Katjes International has issued a public offering and private placement to raise up to €60m ($67m) to pay off a previous bond and to bankroll acquisitions in Italy and Spain.
Small-to-medium sized confectioners making their first moves into export markets must be clued up on local regulations, consider temperate changes and pick distributors carefully to avoid mishaps, says UK firm Lauden Chocolate.
ISM show organizer Koelnmesse says confectioners are responding to growing consumer concerns on health, noting a surge in free-from and sugar free products.
The European sugar confectionery market is forecast to decline in the next few years as regulators and consumers consider the impact of sugar on public health, according to a report by Frost & Sullivan.
Special edition: Cutting calories in confectionery
Manufacturers can create reduced or no sugar hard and soft candy product extensions without the risk of changing the taste of a proven seller through reformulation, according to Cargill.
Mondelez International has said it will invest $24m (€19.3m) to expand its Gebze plant in Turkey, as the company continues its plan to increase productivity and cut costs.
Fats and oils supplier EFKO has reported sales growth for its confectionery fats division in H1 as multinational confectioners post sales gains in Russia.
The candy giant is looking to take a bigger bite out of the confectionery market with bite-size bars, giant-size candies, and other fresh takes on existing brands.
For the most part, confectioners have continued to innovate in known areas like flavor, product size and packaging rather than innovating for health, says Euromonitor International.
Candy industry experts report confectionery sales are faring better than figures in other retail food markets, with US shoppers snapping up nearly $34bn worth of sweet treats annually.
Strong commodity price increases in 2013 impeded growth for the German confectionery, according to the Germany Confectionery Industry Association’s (BDSI’s) annual review.
Scandinavian confectioner Cloetta has posted a modest rise in fourth quarter sales and says it hopes to spend future money it generates on extinguishing its debts and acquiring complementary companies.
The US National Confectioners Association (NCA) and leading US firms say sugar has been ‘unjustly’ victimized in recent months and the public should be free to enjoy a sweet treat if they so desire.
Swedish-based confectioner Cloetta has improved its third quarter sales compared to the same period last year as most Scandinavian confectionery markets as well as Italy registered growth.
French ingredients firm Naturex claims to be the first supplier to offer natural blue spirulina coloring for lipophilic confectionery applications such as compound coatings.
Young people living in urban areas of Russia are driving domestic chocolate consumption and are increasingly opting for premium foreign brands over nostalgic ones from the Soviet-era, say market analysts Leatherhead Food Research.
Ingredients firm Mantrose-Haeuser has launched its Certicoat antisticking polish and glazing agent in Europe after success in the US and has also developed an organic variety.
Belgian supplier Beneo’s dessert thinktank is showing off some product concepts using sugar-free, ‘tooth-friendly’ isomalt and an already launched oligofructose-stevia blends for functional fibre candy.
Kraft’s global snacks spin-off Mondelez will face fierce competition from the likes of Mars and Nestlé in the emerging confectionery markets of China and Russia, according to an analyst from Euromonitor International.
Menthol supplier BASF plans to open a new factory this summer to meet demands from confectioners soon after its rival Symrise boosted its own capacity earlier this month.
A ‘claim free’ trend may be set to emerge, with consumers becoming blind to complicated labels and pack assertions they may clamour for simple, natural ingredients they can understand without explanation.
Mint confectionery products containing the sweetener stevia could appeal to EU consumers, but each country has its own preference, according to a consultant to Cargill
Swedish confectioners Cloetta and Leaf have sealed a €753m merger making it the largest confectionery company in Scandinavia, according to an analyst from Euromonitor.
German consumers are turning health conscious and are looking to confectionery that is low sugar, fair trade and organic, according to investment group Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI).
Marshmallow colour and flavour innovation and an extension of its red shade portfolio have been the focus of recent R&D work at natural ingredients producer Wild.
Confectionery giants such as Nestlé, Haribo and Cadbury have been at the forefront of efforts to move away from artificial additives, as the general industry makes a shift to natural food products, according to Leatherhead Food Research.
Continued growth in the global confectionery market will be driven by increased demand for ethical and functional products in mature regions, and a rise in disposable income in emerging markets, according to industry analysts.
Private equity group Blackstone is close to acquiring the stake owned by investors Growth Capital Partners in Tangerine Confectionery, the largest British manufacturer of sugar confectionery and branded popcorn, claim media reports.
The Indian confectionery market will see rapid growth over the next three years, according to the latest Datamonitor research, with an increasing premiumisation trend leading to a hike in chocolate purchases.
The global market for confectionery products is forecast to reach US$186.3bn by the year 2015, driven by the growing popularity of sugar-free categories, exotic flavours and region-specific products, claims a new report from Global Industry Analysts (GIA).
Cargill’s sweetener experts have further enhanced its reduced calorie chocolate prototype that was shown at FIE in November 2009, with the commercial product set to hit the market at the end of 2011, said the company.
Beneo claims that new equipment at its laboratory in Germany will enable small and medium sized sweet manufacturers test its sugar replacer, Isomalt, in chewing gum.
Convergence in the confectionery market has slowed since the acquisition of UK confectionery group Cadbury by Kraft Foods in February this year, according to a market analyst.
UK and Irish confectionery manufacturers can have shelf stand out appeal with a gold pigment, based on silicate combined with titanium dioxide, claims ingredients supplier Azelis/S. Black, which is now distributing the Merck developed colour in those...
