Mondelēz International has scaled up its cocoa sustainability program through a partnership with its major supplier Barry Callebaut and has set a long-term goal of professionalizing the cocoa sector.
Chocolate makers must pay double the market price for cocoa farmers to receive a living income, says the CEO of Fairtrade as the organization gears up to review pricing.
Treofan has spent €60m in the past two years upgrading its plants in Germany, Italy and Mexico. It also has a sales office in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, US.
Confectionery consultant Curtis Vreeland assesses the growing US bean-to-bar chocolate market and asks several artisanal chocolatiers how and if they can co-exist with multinationals.
Nestlé will launch its Swiss bean-to-bar premium chocolate brand Cailler in key international markets via e-commerce as it looks to plug an alleged gap in its premium confectionery portfolio.
Sometimes the most disruptive food products are less about blue-sky innovation than taking something familiar, adding a new twist, and creating a completely new category, says Ripple Brand Collective founder and CEO Scott Semel, who has seen his latest...
Cocoa flavanols have been tied to lowering blood pressure and heart disease risk in new research by a Mars-backed project, but study authors say chocolate is too calorific to be a delivery vehicle.
Global dark chocolate sales are expected to rise 9% each year up to 2019 due to increased demand in developing nations and associated health benefits, according to Technavio.
Lindt & Sprüngli has reported strong sales growth in the first half of the year driven by its North American business and recent Russell Stover acquisition as global chocolate markets slow or decline.
Yeast species used in the beer, wine and bread industries can also be used in cocoa fermentation to create unique flavors for chocolate confectionery, say Belgian researchers.
Dark chocolate often steals the spotlight for health claims, but new research suggests milk chocolate, which is sweeter, fattier and more popular, could offer the same benefits in high doses.
Euromonitor International expects more chocolate makers will take vertical control of their supply chains by acquiring commodity suppliers as prices continue to climb.
Indulgent dessert brand Dannon Creamery – the Dannon's Company’s first new brand in the US since Oikos – has not set the world on fire, the firm has acknowledged.
Goldfish Puffs (twisted grilled cheese), Honey Bunches of Oats chocolate chip breakfast biscuits, and Doritos Roulette Chips all garnered high marks in the latest shelf score ranking from Instantly, which measures purchase intent for new products.
Chocolate marketers likely will gain more traction if they appeal to consumers emotionally and emphasize the health benefits of inclusions, such as nuts and dried fruit, suggest the results of a recent survey conducted by the Almond Board of California.
A Nestlé-supported study has examined the causes of chocolate fat blooming, a process when white defects appear on the surface of chocolate because of fat crystallization – a serious problem for the global confectionery industry.
The Hershey Company made significant progress against its responsible sourcing and sustainability commitments in 2014, according to its latest Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) report.
Special edition: Beyond 2020 - The future of sustainable cocoa
Asia is poised to help meet rising demand for cocoa, but its key producer Indonesia faces quality concerns and its government lacks incentive to grow the sector.
Rising health concerns, commodity costs and competition are restraining sales of chocolate in the U.S. that until 2014 were growing strongly, according to market research from Mintel.
Yogurt manufacturers are rolling out a wide variety of new products to drive consumer interest in and consumption of the dairy product in an attempt to boost sales, which have slowed in recent years after experiencing astronomical growth for several years...
Washington, D.C.-based startup Undone Chocolate is on a mission to combine flavor and health and to succeed it is willing to pay three times more than the premium price for Fair Trade to secure the highest quality cacao beans farm direct.
Thanks to a little ingenuity, Candy Treasure has brought to the U.S. legally a line of much-loved chocolate surprise eggs and sports balls filled with whimsical small toys that, until now, FDA and the Consumer Product Safety Commission banned in America.
The chocolate industry must commit to longer sourcing agreements if it expects farmers to be able to invest in cocoa productivity and quality, according to a leading farming cooperative in Côte d’Ivoire.
Non-profit As You Sow has accused Hershey, Mars and See’s Candies of failing to label lead and cadmium content in chocolate contrary to Californian law.
A new study revealing that a significant portion of dark chocolate products sold in the U.S. may contain undeclared milk could shake some consumers’ confidence in the industry in the week leading up to Valentine’s Day – one of the category’s most significant...
Barry Callebaut says it has developed a thermo-tolerant chocolate that can withstand four degrees more heat than a standard chocolate recipe without compromising on taste.
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.
Companies hoping to appeal to consumers interested in the heart health benefits of dark chocolate now have another marketing tool at their disposal: the percentage of cocoa labeled on their bars.
Olam’s $1.3bn deal to acquire ADM Cocoa is likely to have little impact on the price of cocoa ingredients for chocolate makers because grinding capacity is still concentrated with three players.
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.
Ebola is a huge humanitarian concern for the cocoa and chocolate industry, but contrary to some reports it is not yet having a major business impact for big chocolate players like Mars and Mondelēz.
Brand power and ingredient quality are the two principal factors that define a premium chocolate in the Brazilian market and the middle class wants more of it, according to the results of an exclusive survey shown to ConfectioneryNews by the Brazilian...
Mars has filed a patent for a method to process unfermented cocoa beans that it claims would maintain the final chocolate taste and allow for a more consistent flavor.
Hershey has partnered with its supplier Cargill to bring its cocoa sustainability program to the Côte d’Ivoire, helping farmers achieve UTZ certification.
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.
Lindt & Sprüngli's US subsidiary Ghirardelli Chocolate has settled a class action lawsuit over allegations its Premium Baking Chips – Classic White misled consumers by claiming to contain white chocolate.
Big interview: Joseph Montgomery III, CEO of Agro Innova
A long beloved refreshment for cacao plantation workers—albeit previously underused part of the cacao fruit—the nutritional powerhouse cacao pulp is making its way to US supermarket shelves in smoothie form.
Just a week after Mexico banned commercials for soda, snacks and confectionery products during cinema showings of children’s movies and during children’s TV programming, Mexican authorities say ads for Nestlé, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Hershey´s and Holanda products...
