Introducing more cocoa farming to Madagascar is key for a sustainable vanilla market, say Barry Callebaut and Prova on the launch of their new partnership.
Sustainability in sugar has been side lined by the health debate, but the confectionery industry is a heavy user and must now decide whether it will support cane growers in the developing world, says Bonsucro.
SafeTraces has raised $1.5m via a funding round to accelerate product development, sales and marketing ahead of going to market by the end of this year.
Efforts are under way to bring cocoa farmers together under a single voice, but divisions still exist that hinder the chocolate industry’s push to a sustainable cocoa sector, writes ConfectioneryNews editor Oliver Nieburg.
High yielding and disease tolerant cocoa Sacha Gold has been deemed fine flavor by a leading US chocolate company and can become Ecuador’s leading variety, says developer Cimarron Cocoa Estates.
Barry Callebaut expects farmer income to grow 23% within two years under a $9m partnership with IFC and IDH to support up to 103,000 smallholder cocoa farmers in Côte d’Ivoire by 2020.
Voluntary market initiatives from the largest buyers and sellers of palm oil could help curb deforestation linked to the crop, researchers say, noting South America and Africa are most at risk of future damage.
Replacing tropical lowland forests with oil palm plantations can damage 11 out of 14 functions of a healthy ecosystem, some of which will be irreparable, researchers say.
Cocoa and chocolate stakeholders highlight the advantages and potential pitfalls of high-yielding cocoa variety CCN-51. What part should it play in the industry’s drive for sustainability?
Exclusive Interview: Startup from ex-iTunes producer
Défoncé Chocolatier’s founder and CEO, Eric Eslao, is waiting for the final vote on California's Adult Use Marijuana Act in November. If passed, his cannabis-infused chocolate can be sold in the state for recreational purposes.
A project in Peru aimed at transitioning farmers from coca to cocoa can help boost yields globally with a unique pruning technique, says project facilitator Technoserve.
Chocolate makers are being pushed to join Dominican Republic’s plans to triple cocoa yields by 2027. The nation can become as valuable as Nacional, a prized cocoa variety from Ecuador, says the UNDP.
Cargill has suspended new business with IOI and called on the palm oil supplier to “take further action to resolve the charges that resulted in its RSPO suspension and address longstanding environmental and social grievances”.
The chocolate industry should explore longer four-year financing projects for cocoa farmers if it is serious about making the cocoa sector sustainable, says certification body Rainforest Alliance (RA).
Mars is working on packaging developments including a ‘fresh pack’ without an aluminum layer after missing its goal of making 100% of its packaging recyclable or recoverable by 2015.
This site attended the Summer Fancy Food Show in New York to see how trends including clean labels and plant-based protein are shaping the snacks and confectionery markets.
John Cadbury’s great great great grandson, James Cadbury, has received 150 orders in only five days after he launched his chocolate startup, Love Cocoa.
Exclusive Interview with Mars La Chola General Manager
French politicians have dropped the proposed palm oil tax, leading some politicians to say the country is being blackmailed by producer countries. "We are legislating with a knife at our throats," said one.
Ferrara Candy has set aside $10m in total marketing for its Black Forest Organic brand this year, including the first national digital campaign for the brand.
Confectionery products account for 1% of total packaged food that carries a sustainable palm oil label, according to new ethical labels data from Euromonitor.
The damage caused by IOI’s deforestation and peatland drainage is “far greater” than that detailed in the complaint that led to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil suspending the supplier back in April, says Greenpeace.
Ferrero is to double the amount of Fairtrade cocoa it purchases and will buy Fairtrade sugar for the first time as it targets 100% ‘sustainable' sugar by 2020.
Barry Callebaut is expanding its sustainability program in Indonesia and has announced plans to train 50,000 farmers in good agricultural practice by 2020.
Cocoa producer living income can be increased by gradually introducing large estates in traditionally smallholder areas, says the International Cocoa Organization’s executive director.
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.
The World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) has appointed its next full-time president, while Cargill has named a new global head of its cocoa and chocolate businesses.
Confectionery finishing agents supplier Capol expects its newly launched organic product offerings made from acacia and sunflower oil will attract strong demand in North America.
Snacking chocolate brand Brownie Brittle will be highlighting its first organic line at the upcoming Sweets & Snacks Expo as consumer interest in an organic diet grows.
Farm efficiency is back at heart of the industry’s sustainability push after Mars’ acquisition of Ecuadorian cocoa plantation Hacienda La Chola, according to Hardman Agribusiness.
Dutch sustainable supply chain adviser and NGO, Solidaridad, has denied allegations of tax avoidance and wrongdoing over its links with Mossack Fonseca, the law firm at the heart of the Panama Papers scandal.
An incoming international standard on sustainable cocoa will bring farmers ‘one big step below the poverty-line’ if it remains unchanged, argues a farmers’ group.
Palsgaard, which makes emulsifier/stabilizer blends, which are used in products from cake mixes to chocolate, confectionery, dairy and ice cream, is the first Danish food producer to achieve CO2-neutrality.
Four of the world’s biggest food companies have moved swiftly to cease trading with Malaysian firm IOI after it fell foul of sustainable palm oil rules, but NGOs say it’s too little too late.
