Four years ago two Scottish women with little experience of the food industry started developing a gourmet chocolate brand. Now they are moving into export markets – so what were the ingredients of success?
French chocolate maker Valrhona is launching two new milk chocolate blends in the Middle East, as it counts on high service levels and exclusivity to maintain growth.
Mondelēz International plans to close its Tallaght chewing gum ingredient factory and will restructure chocolate production in Ireland, resulting in around 200 job cuts.
Weak fourth quarter cocoa grinds in developed markets suggest that consumers have reacted negatively to wholesale chocolate price hikes from the major brands, according to an analyst.
BARRY CALLEBAUT WORKS WITH PRINCETON UNIVERSITY RESEARCHERS
Chocolate may have a compressive strength-to-weight ratio 24 times less than concrete but that hasn’t stopped US scientists probing its potential as a building material and even building a ‘chocolate pavilion’.
The International Cocoa Organization has quelled media reports of a chocolate crisis in 2020 and says there are sufficient cocoa stocks for the next five years.
Cargill joins Barry Callebaut as the joint industrial chocolate powerhouse after its acquisition of ADM’s chocolate operations, but the move is risky in the volatile cocoa economy, says an analyst.
Buying certified cocoa only from third party organizations such as UTZ Certified is now an essential part of doing business for all chocolate companies, not just the big ones, says Scandinavian confectioner Cloetta.
Food and Drink Federation (FDF) members including Mondelēz International have signed up to a 250 calorie cap on single-serve confectionery sold in the UK.
Manufacturers can increase the price of chocolate without fear of putting off consumers thus ensuring cocoa farmers are fairly paid, according to executive director of the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO).
Functional confectionery has made only small gains since approval of Barry Callebaut’s cocoa flavanol health claim but opportunities exist for premiumized chocolate products, says a Euromonitor analyst.
Testing the consumer liking of a new product may be an overrated idea that ‘breeds mediocrity’ and means products fail to differentiate themselves against the competition, according to David Howlett of MMR Research.
Shea and palm oil derivatives may lead the way as the most common sources of cocoa butter alternatives for use in chocolate, but researchers are discovering novel forms ranging from mango seed to camel hump fat.
Special Edition: The possibilities of chocolate with reduced cocoa butter
Chocolate purists may turn to alternative vegetable fats amid escalating cocoa butter prices, but taste and regulatory stumbling blocks remain, according to an analyst.
Mondelēz International owned Cadbury has exhausted all avenues of appeal to register a UK trademark for its Dairy Milk purple following an 10-year dispute with Nestlé.
Barry Callebaut has returned to net profit growth in its half year results as it further integrates the cocoa ingredients business acquired from Petra Foods.
NGO STOP THE TRAFFIK has accused Mondelēz International of lagging behind its rivals by attempting to self-regulate child trafficking in the cocoa sector.
Barry Callebaut says chocolate makers can produce products in novel colors far easier with its new flower-shaped food colorant pellets compared to using high doses of powder and liquid dyes.
Dark chocolate may help restore flexibility to arteries and prevent white blood cells from sticking to the walls of blood vessels, but increasing flavanol content will not affect these effects and may even put consumers off, say researchers.
Researchers financially supported by the USDA and Lindt have developed a non-sensory method to determine when fine flavor cacao beans have become adulterated with inferior beans.
Cocoa grinds are up in Europe and the chocolate market is set to follow, but other markets are shining more brightly and will continue to do so, according to Euromonitor.
Hershey Netherlands B.V. has signed an agreement to acquire an 80% stake in Chinese confectionery and snack firm Shanghai Golden Monkey Food Company (SGM) - and the remaining 20% in 2015.
A cocoa butter replacer derived from mango seed fat and palm stearin could help chocolate withstand high temperatures and may benefit manufacturers in tropical countries, according to a study.
Simply paying African cocoa growers more will not incentivize them to move away from the encroaching, more lucrative industries of palm and rubber, says Barry Callebaut.
Natra is developing a range of Spanish olive oil, cheese and wine filled chocolates; the company hopes that the integration of these Mediterranean ingredients will put Spain on the map for chocolate.
Waste shells from cocoa processing are rich in fibre and antioxidants and carry great potential as food ingredients, according to Australian plantation-to-bar manufacturer Daintree Estates.
Barry Callebaut has recorded a 4.9% drop in net profit for the fiscal year 2012/13 as it integrates Petra Foods’ cocoa business and experiences capacity constraints.
Despite becoming “a bit of an elephant in the room”, indulgence still plays a large part in decision-making processes at retail level, the creator of new British milkshake brand, Mr Sherick's, has claimed.
Mondelēz International is pouring cash into sustainable farming projects, including $400M in cocoa farms in developing economies, to secure a strong and stable supply base.
France’s leading private label chocolate maker Cémoi sees little growth in the European chocolate market and hopes instead to promote its branded goods in Asia and in the developing US private label market.
The tonnage of cocoa beans processed in Europe in the third quarter by the likes of Barry Callebaut and Cargill has risen by 4.7%. Euromonitor says the industry is playing catch up and rising cocoa butter prices may led to more expensive chocolate for...
Soaring cocoa butter prices have upped the cost of chocolate bar manufacture in Europe by 25% in the past 12 months, according to commodity analysts Mintec, which claims the cocoa deficit will worsen.
Barry Callebaut has opened its first chocolate factory in Turkey, while SunOpta has completed a organic and specialty cocoa processing facility in the Netherlands.
Rising dark chocolate consumption is driving up prices, according to data from Euromonitor International, with China, Switzerland and the US having the highest retail value.
The International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) has slightly reduced its cocoa deficit forecast for the current crop year and says there are ample stocks for chocolate manufacturers, but a deficit next year could raise prices.
