Chocolate and confectionery ingredients

Barry Callebaut sweetens appeal of healthier chocolate with low-sugar range

12-Dec-2017 By Will Chu

Barry Callebaut has made available a range of low-sugar chocolate designed to promote an improved nutritional profile to confectionery that doesn’t compromise on taste.

Startup Tracker

Cocoa+ sees gap for protein in UK luxury chocolate market

04-Dec-2017 By Douglas Yu

Functional chocolate startup Cocoa+ is eyeing the UK’s luxury market with a protein-enriched milk chocolate.

‘It can produce good chocolate’: Nestlé supports CCN-51 cocoa growing in Ecuador

30-Nov-2017 By Oliver Nieburg

Nestlé Ecuador says CCN-51 can produce ‘good chocolate’ as it provides technical assistance to farmers growing the high yielding cocoa variety.

RSPO focuses on smallholders in support of sustainable palm oil

29-Nov-2017 By Katy Askew

The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil and United Nations Environment Project have joined forces to help promote sustainable practices among smallholders producing palm oil as the environmental group sharpens its focus on smallholder farmers.

Alternative emulsifier: Bayn touts oat lecithin for sugar-reduced chocolate

23-Nov-2017 By Oliver Nieburg

Swedish supplier Bayn Europe claims oat oil is an alternative, clean label emulsifier providing better yield stress in sugar-reduced chocolate than polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR) and soy lecithin.

Bayn CEO: Cloud-based sugar reformulation tool can fix ‘broken’ food chain

16-Nov-2017 By Katy Askew

Bayn Europe is developing a new cloud-based reformulation tool that, its chief executive says, can help fix the “broken” food chain and heighten sugar-reduction efforts.

Government intervention on food needed to safeguard children’s health: Report

15-Nov-2017 By Will Chu

Imposing taxes on high fat and sugar foods will improve children's diets, the British Psychological Society (BPS) said this week, highlighting the need for government intervention in food reformulation and education.

Ferrero defends 'fine-tuning' of Nutella recipe

08-Nov-2017 By Niamh Michail

Ferrero has been accused of secretly changing the recipe of Nutella to replace expensive cocoa with cheaper milk powder, but it says it has merely "fine-tuned" the recipe.

Savoury is the new sweet: Category-defying launches from vegetable cereals to vinegar soft drinks

07-Nov-2017 By Niamh Michail

Creating less sugary food doesn’t have to be about swapping sugar for sweeteners. We take a look at some adventurous savoury launches in traditionally sweet categories, from vegetable-based breakfast cereals to cheesy chocolate and vinegar soft drinks....

Chr. Hansen goes beyond natural colours with colouring foodstuffs

03-Nov-2017 By Katy Askew

Chr. Hansen is pushing back the boundaries of ‘natural’ ingredients and expanding its range of colouring foodstuffs to help food and beverage manufacturers take clean labels to the next level.

Touton teams with Cocobod to tackle forest devastation in Ghana

30-Oct-2017 By Oliver Nieburg

Cocoa trader Touton has partnered with Ghanaian government agency Cocobod to curb deforestation in Ghana, where cocoa is the main driver of 3.2% of protected forest loss each year.

Can natural liquorice extract be an effective sweetness enhancer?

27-Oct-2017 By Niamh Michail

Glycyrrhizin acid, the sweet-tasting and bitter-masking component of liquorice, has been used in the pharmaceutical industry for years but remains relatively unknown among food makers. UK supplier Thew Arnott wants to change that.

Divine Chocolate NPD focused on ‘high cocoa trends’

25-Oct-2017 By Gill Hyslop

Social enterprise Divine Chocolate is pushing NPD innovation to capitalize on the growing higher cocoa trend evident in the popularity of its 85% chocolate bar.

Tainted tastes a bitter ‘no-no’ for consumers as firms battle cost-cutting culture

24-Oct-2017 By Will Chu

The quest to produce nutritionally enhanced food despite the industry’s cost-cutting culture is one of the biggest challenges the food industry is currently facing, according to Mondelez’s Gil Horsky.

BASF becomes 'supporting' member of the Forum for Sustainable Palm Oil

20-Oct-2017 By Will Chu

BASF have become the latest member of the Forum for Sustainable Palm Oil (FONAP), joining the initiative as a “Supporter” of sustainably produced palm oil for the German, Austrian and Swiss markets.

NHS England bans ‘super-sized’ chocolate bars

16-Oct-2017 By Oliver Nieburg

England’s National Health Service (NHS England) has set a 250 calorie limit on confectionery sold in hospital canteens, stores, vending machines and its other outlets.

Marketing, prices and policy blamed for tenfold increase in childhood obesity

11-Oct-2017 By Katy Askew

Food marketing, the higher price of healthy food and government policy have been blamed for the ten-fold increase in childhood obesity over the past four decades.

Ambrosus is bringing farm-to-fork Blockchain technology to industry 'pioneers'

10-Oct-2017 By Niamh Michail

Swiss tech firm Ambrosus is bringing Blockchain technology to the food industry, making it accessible to small start-ups and billion-euro brands alike. "This technology is here to stay - the pioneers who adopt it first will have the competitive advantage,"...

Startup Watch

Startup Fulfil 'expanding very fast' with protein-enriched candy alternative

06-Oct-2017 By Oliver Nieburg

Irish startup Fulfil Nutrtion has entered the Middle East after securing mainstream listings in the UK and expanding across Europe.

Dissecting Cargill's 2030 pledge on sustainable cocoa

05-Oct-2017 By Oliver Nieburg

Cargill has committed to sourcing fully traceable farm-to-factory cocoa from its own sustainability program by 2030.

Food sector urged to follow Unilever and Nestlé on tackling slave labour

04-Oct-2017 By Katy Askew

Food manufacturers have been urged to follow the lead of Nestlé and Unilever and take an integrated approach to tackling modern slavery in their supply chains.

Not just a sweet leaf: Stevia extracts may help tackle obesity

26-Sep-2017 By Niamh Michail

Stevia’s health benefits go beyond sugar reduction – it could also be a natural alternative for treating metabolic disorders, such as obesity and type 2 diabetes, say researchers.

‘Product blending is becoming increasingly popular’ says tna as it launches VMBS for snacks and gummies

21-Sep-2017 By Jenny Eagle

tna has launched a vibratory motion blending system (VMBS) called roflo 3 to mix multiple dry or wet products.

Industry giants to harmonise global date labels in food waste fight

20-Sep-2017 By Niamh Michail

Some of the world’s biggest food companies will standardise their food date labels globally by 2020 in a bid to reduce food waste.

Nestlé-backed Swiss scientists create novel process for foams that last 'essentially forever'

20-Sep-2017 By Niamh Michail

Ever-lasting foam in ice cream or beer without artificial stabilisers? Swiss researchers have "for the first time" developed a novel strategy to make foam bubbles last "essentially ‘forever".

There's an untapped opportunity in organic kids' food, says Mintel

19-Sep-2017 By Niamh Michail

European parents are consistently willing to pay more for organic, says Mintel. Yet while organic claims are common on baby food, they are less used on food and drink aimed at kids. Are manufacturers missing a trick?

Purple chocolate ups the possibilities for healthy indulgent foods: Herza

15-Sep-2017 By Niamh Michail

Purple chocolate, coloured with nutrient-packed fruit and vegetable powders, can make healthy foods such as muesli more appealing or give indulgent ice cream a healthy halo, says Herza Schokolade.

Sustainability database can help manufacturers avoid buying bad palm oil

12-Sep-2017 By Niamh Michail

There's "a gold rush mentality" in the palm oil sector preventing it from becoming truly sustainable, says Danish NGO NepCon. But its database Sourcing Hub can help manufacturers make the most sustainable possible choices when buying palm...

Euromonitor: 20 most influential megatrends to shape the world by 2030

07-Sep-2017 By Jenny Eagle

Euromonitor International has identified 20 of the most influential megatrends to shape the world by 2030 with analysis on eight megatrends with the furthest-reaching impact on industries and consumers in the years to come.

Sacmi to expand and reorganize its chocolate division

05-Sep-2017 By Jenny Eagle

Sacmi is reorganizing one of its business units, which focuses on chocolate processing, wrapping and packaging.

3D food printing: Precision and accuracy an obstacle to fulfilling potential

05-Sep-2017 By Will Chu

Printing precision and accuracy, process productivity and the production of colourful, multi-flavour, multi-structure products remain the biggest challenges to wider industry adoption of 3D food printing. 

Beneo boss: “Sustainability is part of our DNA”

04-Sep-2017 By Niamh Michail

Sustainability has always underpinned the way Beneo does business from ingredient sourcing to investing in greener factories, according to its executive board member.

What next for coconut’s millennial appeal?

01-Sep-2017 By Katy Askew

The popularity of coconut-based products continues to rise thanks, in part, to their particular resonance with millennial consumers: What will the next big trend for coconut applications be?

Flavour pairing with plant proteins: What’s best for your product?

01-Sep-2017 By Niamh Michail

Plant proteins such as hemp, brown rice and pea have complex taste profiles that work best with tailor-made flavours. But it's not always obvious that sulphur pairs well with strawberry...which is why it helps to have a flavourist on board to explain.

R&D

Olive oil enriched dark ‘chocolate’ has heart health pros, claims study

01-Sep-2017 By Oliver Nieburg

Researchers say commercial prospects for extra virgin olive oil enriched dark chocolate are strong after finding potential cardiovascular health benefits.

Danish supplier serves up a healthy dose of hemp product innovation

31-Aug-2017 By Niamh Michail

Bored with the usual hemp launches - granola and cereal bars - one Danish supplier is helping manufacturers think outside the box. Hemp cheese, gin, salami and marzipan are just some of its latest creations.

Hain Celestial grows natural brands in Europe

30-Aug-2017 By Katy Askew

Hain Celestial, the US-based natural and organic food manufacturer, insisted that it sees “tremendous opportunities” for the natural and organic food sector as it grows its business in Europe.

Evolva to axe almost half its workforce in restructuring overhaul

30-Aug-2017 By Niamh Michail

Evolva will cut its workforce by 43% and spin off its Indian R&D laboratory to become a product-based company. "Technology will always be the backbone at Evolva but we've reached the point where we need to be laser focused on commercialising...

Cocoa prices to stay low in short term even as chocolate markets are ‘strong’

29-Aug-2017 By Oliver Nieburg

Cocoa prices are expected to remain fairly flat until Q1 2018 even as the world’s largest chocolate market, the US, is growing, according to Rabobank.

Danish juice firms create value-added bakery ingredients with fruit pulp waste

28-Aug-2017 By Niamh Michail

Leftover fruit pulp from the juice industry is being transformed into a value-added and healthy ingredient for cereals, baked snacks and chocolate.

Nestlé defends new Whip chocolates for not including walnut

22-Aug-2017 By Douglas Yu

Nestlé says the Walnut Whip with a walnut will remain on sale alongside its new vanilla, caramel and mint versions without a walnut in the UK and Ireland. 

Innovation, health & home delivery: Drivers for organic food growth amongst consumers

18-Aug-2017 By Will Chu

Innovative products in the organic sector are continuing to contribute to its growth in 2017, as non-dairy milks, nutty butters and confectionery join traditional recipe snacks.

UK targets calories in next phase of childhood obesity plan

18-Aug-2017 By Katy Askew

The UK has set its sights on foods with a high calorie count as it updates the country’s childhood obesity plan, which previously focused on sugar reduction.

R&D

Potential cocoa substitute: Jackfruit seeds create chocolate aroma, say researchers

17-Aug-2017 By Oliver Nieburg

Jackfruit seeds are a waste product that can be fermented, roasted and converted to flour imparting a chocolate aroma, according to research.

FDF, BRC back ‘coordinated’ approach to sugar reduction

16-Aug-2017 By Katy Askew

Industry bodies representing the UK’s food and drink sector are backing a “coordinated” drive to reduce the amount of sugar in products.

Sweetener combos in food result in irrational metabolic response: Yale study

14-Aug-2017 By Will Chu

A greater metabolic response to a sweet-tasting, lower-calorie drink could explain the link between artificial sweetener use and diabetes, according to Yale University scientists.

Chinese supplier Layn to bring monk fruit to Europe

04-Aug-2017 By Niamh Michail

Chinese supplier Guilin Layn Natural Ingredients wants to be the first firm to sell monk fruit in Europe, and has submitted a request for a scientific opinion to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

Cereal, sugar and dairy drive global food prices upwards

04-Aug-2017 By Niamh Michail

World food prices rose for the third month in a row, driven by higher values for cereals, sugar and dairy, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation's (FAO) Food Price Index.

Quarterly Earnings

McCain Foods president to become Mondelēz’s new CEO amid Q2 revenue decline

02-Aug-2017 By Douglas Yu

Dirk Van de Put will succeed Irene Rosenfeld as Mondelēz’s new CEO in November.

Does Europe need a legal definition of natural food?

31-Jul-2017 By Niamh Michail

With the US considering a legal definition of ‘natural’ food, does Europe need one too? It would increase clarity for a complex concept, but defining 'degrees of naturalness’ for origin, ingredients and processing may be better, say the researchers...