The owner of the confectionary company Chocolove has joined an expert taste panel to identify the unique flavors of different cocoa plants as part of a preservation project which could see old varieties of cocoa re-introduced to the market.
In a week of major upheaval for a number of leading confectioners, reports suggest Cadbury may enact a number of job cuts in its New Zealand and Australian operations, while Mars joins rival Hershey in pushing up prices for its brands.
Confectionery groups are playing up their efforts to strike a balance between Christmas spirit and green packaging, claiming the focus reflects an all year round environment drive not just consigned to the festive period.
A China-based manufacturer of weighing and packaging products is looking for greater collaboration with confectioners and other food manufacturers to establish itself on the European market.
Spanish chocolate firm Natra sets its sights on the booming health and wellness market for adults and children, launching a chocolate bar with a healthy twist for the private label market.
Confectionery behemoth Mars plunges into the world of online sharing, with the launch of an ad campaign for the Gummi Burst addition to its Starburst sweets line.
The world's number one confectionery group ups the stakes in the
gum war with the launch of Trident Sweet Kicks, a mint-flavoured
gum with a chocolate-flavoured liquid centre.
Rising costs cause Cloetta Fazer profits to drop, Haagen-Dazs puts
salt in ice-cream, and the UK Food and Drink Federation (FDF) holds
a conference on the changing confectionery market.
Cadbury Schweppes has pledged to remove all artificial colourings
from its confectionery products by the end of the year in response
to concerns over their possible effects on behaviour.
The growing trend for healthy products meant a drop in the value of
the UK confectionery market but an increased popularity of dark
chocolate, says a new report.
Confectionery manufacturers are increasingly looking to new
processing and packaging firms for new technology, in order to
create products specifically targeted at the health market.
Alfred Ritter is moving production of its chocolate bars out of
Russia and back to Germany to use the same milk materials for
products sold the world over.
Lallemand Health Ingredients (LHI) yesterday announced the launch
of chewy sweets containing PACran cranberry powder, as it moves to
find a foothold in the functional confectionery market.
UK-based confectioner Tangerine agreed Friday to purchase some of
the country's most iconic confectionery brands including Barratt
Sherbet Fountains and Butterkist popcorn from market leader Cadbury
Schweppes.
Cadbury has this week confirmed it will continue with
plans to switch some UK production to Poland, sparking accusations
that the confectioner will be adding 12 million food miles to its
brands.
The acquisition of Finnish gum manufacturer Fennobon Oy by Cloetta
Fazer today comes into force, as the Sweden-based confectionery
company moves to make its mark on the sugar-free and functional gum
market.
Hershey may remove mint packaging that looks like drug pouches;
Wrigley's credit rating is improved by analyst; and internet viewer
vote the Cadbury gorilla ad the best commercial of 2007.
The seemingly opposing trends of health and indulgence will
dominate the confectionery market over the next few years, and
manufacturers who do not target both risk losing market share, says
a new report.
Sweden-based confectionery firm Cloetta Fazer today announced it is
investing SEK 270m (€29m) in two new chocolate manufacturing lines,
as part of a drive to boost its market share in the Nordic region.
Wrigley claims that chewing gum focuses the mind; Global Exchange
organised a Fairtrade chocolate protest at Halloween; and the
Jamaica's cocoa board says it has invented a chocolate bar that can
be eaten or mixed with water...
US-based confectioner Wrigley yesterday posted a 13 per cent
increase in sales for the third quarter on the back
of strong sales outside the US, increased marketing spend and
positive exchange rates.
Halloween is one of the top holiday in terms of volume
sales for confectioners, as consumers will spend more than $2.1bn
(€1.5bn) on chocolate and sweets later this month in the US alone,
states a new report.
Cadbury's planned acquisition of the Turkey-based chewing gum
manufacturer Intergum has been approved by the competition
regulator, the company said today.
Niche markets offer the UK company better profit opportunities than
the traditional chocolate and sweets sectors, according to a
Euromonitor report on Cadbury's strategy.
Cadbury Schweppes has bought a 93 per cent stake in Romanian sweets
maker Kandia-Excelent, from Kandia, a private equity investment
holding company managed by Meinl Bank.
Eastern European confectionery company Roshen has produced more
than 80,000 tonnes of confectionery in the year's first quarter,
taking $140 million (€104m) in sales and confirming its position as
a market leader in Ukraine's...
Confectioner Wrigley posted a 17 per cent sales rise throughout its
global operations during its first quarter 2007 to US$1.6bn
(€1.1bn), with demand from emerging markets propping up
sluggish growth in North America
German equity investment company Arques has taken over
confectionery firm van Netten in yet another example of private
investors moving into the food industry sphere.
The results of a consumer survey on healthy chocolate suggests that
the substance once considered solely as a sweet confectionery item
has made huge strides towards the realm of health foods.
Sweet makers are gearing up for the coming year by targeting trends
for healthy, natural and sugar-free ingredients as well as the
demand for innovation in growth sectors such as gum.
German confectionery group Alfred L Wolff has developed a new range
of glazing agents, building on its existing line of ingredients
designed for sweet manufacturers.
Ethical chocolate company Green & Black's has devised an
innovative new way to raise its socially responsible profile in the
confectionery industry with a unique Christmas concept.
The world's second largest gum company, Cadbury Schweppes, is to
introduce its most popular chewing gum brand into the UK market
next year, putting the pressure on foremost competitor Wrigley and
adding to larger firm domination...
For the first time in the gum maker's long history, the William
Wrigley Jr Company has appointed a non-family member to take over
the leadership of the global confectionery business.
A new cost-cutting moulding and depositing system suitable for use
in the manufacture of jelly and gum confectionery has been launched
by UK firm Baker Perkins to attract confectioners previously
daunted by the processes involved.
Confectionery remains an indulgence product for consumers who
prioritise taste over health concerns, delegates at German
ingredients group Wild's Heidelberg Convention were told this week.
Tough trading conditions in the confectionery industry have forced
UK group, Lees Foods, to look at ways of diversifying -
highlighting the tactics smaller sweet makers must adopt to ensure
their survival in an increasingly competitive...