demand
for premium products in an otherwise slow-moving European chocolate
market.
British chocolate maker and retailer Thorntons has announced that
its chairman Christopher Burnett is considering making a buyout
offer to the company.
US confectionery company Hershey is marching along the acquisition
trail, announcing this week that it has bought another premium
chocolate firm, Californian-based Joseph Schmidt Confections.
Kraft Foods is to re-brand Dime bars in the UK in a long awaited
move to standardize the name of the popular crunchy milk chocolate
bars throughout Europe.
Chocolate fountains are emerging as a must-have accessory at
weddings and, as the craze spreads to other events, confectioners
could be set to benefit, writes Lorraine Heller.
Leading US confectionery firm Hershey announced last week its plans
to acquire Californian-based chocolate maker Scharffen Berger in a
deal which the company hopes will allow it to break into the niche
premium quality dark chocolate...
Barry Callebaut, the world's largest supplier of bulk chocolate,
plans to cut costs in Europe as the Swiss firm posts a fall in
revenue for nine month figures.
Tens of thousands of Snickers and Mars chocolate bars were recalled
in the Australian state of New South Wales following a threat to
contaminate the products, writes Claire Johnston.
Far from being an unhealthy treat, the scientific evidence is
support of the health benefits of eating dark chocolate are
stacking up. The latest research indicates that the flavonoid-rich
substance could have a protective effect...
Our journalist Angela Drujinina brings you the latest
research on Russia¡¯s chocolate market, including producers¡¯
concerns, the market situation and market leaders.
US ingredients player reaches deeper into Europe, clearing a deal
this week to buy industrial chocolate facility Schierstedter
Schokoladefabrik from existing customer, Ludwig Schokolade,
writes Lindsey Partos.
Confectionery makers continue to tap into consumer weight and
health concerns in a bid to boost stagnant sales as UK confectioner
Cadbury launches a new range of chocolate bars with under 99
calories.
British confectioner Cadbury is to enter the flourishing organic
chocolate sector for the first time, after acquiring Green and
Black's - the company behind the UK's fastest growing confectionery
brand, Tom Armitage reports.
Cadbury Schweppes, the world's number two confectionery
manufacturer, is to revamp its famous Bournville chocolate-making
facility, as demand for its Dairy Milk brand continues to soar,
Tom Armitage reports.
Scientists from the US reveal how a powerful chocolate ingredient
exerts anti-cancer properties, findings that could one day be used
to design novel cancer treatments.
Barry Callebaut has developed a new process designed to preserve
the valuable polyphenols in cocoa beans during chocolate
production, writes Anthony Fletcher.
Eating dark chocolate improves glucose metabolism and decreases
blood pressure, reveals fresh research, bringing new leverage to
the market potential of chocolate for food makers,writes Lindsey
Partos.
Another study on chocolate finds that the dark variety decreases
blood pressure and improves insulin sensitivity in healthy people,
lending weight to its potential for heart health.
Democrats Tom Harkin and Eliot L. Engel wrote a hard-hitting piece
in the LA Times on Monday about the human cost of the chocolate
trade, but the cocoa industry has hit back by reaffirming its
commitment to responsible farming.
Chocolate consumption in the UK is slowing down as health and diet
concerns impact sales, a trend which has created opportunities for
major players to roll out sugar free and low carbohydrate products,
according to market analysts...
Elizabeth Shaw, the UK confectioner, is set to exploit the
burgeoning trend for luxury chocolates, launching a revamped
packaging line in time to penetrate the lucrative Christmas market,
Tom Armitage reports.
Ladco Advanced Engineering, the parent company of Scotland-based
MacIntyre Chocolate Systems, has acquired Petzholdt-Heidenauer
International, in a bid to extend both companies' global reach in
the competitive chocolate processing...
Health benefits of chocolate continue to grow with UK researchers
isolating an ingredient present in this popular foodstuff that
could help stop persistent coughs.
Evidence backing the health promoting benefits of chocolate
continues to mount, bringing dynamism to slacking sales, reports
Lindsey Partos. Researchers from Spain have discovered that
polyphenols found in cocoa extract influence...
A new chocolate bar which claims to be made from sustainable cocoa
plantations was launched in New York late last month with high
hopes of building on the growing awareness of ethical products
among today’s consumers. Chris Jones...
Research published this month suggests that some cocoa and
chocolate products have a very high flavanol content, a factor
which makes them good at protecting the body against cardiovascular
disease. But all chocolate products do not...
Research from the US suggests that women could have a sweeter tooth
than men - good news for confectionery manufacturers looking to
roll out new products with a feminine slant but less so for women
seeking to keep control of their...
Chocolate makers could see savings from new research that sets out
to tackle the common problem of fat bloom, an unsightly white
powdery film that forms on the outside of chocolate, writes
Lindsey Partos.
Confectionery giant Mars is one of several food companies
collaborating on a new research project designed to provide more
information about phytonutrients, beneficial compounds found in a
range of products, including chocolate.
More research has underlined the heart health benefits of dark
chocolate, shown in a Greek study to improve healthy blood flow and
prevent clots forming.
Food makers will be encouraged to use a low-calorie sweetener
supplied by Danish ingredients firm Arla Food Ingredients with a
new study showing a chocolate bar made with the prebiotic
ingredient is very low in glycaemic load (GL)...
Two of the biggest chocolate makers in the UK are to launch
products which will directly compete with some of each other's
biggest brands - an indication, perhaps, that the rich vein of new
product innovation of the last few...
Hanging as a persistent threat to the chocolate industry witches'
broom disease is capable of wiping out entire cacao crops and
sending the price of chocolate rocketing. Despite ongoing research
into the threat confirmed by the...
US agri-giant Cargill has carved a deeper position in the European
chocolate market after Swiss firm Nestlé sold two cocoa processing
activities to the acquisitive private company.
UK scientists are warning that world chocolate production could
fall dramatically if diseases, which have devastated South American
cultivation of cacao (the raw material used for producing
chocolate) over the past 15 years, were...
Despite cheaper alternatives to cocoa butter on the market and new
European rules allowing vegetable fats in chocolate formulations,
uptake for the replacers has been slower than expected as reticent
food makers and marketers stick...
Keeping French consumers interested in chocolate has been the
driving force behind brand owners' investment in innovation in
recent years, and the latest product launches highlighted by the
Global New Products Database (GNPD)...
With a plethora of brands from which to choose and long-established
patterns of consumption, the prospects of significant growth in the
French chocolate market might seem remote. But a new report
suggests that there is plenty of movement...
Small daily doses of flavonoid-rich dark chocolate eaten over a
two-week period significantly improved blood vessel function,
report US researchers this week, without increasing blood
cholesterol levels.
Arla Foods Ingredients is to launch chocolate using tagatose
sweetner supplied by Spherix Incorporated for products to be sold
in the Australia and New Zealand markets.
The dynamic performance of the Romanian chocolate sector continues
to gather pace with the announcement from Supreme Chocolat that it
has increased its sales in the first quarter by an impressive 120
per cent.
Global chocolate supplier Barry Callebaut said that recent
acquisitions had boosted its six month figures, with net profit
showing double-digit growth. But low cocoa prices affected
activities at the processing arm of the company.
A new US study reports that the higher cocoa, lower sugar content
and antioxidant properties of premium dark chocolate are making it
a more attractive for health-conscious consumers, especially the
growing number of those counting...
Improving the molecular structure of certain foods such as ice
cream and cocoa, can dramatically improve the taste, texture and
mouth feel of a particular product. This is something Marcos
Bobzin, Buhler's product manager for...
