Holiday celebrations call for candy, especially chocolate. But while celebratory times see peak chocolate product launches and sales, the category’s performance is quite flat year-round in developed markets.
For Cissé Cocoa Co. selling baking mixes, hot chocolate and crunchy bites of super thin brownies is about more than just helping consumers satisfy their chocolate cravings, it is about making life sweeter for farmers, too.
Baked oat bar brand BOBO’s could double revenues in 2017 (vs 2016) if it continues on its current growth trajectory, says the CEO of the Boulder-based brand, which has just raised $8m in a Series A funding round led by Boulder Investment Group Reprise...
Butterfinger maker Nestlé refuses to speculate if it will offload its challenged US confectionery business, but says it is “no stranger” to portfolio trimming.
The US chocolate confectionery market is set for a 1% volume decline between 2016 and 2021 as Americans’ GDP per capita is set to fall while the category is caught in an “anti-sugar crossfire”.
“We did everything you’re not supposed to do,” observes the COO of Primal Kitchen, which exploded out of the blocks with a sugar-free avocado oil-based mayo in February 2015, notched up revenues of $13.2m in 2016, and is expecting to almost double that...
Cutting GMOs in confectionery is relatively simple, but finding replacements for ingredients that aren’t well understood by consumers is the real challenge, says Hershey’s chief chocolatier.
Barry Callebaut has outpaced the overall global chocolate market in its full-year results as long-serving chairman Andreas Jacobs announces plans to step down.
Mondelēz International, Mars, Nestlé and Barry Callebaut have joined forces on a community development and education program in Côte d’Ivoire in partnership with the Jacobs Foundation.
Mars has launched M&M’s Caramel at the recent NACS show in Atlanta, Georgia, which will join Peanut, Milk Chocolate and Peanut Butter as the largest four variants for the brand.
Halloween candy sales in the US may reach record levels despite an expected drop in trick-or-treating as more Americans shop for candy online and celebrate over the weekend.
Theo Chocolate says one of the greatest challenges it faces as a company committed to a responsible and transparent supply chain is “greenwashing” in the premium chocolate category.
Sonoma Brands could have its work cut out entering everyday snacking with marshmallows given the sticky problem of sugar avoidance, but SMASHMALLOW is an innovative new concept that could appeal strongly to women, say two trendwatchers.
The most familiar quality parameter of chocolate – the cocoa solids percentage – has no correlation with flavanol levels, according to a study by the University of Reading.
Lindt’s Russell Stover Every Day range has gained listings at major supermarkets such as Walmart since its April release in the US as the brand reduces reliance on key seasons.
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Défoncé Chocolatier’s founder and CEO, Eric Eslao, is waiting for the final vote on California's Adult Use Marijuana Act in November. If passed, his cannabis-infused chocolate can be sold in the state for recreational purposes.
Little Bird founders Corey and Sara Meyer are aiming to pop out of the specialty category and spread across the nation like wildfire with their sweet and spicy chocolate-covered candied jalapenos.
Euromonitor International has pinpointed several promising chocolate markets that may help manufacturers offset slowdowns in traditional emerging markets such as China and Brazil.
By bucking the emerging trend toward smaller, thinner, portion-controlled snacking chocolate and embracing a distinctively large square format, Durci – a new artisanal line of chocolate from the makers of Crio Bru – quickly secured shelf space in high-end...
Consumers’ increasing demand for healthier options is reshaping the competitive landscape across categories – including indulgent ones such as chocolate, where they increasingly want darker chocolate, nutritious inclusions, and new formats that help them...
Accessing the health benefits of chocolate without the unhealthy tradeoff of added sugar and dairy typically used to smooth out the ingredient’s bitter notes in confections just got easier with the expansion of Crio Bru’s brewing cocoa into the wildly...
Pure Genius brownies are moist, indulgent and satisfying. They also happen to contain 40% chickpeas (garbanzo beans are the #1 ingredient), flaxseed and oats, and half the calories of a regular brownie, coupled with a meaningful amount of fiber and protein.
Mars’ Grupo Turin buy gives it a premium chocolate brand to expand internationally, but consumers are increasingly building loyalty to its competitors as the segment grows saturated, writes Euromontior analyst Jack Skelly.
Ripple Brand Collective - the New York based company behind barkTHINS, a snacking chocolate brand that has ‘taken off like a rocket ship’ since its 2013 launch - has been snapped up by Hershey for an undisclosed sum.
Move over sweet and savory – zesty is the latest flavor profile to enter the nutrition bar category with the launch of a new line of fruit bars from manufacturer That’s It.
A district court in California has thrown out lawsuits accusing Hershey and Nestlé of misleading consumers by failing to disclose cocoa in some chocolate brands may come from slave labor.
Unilever’s Magnum chocolate range has entered retail outlets across Western Europe after a recent rebranding and plans further global expansion, says contract manufacturer Kinnerton Confectionery
Fannie May hopes to enter new distribution channels after rebranding packs for its premium chocolate range to designs that resonate with Chicago pride, says its CEO.
The ever versatile and increasingly popular avocado continues its expansion beyond savory snacks to enter the confection category with the launch of Cado avocado-based ice cream, which could be a game-changer in the non-dairy frozen dessert segment.
Energems has been accepted as a member at the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) and says the new confectionery category of chocolate energy supplements it has created is poised for growth.
Industry consultant Curtis Vreeland considers the recipes for success in the US bean-to-bar chocolate market with analysis from craft chocolatiers such as TCHO and Dandelion Chocolate.
For Undone Chocolate, what is in a name is not as important as what is in its gourmet bars, which is why the startup is dropping individual product names in favor of umbrella branding and highlighting key ingredients.
Cocoa farmers operate in a chocolate supply chain that perpetuates poverty and bear the bulk of the risk, claims Cacao for Change as it proposes an alternative model.
Chocolate makers can draw on coffee industry grading standards to develop a common quality system for cocoa, says Lutheran World Relief’s manager of coffee and cocoa.
Barry Callebaut has found previously undiscovered cocoa polyphenols as it works with Bremen-based Jacobs University to crack the commodity’s molecular code.
