The UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has rejected Nestlé’s application to trademark the four-finger Kit-Kat shape after opposition from Mondelez International-owned Cadbury.
Gumlink and Fertin Pharma have initiated legal proceedings against British-based firm Revolymer for allegedly infringing Gumlink’s patent on a degradable gum base by selling nicotine gum in Canada. Revolymer plans to defend its position.
December 14 brings the long awaited and widely disputed EU crack down on health claims. That means 222 general function claims are good to go, another 1500 or so prohibited. But what happens to B2B communications?
The UK advertising watchdog has ruled against a TV campaign for a slimming gum even though some of the claims appeared to have won European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) approval.
Food giant Nestlé has said that its recent size reduction of assortment product Quality Street in the UK does not mean it will start to downsize other items in its confectionery range.
Smurfit Kappa (SK) said a £98m (€118m) investment in one of its major paper mills will both boost and secure supply of materials for its entire packaging operations in the UK and Ireland.
Growth opportunities are being stymied in sectors such as the soft drinks industry due to uncertainty over sugar supply in the EU market, claims a leading UK trade body.
Gum giant Wrigley has been granted novel food approval in the EU for an extract to be used in chewing gum and mints that will allow it to introduce new products with perceived breath-freshening benefits.
A new aspartame distribution deal will benefit the UK and Irish food and drink sector through security of supply, claims leading player Atlantic Chemicals Trading (ACT).
Sonoco has the completed the takeover of UK-based Robinson Paperboard Packaging for ₤2.6m in a bid to expand its paperboard container presence in Europe.
Swedish company A&R Carton has acquired a controlling stake in Speciality Paperboard Containers Ltd (SP Containers) in a move that looks set to accelerate the growth of the UK paperboard firm.
Executives at US food group Kraft have been recalled by the UK parliament’s Business, Innovation and Skills Committee to give evidence again in relation to certain aspects of the controversial takeover of Cadbury last year.
Flagship brand Kit Kat has increased market shares for Nestle in the UK and Ireland, according to last week’s third quarter results that reveal a 4.1 per cent sales increase for the global food giant.
Two more senior Cadbury executives have left Kraft Foods, joining the other senior management figures who have resigned since the confectioner's takeover by the US food group in February, claim media reports.
The great carve up of the UK’s Food Standards Agency responsibilities has come into effect, with the agency retaining only the food safety remit and other aspects going to the Defra and the Department of Health.
A Spots v Stripes sport challenge is the centre piece of Cadbury’s £50m marketing campaign linked to the Olympic and Paralympic Games to be staged in London in 2012.
US food group, Kraft, has recruited the services of financial powerhouses HSBC and BNP Paribas to help divest it of the Polish and Romanian businesses of Cadbury, according to media reports.
Kraft’s reputation in the UK has been badly hit by its behaviour during the acquisition of Cadbury and it should be subject to continuous scrutiny over its subsequent pledges, claim UK politicians who heard evidence from Kraft executives last month.
The Kraft owned chocolate brand Milka is to be launched across the entire UK market from April, just weeks after the US food giant purchased Dairy Milk maker Cadbury.
Associated British Foods (ABF) has sold its Polish sugar business to Pfeifer & Langen for an estimated £120 to £130m in preparation for the opening up of EU sugar trade.
Nestle marked the consolidation of its packaging supply chain in the UK last week with the official opening of a new co-packing factory at its distribution centre in York.
Participants in the UK's confectionery industry, including manufacturers and retailers "helped to raise a much needed six figure sum" for the industry's Sweet Charity.
Chewing gum giant Wrigley will target the premium category in the UK’s competitive gum market, rolling-out its “sense-stimulating, edgy” 5 gum for “stylish consumers”.
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.
Riding the wave of the functional trend, herbal sweet firm Ricola
is hoping this year to boost its share in the UK market to become
the number one healthy confectionery company in the country.
Spanish cocoa company Natra announced yesterday the
acquisition of Belgium-based All Crump, as part of the company's
plans to enter the chocolate spread market.
Children in the UK spend more on confectionery and fizzy drinks
than any of their European counterparts, according to the latest
report by market researcher Datamonitor.
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 UK Cadbury salmonella scare continues to dog the company as its
local council applies for around £30,000 (€44,500) in funding to
investigate safety breaches at the factory where contamination
occurred.
John Thornton, the last family member on the board of one of the
UK's leading confectionery companies, Thorntons, has announced his
resignation, bringing to an end nearly a century of direct family
ownership.
British sugar growers can breathe a sigh of relief after learning
that one of the country's foremost beet producers will not be
closing facilities as originally thought.
The opinion of an advocate-general of the European Court of Justice
on UK anti-tax avoidance rules could benefit multinationals such as
confectioner Cadbury Schweppes.
Sugar confectionery was the only sector to see a significant
decline in the first half of 2005 as UK exports of food and drink
grow 3.1 per cent indicating the industry is on track to break the
£10 billion barrier for the first time...
UK family baker Warburtons has bought up the Rathbones bakery in
Rogerstone, Wales, in a move to keep up with growing demand for its
products, the group announced last week.
