Just Born Quality Confectionery has established a sales partnership with French premium chocolate brand, Cemoi, while the company has recently been busy adding new flavors to its power brands.
The National Confectioners Association (NCA) unveiled and gave awards to the “most innovative candy and snack ideas, concepts and products” at the annual Sweets & Snacks Expo this year in Chicago.
Swiss startup Choba Choba, partly owned by cocoa producers, has created an ultra-premium chocolate range made using a hybrid of CCN-51 and native Peruvian cocoa.
Industry Voices - Ewa Hudson, Head of Health and Wellness at Euromonitor International
While going from zero to a forecasted $100m in revenues in fiscal 2017 largely under your own steam (it sold a minority stake to VMG Partners in 2013) is no mean feat, tying the knot with Hormel will propel Justin’s nut butter into CPG’s major league,...
Protein-packed Easter eggs, chocolate Valentine’s hearts and advent calendars are previously unseen novelties that will resonate with health-conscious consumers, says UK startup Cocoa Plus.
Praim Group has secured licenses with DreamWorks for a chocolate bar range featuring characters from the upcoming Trolls and Boss Baby, but says its next licencing deal may go beyond TV or movie characters.
Chair of the International Cocoa Organization’s (ICCO) panel on fine flavor cocoa discusses why countries are seeking fine flavor status and how it can be won.
Valrhona has introduced a higher than usual cocoa percentage milk chocolate couverture with Brazilian beans and has stepped up sourcing activities in Jamaica.
Mars’ Grupo Turin buy gives it a premium chocolate brand to expand internationally, but consumers are increasingly building loyalty to its competitors as the segment grows saturated, writes Euromontior analyst Jack Skelly.
Figures from grinders including Cargill, Barry Callebaut, Nestlé and Mondelēz show the volumes of cocoa processed in Europe in the first quarter of this year.
The entrepreneurs behind MiCacao, a US start-up which makes an organic ‘tea’ from cacao shells, say their product is ready to tap into a craft movement which is stretching beyond beer and across beverage categories.
Cémoi has begun a five-year, €2m ($2.3m) research program called Frenchoc Premium to obtain consistent chocolate quality via cocoa fermentation, using science applied in the wine industry.
Mainstream players like Hershey may struggle to maintain grip on the US chocolate market amid rising competition and a shift to seasonal and premium products, claims an analyst at Swiss-based financial services firm UBS.
Future cocoa demand will be met by a thriving professionalized sector in Latin America as chocolate makers move away from a “structurally blighted” West African market, claims Hardman Agribusiness.
Burton’s Biscuit Company is bringing all its Maryland ‘special treat’ cookies under a unifying banner in the UK and extending the line-up with new products.
Lily O’Brien’s Chocolates says it is outpacing Ireland’s confectionery category growth and will take advantage of its momentum by launching premium bars this year.
Notions Group launched its new Chocodate coconut flavour at Gulfood, as it plans a major marketing campaign, along with a refresh of its other Chocodate products and web sales.
Belgian firm Vandenbulcke has introduced ChoVita, the first chocolate brand in Europe that makes a cocoa flavanol health claim that it is 'good for your blood flow'.
Chocolate manufacturers can drive growth in the premium space with heat resistant chocolate nibbles and clean-label Belgian caramel chocolate without added flavors, claims supplier Barry Callebaut.
UK Fairtrade candy company Divine Chocolate hopes to grow in mainland Europe's leading retailers and is considering expanding its cocoa sourcing to create a single-origin range, says the firm's managing director.
Students at KSID Köln International School of Design present confectionery packaging and product concepts at the International Sweets and Biscuits Fair (ISM).
Unilever’s Magnum chocolate range has entered retail outlets across Western Europe after a recent rebranding and plans further global expansion, says contract manufacturer Kinnerton Confectionery
Boston-based McCrea’s Candies has begun selling its products on the West Coast for the first time after flagship brand Black Lava Sea Salt Caramel bagged the Good Foods Awards’ confectionery category this month.
Cult personality David Klein speaks to ConfectioneryNews about his new jelly bean business that is seeking online funding through a Kickstarter campaign.
Cocoa off-flavors can be avoided by fermenting beans in sealed vacuumed bags inside an incubator with yeast starter cultures, claims Mars in a patent application
Fannie May hopes to enter new distribution channels after rebranding packs for its premium chocolate range to designs that resonate with Chicago pride, says its CEO.
Adding a mangosteen fruit by-product to cheaper low cocoa chocolates could improve their nutritional content without compromising flavour, researchers have discovered.
Dispatches from Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco
Simply Gum has gained distribution for its premium chewing gum line that’s made with a biodegradable chicle gum base in Vitamin Shoppe stores across the US.
Lindt & Sprüngli has reported 2015 sales growth far above the overall chocolate market and one analyst believes it will continue to outpace multinational premium chocolate competitors in the coming year.
Retailers are improving the quality of their own label white chocolate brands to keep pace with growing sales of premium dark chocolate, says Italian brand and contract manufacturer ICAM.
Colombian cocoa processor Cacao Pacifico will sell chocolate couvertures made with fine flavor Colombian cocoa in Europe through a partnership with Swiss Global Enterprise.
Industry consultant Curtis Vreeland considers the recipes for success in the US bean-to-bar chocolate market with analysis from craft chocolatiers such as TCHO and Dandelion Chocolate.
For Undone Chocolate, what is in a name is not as important as what is in its gourmet bars, which is why the startup is dropping individual product names in favor of umbrella branding and highlighting key ingredients.