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.
Ferrara Candy Company’s Black Forest brand has launched its first USDA-certified organic gummies, which are currently available at Kroger, and will be rolling out to major US retailers such as Walmart, Target, CVS and Dollar Tree in January.
Chocolate makers can draw on coffee industry grading standards to develop a common quality system for cocoa, says Lutheran World Relief’s manager of coffee and cocoa.
Valrhona Chocolat claims it has opened doors to a new category of confections with a chocolate couvertures made from double-fermented cocoa beans using fruit juice.
Cadbury Dairy Milk remains the top selling UK chocolate confectionery brand in convenience stores, but sales have dipped as Mars brands Galaxy and Maltesers grow, according to IRI data.
Scottish premium chocolate startup iQ Chocolate will shortly start exporting its products to Kuwait, Qatar and Dubai after signing a series of distribution deals.
Nestlé's confectionery business posted 7.8% organic growth for the first nine months, but one analyst says the firm is over-reliant on KitKat and is performing below market rivals.
The world’s largest fine flavor cocoa plantation Hacienda Victoria says big industry players such as Lindt and Barry Callebaut are showing strong interest in sourcing single estate fine flavor cocoa from Ecuador.
Confectionery consultant Curtis Vreeland assesses the growing US bean-to-bar chocolate market and asks several artisanal chocolatiers how and if they can co-exist with multinationals.
Nestlé will launch its Swiss bean-to-bar premium chocolate brand Cailler in key international markets via e-commerce as it looks to plug an alleged gap in its premium confectionery portfolio.
Lindt & Sprungli has been cleared by a German court to keep producing its golden chocolate teddy bear, otherwise known as Goldbären, following an almost three-year spat with Haribo.
Chocolate makers can up the premium proposition of tablets with imperfect nut inclusions visible on the surface, claims Barry Callebaut’s Spanish nut business La Morella Nuts.
Global dark chocolate sales are expected to rise 9% each year up to 2019 due to increased demand in developing nations and associated health benefits, according to Technavio.
ADM deZaan claims its newly launched dark cocoa powder is the first of its kind to be alkaline free, meeting the chocolate industry's demand for clean label ingredients.
Yeast species used in the beer, wine and bread industries can also be used in cocoa fermentation to create unique flavors for chocolate confectionery, say Belgian researchers.
By Jack Skelly, analyst at Euromonitor International
Ferrero has given strong indications it hopes to grow in chocolate confectionery retailing by acquiring UK chocolate maker Thorntons, writes Euromonitor analyst Jack Skelly.
Ferrero should move its newly acquired Thorntons business out of discount stores to help it capitalize on the growing premium segment in the UK and abroad.
Organic peanut butter cup producer Justin’s says it would entertain offers from larger firms to help it grow scale in the U.S. and move into export markets, but won't actively pursue a sale.
Two Brazilian chocolate companies Harald and Nugali are hoping to go head-to-head with the largest premium manufacturers in the U.S. market with single origin cocoa from their home nation.
Special edition: Innovations in better-for-you confectionery
Gummies fortified with collagen peptide or magnesium could be money-spinners outside niche drugstore channels, says Swiss functional confectionery producer Hunziker.
Special edition: Innovations in better-for-you confectionery
Chocolate is a more effective delivery system than capsules and tablets for probiotics and could be an attractive alternative for consumers, according to Croatian supplement firm Milsing.
Burton’s Biscuits will bring the UK’s bestselling premium cookie brand to the U.S. to grow the country’s emergent premium cookie market, says the firm’s CEO.
Researchers from the Northern Arizona University (NAU) and Arizona Western College (AWC) concluded that dark chocolate confections containing only moderate amounts (60%) of cacao have an acute stimulating effect on the human brain and vasoconstrictive...
ConfectioneryNews will be reporting from the US National Confectioners Association’s (NCA’s) Sweets & Snacks Expo next week where premium products are expected to pull in retail visitors.
French confectionery major Lutti has secured a distribution partner in Quebec, Canada where it plans to kick-start business with smaller, premium items, its CEO says.
Chocolate companies should buy fine flavor cocoa directly from growers and pay greater premiums to expand the premium chocolate segment, says artisan firm Duffy’s Chocolate.
Washington, D.C.-based startup Undone Chocolate is on a mission to combine flavor and health and to succeed it is willing to pay three times more than the premium price for Fair Trade to secure the highest quality cacao beans farm direct.
Small-to-medium sized confectioners making their first moves into export markets must be clued up on local regulations, consider temperate changes and pick distributors carefully to avoid mishaps, says UK firm Lauden Chocolate.
Nestlé is aiming to reposition its Swiss Cailler brand as a high-end chocolate for international markets to fill a gap analysts have identified in its premium chocolate portfolio.
Belgian startup Fairy Chocolates plans to gradually introduce its éclair praline fusion Cho’clair across Europe after bagging an innovation award at ISM.
3D chocolate printing is not yet quick enough for industrial production, but chocolate molds created using the technology can produce surfaces with intricate detail, says Lehrmitt Design Studios.
Brooklyn start-up Raaka is carving out space in the crowded chocolate category by skipping the traditional step of roasting the cocoa bean to create “virgin chocolate” that highlights the “true flavors” of the beans, according to a company representative.
A new study revealing that a significant portion of dark chocolate products sold in the U.S. may contain undeclared milk could shake some consumers’ confidence in the industry in the week leading up to Valentine’s Day – one of the category’s most significant...
We must follow the example of Sweden and bring together the two “very noisy” movements of workers' trade unions and Fairtrade, the CEO of Fairtrade International Harriet Lamb has said.
