General News
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Interpack 2021 now cancelled due to COVID-19
03 December 2020Following uncertainty from companies as a result of high COVID-19 infections, Messe Düsseldorf has decided to cancel both Interpack and components 2021, scheduled to take place from 25 February to 3 March. The decision came due to restrictions relating to the ongoing pandemic. Wolfram N. Diener, CEO of Messe Düsseldorf, said: “We have done everything we can to do justice to Interpack’s tremendous importance for the processing and packaging industry, even during this pandemic – above all because we have received encouragement from the industry in support of a face-to-face event and have a hygiene concept that has been tried and tested in practice in place to protect everyone involved. “Ultimately, however, feedback from our exhibitors has shown that the uncertainty is too great, and we are thus unable to host an Interpack event that would meet the standards of a leading international trade fair.” In a statement, organisers stated that the Federal Government and German states had implemented stricter measures in Germany which could be extended into the new year, which does not give them “cause for hope that the situation will improve significantly over the course of the coming months”. Focus is now on the next edition of Interpack, which will take place in May 2023. Messe Düsseldorf had offered registered exhibitor’s special conditions for their participation and at the same time granted them an extraordinary right of termination for those companies that were unable or unwilling to take part. Christian Traumann, President of Interpack 2021 and Managing Director & Group President at Multivac Sepp Haggenmüller SE & Co. KG, added: “Besides the unique market coverage, it provides, Interpack is primarily characterised by the direct exchange of information between market-leading companies and top decision-makers for brand names around the world. “This is exactly what is now largely prevented by continuously high infection numbers in core Europe and the associated and continuing travel restrictions and quarantine regulations. We therefore welcome Messe Düsseldorf’s decision to cancel Interpack 2021 and are focussing on Interpack 2023.”
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Tate & Lyle acquires Sweet Green Fields
01 December 2020Tate & Lyle has announced that it has acquired Sweet Green Fields (SGF) – a leading global stevia solutions business. This acquisition should bring a broad portfolio of stevia products and a fully integrated stevia supply chain to Tate & Lyle including leaf sourcing, leaf varietal development, established agricultural programmes and cost-efficient manufacturing. It is expected to strengthen Tate & Lyle’s position as a leading provider of innovative sweetener solutions with the capabilities to create foods and beverages that are lower in sugar and calories and with cleaner labels for customers across the world. It will also extend Tate & Lyle’s presence in the faster growing Asia Pacific region with dedicated stevia production and research and development facilities located in Anji, China. Nick Hampton, Chief Executive, Tate & Lyle, said: “Sweet Green Fields is an exceptional business with a leading portfolio of stevia solutions, a strong team of stevia experts and an impressive, fully-integrated supply chain. We are delighted to take our relationship to the next level by bringing Sweet Green Fields into the Tate & Lyle family. “This acquisition supports our strategy to grow our sweetener solutions portfolio and our purpose of Improving Lives for Generations by helping us to deliver tasty food and beverages with less sugar to consumers worldwide.”
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Nestlé a to sell Yinlu peanut milk and canned rice porridge businesses
30 November 2020Nestlé has announced that it has agreed to sell its Yinlu peanut milk and canned rice porridge businesses in China to Food Wise Co., Ltd, so that the company can focus on areas like confectionery, dairy, coffee and infant nutrition. The deal covers all of Yinlu's operations, including its five factories in Fujian, Anhui, Hubei, Shandong and Sichuan. Yinlu brands had sales of CHF 700 million in 2019. Both parties have agreed not to disclose the financial terms of the transaction. According to Nestlé, Food Wise Co., Ltd., a company controlled by the family of Yinlu founder Chen Qingshui, is well-positioned to enable a smooth transition and ensure the long-term success of that business. As part of the transaction, Nestlé will retain its ready-to-drink (RTD) Nescafé coffee business and distribute the products across most of the Greater China Region. Yinlu will continue to manufacture the Nescafé RTD products for Nestlé and will distribute the products in several provinces. Yinlu will continue to manufacture and sell Nestea products under license from Nestlé. The transaction is expected to close by the end of this year.
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Cargill expands segregated sustainable palm oil capacity in North America
30 November 2020As part of ongoing efforts to increase the availability of sustainably sourced ingredients, Cargill will become one of North America’s first large-scale suppliers of segregated palm oil certified by the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). Beginning December 2020, all palm oil production from the company’s Charlotte, North Carolina refinery will be solely dedicated to providing the sustainably sourced product. Reid Kinde, North American commercial leader for Cargill’s global edible oils business, said: “Palm oil plays a critical role in feeding and supporting millions, as it is the world’s most widely used vegetable oil. “With growing numbers of brands pledging to source palm oil responsibly, we are now positioned to supply North American food manufacturers with sufficient quantities of segregated RSPO-certified product to meet their sustainability commitments.” The expanded supply means consumers may soon see the sustainable palm oil used in many of their favourite foods, including bakery, snacks, confectionery and dairy, as well as popular non-dairy creamers.
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BREAKING NEWS: ISM and ProSweets cancelled due to COVID-19
27 November 2020As a result of the growing number of COVID-19 infections, travel restrictions and related lockdowns, it has been announced that both ISM and ProSweets Cologne 2021 will not be going ahead as planned. Just two weeks ago, Koelnmesse, the top associations of the German sweets and snacks industry as well as important industry representatives were still confident that they would be able to stage the shows. In a statement put out by the show organisers it states that Koelnmesse has taken this decision in close collaboration with the industry sponsors of both trade fairs. Gerald Böse, President and Chief Executive Officer of Koelnmesse, said: "We deeply regret this of course. We were well-aligned, and we firmly believed that we would be able to enable the sweets and snacks industry a re-start with ISM and ProSweets Cologne 2021. "However, due to the current uncertainties our exhibitors and visitors don't see any dramatic improvement that would make a trade fair participation possible in January. We will nevertheless remain on the ball and will immediately set about organising ISM and ProSweets Cologne 2022 with new energy.” The planned digital format, Matchmaking365+, will also not be going ahead, because a “purely digital offer without a physical trade fair would not bring about the desired benefit for the exhibitors and visitors”. Instead, the two trade fairs are planning a campaign for the presentation of significant industry developments, new products and trends from the sweets and snacks sectors. Oliver Freser, Chief Operating Officer of Koelnmesse, commented: "Trade fairs like ISM and ProSweets Cologne live from the variety of national and international industry experts, which is in turn what distinguishes the quality of the event. Due to the currently very dynamic infection situation and further cancellations on behalf of the exhibitors, we can no longer guarantee this quality and the recently announced steady number of registrations could no longer be held upright. We are naturally disappointed. “However, it is now important to look ahead to the future positively with our customers. We in Cologne are still prepared to carry out our trade fairs with the highest safety and hygiene measures and are already looking forward to a new edition of ISM and ProSweets Cologne.” The International Sweets and Biscuits Fair Task Force (AISM) as the industry sponsor of ISM also deeply regrets this decision. Bastian Fassin, Chairman of the AISM, explained: "The sweets and snacks industry were optimistic that it would be able to really take off again with the aid of ISM 2021. As an international business platform, ISM has an essential significance for the industry regarding pushing business forward. However, due to the ongoing high numbers of infections and further lockdowns in many European countries, this decision was unfortunately unavoidable," The planning for the events in 2022 has already started. The show organisers have stated that together with the industry sponsors, Koelnmesse will use the time to ensure that ISM and ProSweets continue to be well-aligned in terms of their concept. This includes the further development of digital formats, which offer a suitable enhancement to the physical trade fair. The next editions of ISM and ProSweets Cologne will be staged from 30.01.-02.02.2022.
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Ferrero to build first chocolate plant in North America
26 November 2020Ferrero has announced plans to build a new chocolate manufacturing centre in Bloomington, Illinois – its first chocolate production plant in North America. The new centre will be an expansion of Ferrero's Bloomington facility and will allow the company to produce chocolate for Crunch,100Grand, SnoCaps, Raisinets, Goobers, Ferrero Rocher and other Ferrero products made in North America. The $75M expansion will add 70,000 square feet to Ferrero's current 2501 Beich Road footprint. Construction is expected to start by spring 2021 and the new facility should create around 50 local jobs. Giovanni Ferrero, Executive Chairman of the Ferrero Group, said: "As a family company, we are proud to have a long track record of investments in local manufacturing infrastructure over the last 70 years. We are therefore delighted to announce that construction will begin on Ferrero's first chocolate manufacturing center in North America – a key strategic market for us. This investment represents an important milestone as we continue to expand our offering of high-quality products for consumers across North America.”
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Nestlé reveals most popular Quality Street
25 November 2020Since launching six weeks ago, the Quality Street web shop has experienced huge demand for its personalised tins – highlighting the most popular pick and mix choices so far. In first place is the Purple One, closely followed by the Green Triangle. Fruit Cremes take third and fourth spots for Strawberry Delight and Orange Creme respectively, while Caramel Swirl is just behind in fifth place, followed by the Toffee Finger. However, with orders for Christmas delivery open until 10 December, there is still plenty of time for the leader board to change. So far, it’s a close race between the north and south of the UK for most Quality Street orders received. London is the city with most orders, and Kent, Essex and Surrey lead the county list. However, Cheshire, West Yorkshire and Lancashire are not far behind, while Glasgow, Nottingham, Leeds, Liverpool and York are among the top ten cities. Ellie Dent, Senior Brand Manager for Quality Street said: “We knew that the web shop would be popular, but it has outperformed all our expectations since its launch. We’re delighted by the reaction but sorry that orders are taking longer to dispatch than we had hoped.”
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Red will shake up the food industry in 2021, GNT predicts
24 November 2020According to EXBERRY® Coloring Foods supplier GNT Group, red is set to “shake up” the food and beverage industry in 2021 thanks to its ability to “spark powerful emotions”. As an iconic shade in the worlds of cosmetics, beauty, fashion, film and design, GNT says that as we approach 2021, red is now ready to invigorate the world of food and drink. The global pandemic has taken consumers outside their comfort zones, leading them to break free from old habits and search for something new. GNT believes red can connect with this desire for discovery and help signal the start of a new era. GNT is also highlighting red’s ability to add a sense of excitement and exploration to food and drink, with its appeal among the Instagram generation providing another key reason for the shade’s growing popularity. Maartje Hendrickx, GNT’s Market Development Manager, said: “Red was the natural choice for our new Love Color with EXBERRY® campaign. It epitomizes human vitality, creating energy, passion and positive action, and brings real excitement to food and drink products. Red is well known for its ability to command instant attention and it’s a colour you won’t be able to ignore in 2021.”
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Gum maker Alland & Robert announces new €11m facility
24 November 2020Manufacturer of acacia gum, Alland & Robert, has announced that it is investing €11 million to install a fourth production line at its plant in Normandy, France. The investment is set to increase its production by around 9,000 tonnes per year – 20,000 tonnes are currently produced each year. This is a 45% increase in production capacity and responds to increasing global demand for acacia gum. The expansion of the plant is set to start in 2021, covering an area of 8,000 m2 which will double the plant surface. There will be a new global production unit in order to increase the company’s acacia gum production capacity. The new facility opening is scheduled for the end of 2022. Frédéric Alland, President of Alland & Robert, said: “This new investment comes on top of the € 3 million already invested in 2020 and 2021 to improve our existing production facilities. “We are happy the COVID-19 crisis hasn’t slowed down our project: for 2020, we estimate our turnover should increase by approximately 8 %. It was 45 million euros in 2019.”
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Ben & Jerry’s boosts payments to cocoa famers
19 November 2020Ben & Jerry’s has partnered with Fairtrade to ensure that cocoa farmers in Côte d’Ivoire earn higher prices for their beans. This is part of the ice cream icon’s pledge to ramp up its living income approach for farmers. Around 5,000 Fairtrade cocoa farmers in Ben & Jerry’s supply chain will receive approximately an additional $600,000 over the next year. This is on top of the annual Fairtrade Premium of around $970,000. The extra money farmers will receive is part of Ben & Jerry’s wider efforts to support farmers towards closing the living income gap. Ben & Jerry’s Global Values-Led Sourcing Manager Cheryl Pinto said: “We’re committed to working for economic justice through our ice cream, and now we’re making history by ramping up our commitment with the cocoa we buy. Starting with the cocoa in our chocolate ice cream mix, we’re working towards the Fairtrade Living Income Reference Price for cocoa farmers, and this is the beginning. We are exploring living incomes in our other global supply chains, too.”
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