General News
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Hames launches Christmas Chocolate range
17 September 2020Hames Chocolates has unveiled its Chocolate Christmas Stag range, which is made with sustainably grown cocoa. The Christmas range has also been produced with milk from cows who graze in British meadows and is made in the company’s factory in Lincolnshire. There are three variants in the range – Rich Dark Chocolate, Salted Caramel and Irish Cream. They come in a 50g pack. Alongside the Christmas Stag range, Hames Chocolates also manufactures truffles, filled chocolates, chocolate bars, chocolate Neapolitans, Easter eggs, private label chocolates, bespoke chocolates, cake domes, moulded chocolates, hollow chocolate figures and chocolate boxes.
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Symrise reveals its zero-waste strategy initiatives
17 September 2020Numerous measures for sustainable packaging are being launched by Symrise as part of its zero-waste strategy. Some of these measures include paper bags replacing plastic and large barrels being used instead of canisters to save materials and space. The company has set itself the goal to reduce its share of CO2 along the entire value chain and want to operate climate-neutral by 2030. As part of this, Symrise has been focusing on avoiding waste and increasing reusability and recycling to ensure packaging is as sustainable as possible. The company is increasingly avoiding boxes for its powder products and employing an increasing number of reusable barrels to transport the bags normally contained in the boxes instead. This significantly reduces the use of paper. In addition, Symrise is replacing more plastic containers with metal ones for use in laboratories. Symrise is also stepping up its carbon offsetting initiative for cardboard boxes, which was initiated in Germany in March 2020, by calculating its carbon footprint for different packaging materials. Symrise supports climate protection projects based on this calculation, and offsets the unavoidable CO2 emissions that result from production all the way to transport. Symrise marks every box with a QR code, which links to a website with information on sustainability projects the company supports to offset unavoidable emissions. On the website there is a CO2 clock that permanently shows the already saved CO2 value. Björn Kumlehn, Director Technical Purchasing at Symrise, said: “We are constantly looking for possibilities to improve our carbon footprint. “To achieve this, we rely on the cooperation of our suppliers and customers in many areas. Together with them, we identify innovative and sustainable packaging solutions for the future.”
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Girls’ Education Fund launched by MIA Chocolate
14 September 2020Ethical chocolate brand MIA has launched the Girls’ Education Fund as part of its ‘1 for Change’ programme which aims to support vulnerable African students. Sponsored students, identified and monitored in partnership with UK charity Money for Madagascar, receive a monthly sum to pay for school fees, a healthy school lunch and healthcare. Typically, girls are impacted by the education crisis in Madagascar as they are usually the first to be removed from school to help with chores and support family income. MIA set up The Girls’ Education Fund to try and tackle this negative trend and to demonstrate the value of girls’ education. MIA Co-founder Sarah said: "MIA works with African communities to craft delicious value-added chocolate that can bring positive benefit to communities beyond the supply chain. In the process of delivering on the brand promises, we want to make the human connection between consumers and producer communities. “Knowing how valuable education has been in my life, both professionally and personally, I am really excited to see MIA support the academic journeys of young women in Africa". In supporting the lives of young women with great potential, the Girls' Education Fund contributes to United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 4 and 5 for Quality Education and Gender Equality respectively.
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NOMO launches vegan and free-from caramel bar
09 September 2020Confectionery brand NOMO has unveiled its vegan and free from Caramel Filled Choc Bar, designed to ensure that nobody misses out on “great tasting chocolate”. The product has been made with a non-dairy alternative to milk chocolate and has a vegan caramel-flavoured centre. The product, which is completely vegan and free from dairy, gluten, egg and nuts, will join the wider NOMO product range. Made from sustainably sourced, quality ingredients, the Caramel Filled Choc Bar will be available in supermarkets like Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose. Emma Perrett, Senior Innovation and Brand Manager of Kinnerton Confectionery said: “One of our aims at NOMO is to develop mainstream flavours that we know customers will love regardless of whether they are vegan or have a food allergy. We know caramel is a flavour that many vegan and free from consumers have been missing out on, so we are delighted that the Caramel Choc Bar will be available in Sainsbury’s from the end of September.”
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Mondelēz unveils diversity and inclusion strategy
09 September 2020Confectionery group Mondelēz International has announced a multi-year commitment focused on enhancing its diversity and inclusion initiatives. These initiatives aim to make “meaningful impacts in the area of racial equity economic empowerment around the world”. Over the next three years, the company will expand its diversity and inclusion (D&I) initiative across three key areas: Colleagues, Culture and Communities. For example, to ensure diversity of colleagues at all levels, Mondelēz intends to double Black representation in U.S management by 2024. The group also plans to invest $1 million (USD) into minority and women-owned businesses globally by 2024, alongside other goals. Dirk Van de Put, Chairman and CEO of Mondelēz International, said: “As a global company, we know that diversity in all its forms is a driver of innovation and growth and we must reflect the diversity of our consumers to deliver stronger business performance as we lead the future of snacking.”
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Natural blue confectionery ingredient unveiled by Chr.Hansen
08 September 2020Ingredients company Chr.Hansen has developed FruitMax blue, a unique liquid blue developed to protect its colour the instant it hits hot candy masses. Blue is a rare colour in the natural colour pallete, with there being only one globally accepted natural source of blue colours, which comes from spirulina. However, spirulina formulations may not be effective in the tough production conditions of boiled candies. For the most part, manufacturers have previously used artificial colours when it comes to creating gum and candies because of this. According to Chr. Hansen, this challenge has now been solved with the launch of Fruitmax Blue 1506. Lotte Jeppesen, Global Industry Business Manager, Confetionery, said: “Some of the best spirulina-based products, until now, needed to be pre-dispersed at production, which can be messy, difficult and inefficient for the producers. “We have seen a built-up demand for precisely this product – it’s an easy and convenient solution for all types of boiled sweets, and it performs well in both sugar-free and sugar-based applications.” Jeppesen added: “We are excited to put a product on the market that caters to this need. Our new patent-pending solution will be especially appealing to health-conscious brands using other natural ingredients, like menthol in lozenges.”
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Nestlé ramps up sustainable packaging transformation journey
07 September 2020Nestlé is escalating its actions to make 100% of its packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025 and to reduce its use of virgin plastics by one-third in the same period. As part of this, Nestlé has announced a series of new initiatives, including a USD $30 million (£22.7 million) investment to increase food-grade recycled plastics in the US. Already, Nestlé has introduced various sustainable packaging initiatives such as: Transforming to paper packaging across various formats. Together with Project STOP, created a sustainable waste management system and helps reduce ocean plastic pollution in Indonesia. A trial to collect, sort and process soft plastics in Australia. A sustainable packaging education and training program for over 290,000 employees, to accelerate behaviour change and help the company meet its packaging objectives. Introduced a digital platform to help consumers dispose of their packaging waste appropriately in Italy, and many more. From this, 87% of the company’s packaging is already recyclable or reusable. Véronique Cremades-Mathis, Global Head of Sustainable Packaging, Nestlé, said: "We have made strides in our transformative journey towards a waste-free future, but we know that we have more work to do. As the world's largest food and beverage company, we're committed to putting our size and scale to work to tackle the packaging waste problem everywhere that we operate." The development and testing of new, more environmentally friendly packaging materials is driven by the Nestlé Institute of Packaging Sciences. It has around 50 scientists who conduct “cutting-edge” packaging research to ensure the safety and applicability of new materials. Research outcomes include new refillable or reusable systems, simplified materials, high-performance barrier papers and the introduction of more recycled content to Nestlé's packaging. Nestlé will continue to introduce alternative packaging materials and new delivery systems, invest in infrastructure and work with consumers to help solve the packaging waste challenge.
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Syntegon’s wins a German Packaging Award
04 September 2020Syntegon Technology, formerly known as Bosch Packaging Technology, has picked up a major packaging award for its TPU1000 form, fill and seal system machine. The machine impressed The German Packaging Institute (dvi) for its production of sustainable portion packs, which led to Syntegon winning the German Packaging Award According to the jury, the machine for paper-based packaging materials “paves the way for new, sustainable packaging solutions that meet the trends towards replacing petrochemical plastics and individualisation”. Matthias Klauser, Sustainability Expert and Syntegon Technology commented: “The TPU offers brand owners with high demands on sustainability and aesthetics completely new packaging options for food, cosmetics and non-food products. “We are therefore all the more pleased that the dvi recognizes our innovation and sustainability efforts.”
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LoveRaw launches vegan Cre&m Filled Wafer bar
03 September 2020Vegan chocolate brand LoveRaw has launched what is described as “the world’s first” vegan hazelnut cream filled wafer bar. Consisting of two individually wrapped bars sealed within LoveRaw’s newly re-branded packaging, the Cre&m Filled Wafer Bar is representative of LoveRaw’s mantra: ‘chocolate first, vegan second’. Its ingredients include the brand’s own M:lk® chocolate and contains “no artificial nonsense”, no palm oil, and no dairy. Initially launched online, the product has received interest from several retail giants. Manav Thapar, Managing Director, LoveRaw, commented: “As with all new product launches, we did have to jump through some hoops – the biggest being that the Cre&m Filled Wafer Bar had to taste like “chocolate chocolate” and not compromise on flavour. “Continuing with this process amidst a global pandemic has been challenging, however, we have been lucky to be able to adapt and overcome any hurdles in order to move forward with our plans for rapid business growth.”
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Major rebrand of Givaudan’s Flavour division
02 September 2020Global flavours and fragrances company Givaudan has announced that it will be delivering a rebrand to reflect its expanded product offering. From now on, the Flavour Division will be named Taste & Wellbeing to highlight “its global leadership position in flavour and taste, while signalling the expansion of the business into adjacent spaces”. The new name will reflect the company’s aim to create “healthier and happier lives, with love for nature”. Louie D’Amico, President Taste & Wellbeing said: “Over the past five years, we have expanded our portfolio in a significant way, complementing our industry-leading flavour and taste capabilities with an outstanding offer of natural functional and nutritional solutions. “This new name captures this expanded portfolio and the value we bring to customers by going beyond great taste, to crease more complete future-facing food experience.”
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