Mondelēz International has scaled up its cocoa sustainability program through a partnership with its major supplier Barry Callebaut and has set a long-term goal of professionalizing the cocoa sector.
Barry Callebaut has completed an expansion of its Region Americas head office in Chicago and has added a new applications laboratory to simulate a full-scale manufacturing plant.
Barry Callebaut has outgrown the chocolate confectionery market in its half-year results, but its cocoa ingredients arm continues to be hampered by low cocoa ratios.
Barry Callebaut has employed techniques similar to those used in the Belgian beer industry to develop a yeast for controlled cocoa fermentation that it claims will lead to better tasting chocolate.
Barry Callebaut has entered a long-term agreement to supply industrial chocolate to World's Finest Chocolate and has leased the latter’s Chicago plant.
Barry Callebaut says it has developed a thermo-tolerant chocolate that can withstand four degrees more heat than a standard chocolate recipe without compromising on taste.
The leading cocoa processors say they will support brand manufacturers to achieve fully sustainable cocoa, but decline to publicly set their own targets.
The cocoa and chocolate industry must continue working towards a sustainable cocoa economy and better livelihoods for cocoa farmers after 2020, says Barry Callebaut’s VP of Cocoa Sustainability.
Confectionery manufacturers are expected to put twists on classic Easter eggs in 2015 as consumers start to display Easter treats at home like works of art, according to Barry Callebaut.
Cargill joins Barry Callebaut as the joint industrial chocolate powerhouse after its acquisition of ADM’s chocolate operations, but the move is risky in the volatile cocoa economy, says an analyst.
Fire has damaged Barry Callebaut’s chocolate processing at Banbury in Oxfordshire, but the company has reassured customers that it could maintain normal levels of service by drawing on other facilities.
‘Neuroprotective effects’ and ‘improved metabolism’ could be the next health claims for cocoa and dark chocolate after Barry Callebaut’s heart health win, according to a medical doctor.
Epicatechin is the gold standard cocoa flavanol says a medical doctor, but Barry Callebaut claims all flavanols have a positive effect on cardiovascular health.
Barry Callebaut says chocolate makers can produce products in novel colors far easier with its new flower-shaped food colorant pellets compared to using high doses of powder and liquid dyes.
Consumers are starting to view chocolate more as a cultured wine tasting and less as a sweet treat gone in seconds, according to a wine expert hired by Barry Callebaut.
Despite the growing body of research extolling the health benefits of flavanols found in cocoa, chocolate product manufacturers have yet to fully embrace front-of-pack claims calling out these compounds—with many still opting for more general “antioxidant”...
Barry Callebaut revenues for the first three months of fiscal 2013/14 were up 21.4% driven by a strong chocolate performance in Europe and the newly acquired Petra Foods cocoa business.
Barry Callebaut and Petra Foods have called on arbitrators to resolve a dispute over payment terms from the sale of Petra’s cocoa ingredients business to Barry Callebaut.
Special Edition - Beyond sugar: Hitting the sweet spot
Simply paying African cocoa growers more will not incentivize them to move away from the encroaching, more lucrative industries of palm and rubber, says Barry Callebaut.
Waste shells from cocoa processing are rich in fibre and antioxidants and carry great potential as food ingredients, according to Australian plantation-to-bar manufacturer Daintree Estates.
Barry Callebaut is prepared to supply more certified cocoa if the industry demands it, but with 12% total cocoa volumes coming from ‘sustainable’ sources it says it already has more sustainable cocoa products than the market currently wants.
Barry Callebaut has collaborated with Hershey to build a primary school in a western cocoa-growing region of Côte d’Ivoire – a move that should ensure children stay off the farms, Barry Callebaut says.
Barry Callebaut has filed a patent for a process to grind cocoa shells into a powder fit for use as a cocoa replacer, fat bloom inhibitor and ingredient in other foods.
The European Commission has said there is enough competition from ADM and Cargill to make Barry Callebaut’s $950m acquisition of Petra Foods’ Ingredients division free from competition concerns.
Barry Callebaut’s innovation department has revealed that the level of cocoa flavanols, which are associated with a string of positive health effects, vary depending on where beans are sourced.
Barry Callebaut has reported a slight dip in half-year profits as lower cocoa prices meant customers were paying less for the company’s range of cocoa ingredients compared to last year.
Chocolaterie de Bourgogne, a new company formed from Barry Callebaut’s sale of its last consumer goods factory, speaks exclusively to ConfectioneryNews.com about the firm’s inauguration, its priorities for 2013 and a recent bomb threat at its factory.
Market analysts have branded Barry Callebaut’s $950 million takeover of Petra Foods' cocoa division ‘pricey’, but the Swiss chocolate giant has defended the move despite admitting it will hurt its pockets in the short-term.
Barry Callebaut’s joint venture cocoa partner Biopartenaire is now Rainforest Alliance Certified - a move that forms part of a wider puzzle of efforts towards sustainability, it said.
Barry Callebaut has told ConfectioneryNews.com that it is looking to reach a settlement with around 100 employees in the UK who staged strikes yesterday and on Saturday over a pay dispute.
