Hungry food ingredients giant Cargill to enter Brazilian sugar and
alcohol production sector for the first time, announcing a new deal
to buy Açucareira Corona sugar mills.
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.
Functional flavours and ingredients manufacturer Danisco, one of
Europe's largest sugar suppliers, is to cease the processing of
sugar beet at one of its sites in Lithuania, Tom Armitage
reports.
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.
German confectioner Storck is to acquire two brands of cough sweet,
according to an unconfirmed report in the Financial Times
Deutschland - something which will allow it to extend its lead
in the competitive sugar-based confectionery...
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.
Organic and low/no sugar are the tags food manufacturers should be
looking at adding to their packaging if they want their products to
enjoy strong and sustained growth, said AC Nielsen.
Wrigley, the world's biggest gum manufacturer, has posted record Q1
profits and beat analysts' expectations - buoyed by impressive
early sales from its recent acquisition of Spanish confectioner
Joyco, Tom Armitage reports.
Moves to reform the European sugar regime will accelerate after the
EU loses its appeal against a World Trade Organisation decision
that its handouts to sugar farmers are illegal, reports Lindsey
Partos.
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.
South Korea's Lotte Confectionery Company, the country's largest
snack food manufacturer, has acquired a 100 per cent stake in a
Chinese confectioner - a move which will not only bolster its
influence among China's...
Evidence backing the antioxidant powers of natural cocoa could
bring new opportunities for confectionery firms looking to boost
slacking sales in a saturated market, reports Lindsey Partos
.
A strong network consolidated over 100 years will continue to
secure supplies to the food and beverage industry for the popular
ingredient gum arabic, says German supplier Alfred L. Wolff,
reports Lindsey Partos.
A new method that uses powerful enzymes to convert fructose and
sucrose into the low calorie sugar alcohol mannitol receives patent
protection, opening up cheaper sources for this chewing gum
ingredient, reports Lindsey Partos.
Swiss food giant Nestlé has boosted its Romanian production
capacity with the installation of a new chocolate wafer production
line at its Timisoara-based unit, Joe. The investment reflects the
rapid growth of the Romanian snack market,...
Leading merchant of cocoa, sugar and coffee ED&F Man has
launched Corigins, a US-based supplier offering traceable, quality
sugar and cocoa ingredients, Philippa Nuttall reports.
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.
A Malaysian firm selling Japanese biscuits has said that it is
considering establishing its own production facility in Malaysia
should initial sales of its products prove attractive to Malaysian
biscuit eaters.
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.
EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel has dealt a blow
to sugar reform lobbyists across Europe and developing countries by
voicing her opposition to special arrangements for different states
when proposals are adopted later...
Chewing gum manufacturer Wrigley has revealed that its 2005
business strategy will once again focus on expanding beyond its
core line of gum-based confectionery and has played down
speculation that it is on the acquisition trail,...
Major food commodity processor and ingredients supplier Archer
Daniels Midland (ADM) will expand cocoa operations in Brazil to
match expansion of current product lines, the firm said this week.
Romanian sugar producers face a hard time in the run-up to the
country's predicted accession to the EU in 2007, with few firms
capable of the high level of investment that will be necessary to
compete with other companies from...
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.
The Competition Commission (CC) today announced it has
provisionally cleared the completed acquisition by Napier Brown
Foods (NBF) of James Budgett Sugars (JBS), but voiced concerns
about the lack of competition in the UK sugar...
Imperial Sugar yesterday (Thursday) announced a higher
first-quarter profit, but predicted that operating income would
fall significantly in 2005 as the sugar industry remains
challenging, reports Philippa Nuttall.
Continuing moves into new segments of the confectionery market have
helped US gum maker Wrigley end 2004 with record sales and profits.
And the acquisition of Spain's Joyco, with strong market shares in
India and China, should...
A record sugar cane crop has helped the Philippines become an
exporter of sugar after years of imports. It expects to sell
160,000 tons overseas this year, according to the country's Sugar
Regulatory Authority (SRA). Anand Krishnamoorthy...
Ireland's lone sugar processor Greencore Sugar is to cease
operating at its Carlow production facility in anticipation of the
pending EU reform of the sugar industry, Tom Armitage
reports.
High blood sugar levels could be a risk factor in developing
several types of cancer, suggest researchers that tracked over 1
million Koreans for a decade.
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...
Widespread procurement and more than 100 years in business help
French hydrocolloid producer Colloides Naturels International (CNI)
assure supplies for gum arabic amid global shortfalls in stock,
writes Lindsey Partos.
Prices for cocoa remain relatively volatile as political unrest in
Ivory Coast, that produces some 40 per cent of global cocoa crops,
keeps the market nervous.
Prices for the popular hydrocolloid gum arabic used in a range of
food applications have doubled in 12 months as political turmoil
and poor stocks leave the market exposed, writes Lindsey
Partos.
Food and ingredients producer Greencore has warned early that its
Irish sugar business could be seriously damaged when the EU finally
implements its sugar reform, expected next December, writes
Chris Mercer.
Plans for EU sugar reform are unfair and would only benefit the
biggest producers, according to 10 member states including
Slovenia, Hungary and Latvia, as new discussions split opinions in
eastern Europe, reports Chris Mercer.
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.
Rumours that Kraft Foods was mulling the sale of its sugar
confectionery business have been circulating for a month or so, and
were this week proved to be correct when gum maker Wrigley
confirmed that it would be buying the Altoids,...
Cocoa prices have leapt in London, driven by fears that instability
in Ivory Coast, that produces some 40 per cent of global crops,
could impact supplies.
Staff at one of the UK's leading biscuit and snack manufacturers
have been challenged to walk 10,000 steps every day as the company
highlights a link between healthy bodies and healthy profits.
Clearing up any confusion over food labels, US food authorities
have given the green light for food ingredients firms to use
ethanol in precipitating food grade xanthan gum and to still allow
the ingredient to keep the 'xanthan'...
The takeover of Spanish confectionery group Joyco earlier this year
continued to lift sales at gum giant Wrigley in the third quarter
of the year. Joyco's business in Asia, in particular, has helped
improve Wrigley's standing...
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...