Less is apparently more when it comes to the amount of sugar used in the creation of the perfect chocolate bar. So will manufacturers reduce the amount of sugar they use in the making of this sweet treat and will consumers welcome the change?
Love may be in the air this Valentine's Day – but so is the eye-watering price of cocoa on the market, making the cost of the key ingredient in chocolate more expensive than ever, according to analysts.
Along with the World Cocoa Foundation Partnership Meeting, Chocoa’s Cocoa Sustainability Conference, Amsterdam Cocoa Week was also the setting for the Cacao of Excellence awards, which recognize excellence in cacao cultivation while supporting and encouraging...
Picking up the baton from the World Cocoa Foundation Meeting, the Amsterdam Sustainable Cocoa Conference, organised by Chocoa, moved into the Beurs van Berlage for a further two days of discussion and debate on key policy issues affecting the global chocolate...
Hershey is launching a multi-year cost-savings strategy that will lean heavily on enhanced automation and a more efficient operating model, which could result in job cuts, to help offset historically high cocoa prices and elevated sugar costs that are...
The World Cocoa Foundation Partnership Meeting ended as it began, with an address from President Chris Vincent. Two days ago, in his opening remarks, he struck an upbeat chord, pleased with the internal changes in the organisation and a strategy refresh...
Premium Dutch ethical brand Tony’s Chocolonely has reported record revenue growth of €150m ($162m) while successfully scaling up its sustainable impact model with six new partners joining its collaborative industry initiative.
Apart from farmer income/poverty, the most discussed topic on day one of the World Cocoa Foundation Partnership Meeting in Amsterdam was the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) that will be implemented at the end of this year.
In his opening remarks at this year’s World Cocoa Foundation Partnership Meeting in Amsterdam, Chris Vincent, president of the WCF, said this year's conference theme, ‘aligning for global action,’ underscores the critical interconnectedness between...
With its link between Europe, North America, and the rest of Latin America, the tiny country on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola is set to be a significant player for premium cocoa as demand soars due to a global shortage of beans.
Ahead of The World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) Partnership Meeting in Amsterdam this week, the organisation has announced that Mawuli Coffie will be its country director for the WCF Ghana Office as part of a new senior leadership team spearheading an ambitious...
Plant-for-the-Planet has launched a free app that smallholder farmers can use to check their own farms and share their data with trading partners – and know within minutes whether they can continue importing into the EU under its new deforestation regulations.
That was one of the burning questions from our recent webinar on the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which is still available on demand from the link at the end of this article. As companies scramble to create robust due diligence procedures,...
Leading commodities supplier ofi has announced Roel van Poppel as its chief sustainability officer (CSO), taking responsibility for scaling the group’s ability to drive positive impact across its five leading product platforms - cocoa, coffee, dairy,...
It’s almost 10 months since we last spoke with Chris Vincent, the president of the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF). As he prepares for the upcoming Partnership Meeting in Amsterdam (6-7 February), he gives an exclusive and wide-ranging interview to ConfectioneryNews...
A new report from Fairtrade International has highlighted that cocoa farmers who were paid a ‘living income reference price’ earned, on average, 15% more compared to government-regulated farmgate prices in origin countries.
Amsterdam Cocoa Week promises an ‘epic collaboration’ when it opens on Monday 5 February at the Beurs van Berlage, the city’s former stock exchange building, where joining forces under one roof will be high-level sustainability conferences Chocoa, the...
The International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) has warned that a rise in freight rates due to conflict in the Red Sea also added to costs for chocolate producers.
According to analysts, Barry Callebaut has posted a slight rise in sales volumes in three months to the end of November ahead of a challenging and overall declining chocolate confectionery market due to inflation that is squeezing household budgets.
KitKat, one of Nestlé’s most popular and innovative confectionery brands, will now become its most sustainable after the company announced the snack bar will be made with 100% chocolate sourced from the Income Accelerator Programme (IAP)
A new industry group known as Fairmade is working to raise awareness in the cocoa sector of the benefits of producing chocolate at the origin of ingredients in developing countries.
The global landscape of food consumption is undergoing a significant shift with the introduction of sugar taxes in over 120 countries. These initiatives are primarily aimed at guiding consumers towards healthier lifestyle choices by reducing the intake...
New research from Mintel into global chocolate and confectionery consumption has uncovered contrasting behaviours in different nations, including Germany and the US, and suggests behaviours could be changing over time as the trend for healthy indulgence...
Swiss premium chocolate company Lindt & Sprüngli is among the leading players in the premium chocolate space with a presence in over 120 countries worldwide and a portfolio of chocolate brands including Russell Stover, Ghirardelli, Caffarel, Lindor,...
At the end of 2023, Colombian sustainable brand Chocolate Cordillera announced that 106 female cocoa farmers from Urabá Antioquia had completed the first module of its ATENEA sustainability program, giving some the confidence to become fully independent...
The Rainforest Alliance certification platform has called for more support for smallholder cocoa farmers to ensure they are not unintentionally excluded from the EU market under the new deforestation regulations.
Achieving sustainable growth in the cocoa sector will be at the forefront of those taking part or visiting Amsterdam Cocoa Week in February where two important conferences are back-to-back and under one roof.
Apart from the positive impact on the planet - potentially preventing millions of tonnes of fruit waste – cacao fruit opens up new categories after the pulp, juice, and powder from the cocoa pod are used, according to latest research.
The Surucuá community in Brazil's state of Pará is the first to receive an Amazonian Creative Laboratory, a compact mobile biofactory designed to help kick-start the Amazon’s bioeconomy to process, package and sell bean-to-bar chocolate and similar...
Since the World Cocoa Foundation’s last Partnership Meeting in Brussels at the end of 2022, the organisation has undergone significant internal changes – but its mission remains the same – to ‘create a thriving and equitable cocoa sector.’ After skipping...
Spurred on by a drive to pursue positive impact and leave the corporate world, four founders came together to launch their Mediterranean cacao-free chocolate brand.
Chocolate confectionery is a significant market, expected to be worth over $128 billion (130 billion Euro) in global retail sales by the end of 2024. With a volume growth of +2% over the next 5 years to 2027, it is also a dynamic market, so what trends...
ConfectioneryNews will be presenting a special live webinar on Tuesday 23 January 24 at 17:00Paris / 10:00AM Chicago to discuss the new requirements for market access for cocoa and chocolate suppliers into the European Union.
It was almost 20 years ago that Colombian cocoa was officially recognized by the ICCO (International Cocoa Organization) as Cacao Fino de Aroma (fine aroma beans). Almost 95% of Colombia’s total cocoa production is classed as Cacao Fino de Aroma by the...
Attempting to comply with the numerous levels of certification imposed on farmers, suppliers, and producers in terms of cost and bureaucracy has been described as ‘administration hell’ by one cocoa cooperative director, who spends up to 80% of his time...
As an early adopter of the “triple bottom line” framework, the premium confection company Endangered Species Chocolate has been “doing well by doing good” for 30 years by responsibly sourcing ingredients, supporting fair trade, prioritizing sustainability...
As many know, the cocoa industry is sometimes opaque and complex. Still, confessed chocolate-lover Jon Trask, who is also CEO of Dimitra, says his company's recently developed Blockchain Deforestation Platform could provide a solution to help farmers...
Olam food ingredients (ofi) has identified four chocolate and confectionery trends set to shape this year’s festive season, with the growth of artisanal and handcrafted treats particularly noteworthy.
The Swiss Platform for Sustainable Cocoa (SWISSCO) has published its report on the results from 15 value chain projects in eight countries, generating insights into approaches to tackle the various socio-economic and environmental sustainability challenges...
To’ak Chocolate routinely charges over $300 for a single bar of chocolate, which is claimed to be the most expensive chocolate in the world. The brand justifies its price because it is responsibly sourced from a cacao variety, Ancient Nacional, native...
WNWN Food Labs’ recent completion in Mondelēz International, Inc.’s CoLab Tech accelerator is “just the beginning” for the cocoa-free brand, Johnny Drain, co-founder, WNWN, told FoodNavigator-USA.
The World Cocoa Foundation (WCF), in collaboration with IDH and key government officials, highlighted significant strides in sustainable forest conservation efforts from the chocolate industry and the success of the Cocoa & Forests Initiative (CFI),...
Large chocolate and cocoa companies, including multinationals including Mars, Ferrero, Mondelēz, Hershey, Nestlé, and traders like Barry Callebaut and Cargill, are not paying prices that allow cocoa farmers to earn a living. This is the conclusion of...
As consumers become increasingly wary of sugar content, CPG companies are meeting the demand for zero-sugar products with the help of natural sweeteners, a trend set to gain momentum in the US as regulators and scientists push for reductions.
Luker Chocolate is celebrating the completion of The Cacao Effect, a five-year initiative that the company said positively impacted over 6,000 rural families in Colombia. The closing event was held on 24 November 2023 in Bogotá, Colombia, and showcased...
More than 30 ingredients specialists are set to attend ProSweets Cologne, the supplier fair that runs along side ISM sweets and snacks trade show, to offer natural and sustainable solutions that contain less sugar or carry a clean label declaration.
Heavier-than-usual rainfall during the past three to six months in the main cocoa-producing countries of West Africa - Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, and Cameroon could impact the chocolate industry due to a shortage of its main ingredient, according...
Barry Callebaut, the world’s largest supplier of cocoa and chocolate, says it ‘remains steadfast in its advocacy of policies to make sustainable chocolate the norm as it releases its seventh Forever Chocolate progress report (covering fiscal year 2022-23).
