Mondelez executives see no reason to lower prices or increase promotions for their iconic sweets and snacks despite reported retailer requests that brands across the board do so as some consumers begin pulling back on spending in the face of ongoing inflation.
Researchers set out to determine how much, if at all, a price premium would affect the reality of child labor in cocoa production in Ghana. Through three scenarios, they settled on an 11% bump transferred directly from government to farmer.
Ferrero will introduce a new flavor variant of Tic Tac Mixers, Hello Kitty and Hot Wheels-branded Kinder Surprise eggs, and will bring biscuit brand Nutella B-Ready to the UK market.
Finish firm Makulaku Confectionery hopes to double its exports in the coming years by taking new organic licorice brand Happy Reindeer to the US, Canada and the UK.
Mondelēz International’s skinny cookie Oreo Thins cater to demand for lighter bites in the U.S. but analysts question the product’s billing as a sophisticated adult cookie.
Nestlé says it will remove artificial flavors in confectionery across Europe, but refuses to confirm whether it will implement European price hikes to offset declining confectionery margins.
Chocolate confectionery sales are falling in the UK as consumers move to lower priced products and take advantage of promotions following price hikes, says an analyst at IRI.
Industry voices discuss whether raising suggested retail prices for chocolate could incentivise cocoa farmers to invest in farms, bring them out of poverty and keep the next generation growing cocoa.
Dispatches from State of the Industry Conference in Miami
Chocolate makers are well prepared for current cocoa deficit forecasts and will only be forced to raise prices if other inputs such transportation become costlier along with cocoa, according to the National Confectioners Association (NCA).
Two major chocolate brands have been launched in block format as Mars Chocolate unveils Maltesers Teasers and Lindt introduces Lindor single serve bars.
Cloetta-owned confectioner Leaf has launched a bubble gum variety for its Chewits brand to seize on what it claims is a rapidly growing hard bubble gum market.
Eleven chocolate companies including Nestlé and Kraft have been fined over €60m ($82m) for colluding to raise chocolate prices in Germany, while price fixing investigations continue in the US and Canada.
Kraft Foods’ global snacks spin-off Mondelez International will focus on penetrating the Chinese market and will introduce lower price points for gum as it looks to reinvigorate the ailing gum and candy segment.
The king-size candy bar has emerged as the fastest growing pack type in convenience stores this year and was a key driver of sales for Hershey in the third quarter, bosses have revealed.
Irish dairy and ingredients group Kerry has turned in a”solid” first half of 2011 that saw it increase volumes, weather raw material price hikes, and see success in a “go-to-market” functional ingredient strategy as profits jumped 6.1% on 2010 figures.
US confectionery manufacturer Hershey claims its growth levels are on pace to achieve $1bn international net sales - outside of North America – by 2015.
Nestle will use price increases as a last resort in the face of rising raw material costs, says its CEO, and only after implementing its 4-point strategy based on trend predictions, engaging suppliers, replacing ingredients, and cutting down waste.
Consumers at various levels of income are increasingly turning to lower cost ‘dollar stores’ to appease their sweet tooth, according to new US-based research suggesting candy and snacks are a major focus for budgeting buyers.
Meeting growing demand for premium chocolate packed in carton, Netherland's Lareka launches a new double stage tablet packer with a price tag in reach of small and medium-sized businesses.
Hydrocolloid supplier CP Kelco has announced it is to shutter its
xanthan gum plant in the UK, which has been squeezed by cost
pressures into an unprofitable market.
US chocolate manufacturer Hershey has announced it is to raise
prices on its domestic confectionery line to offset the rising cost
of ingredients, such as corn syrup, and packaging materials.
FMC Biopolymer will again increase prices for its food ingredients
on the back of high energy and raw material costs, and the company
says it expects prices to continue rising.
The Romanian Competition Council has fined Wrigley Romania and 26
connected companies €5.5 million for introducing minimum prices on
its products, which was seen to be a measure that is in violation
of EU law.
Tate & Lyle's European food and industrial ingredients division
proposed increase of 10 to 15 per cent on new contracts for certain
products highlights again the impact of rocketing energy prices on
the ingredients market.
As prices for hazelnuts, two-thirds of which are sourced from
Turkey, slowly start to recover following global shortages,
pistachio production also shows signs of improvement following last
year's frosts.
Northern Foods is to close two of its UK factories with the loss of
1,000 jobs in an attempt to drive down costs as it struggles
against rising raw material bills and price squeezes from
supermarkets.
German chocolate sales grew by 3.6 per cent in the first five
months of 2003 as retailers ended their price war and returned to
more normal prices. But volumes rose by less than 1 per cent, and
the exceptionally hot weather in June...
The UK arm of the German confectionery group Haribo is to launch a
new product, Maoam Mini's, and introduce a major promotion for five
of its other major products during the key school holiday period.
