General News
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Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana release action plan to end deforestation
04 March 2019The top cocoa-producing countries of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, along with the world’s leading chocolate and cocoa companies, are releasing action plans to end deforestation in the cocoa sector and restore forest areas. This announcement is part of the implementation commitments of the Cocoa & Forests Initiative, which was launched in November 2017 at the UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany. The action plans focus on: Forest protection and restoration Sustainable cocoa production and farmers’ livelihoods Community engagement and social inclusion The governments and companies have committed to no further conversion of any forest land for cocoa production. They have pledged to eliminate illegal cocoa production in protected areas, in line with stronger enforcement of national forest policies and development of alternative livelihoods for affected farmers. These combined actions will play a crucial role in sequestering carbon stocks and addressing global and local climate change, in line with the Paris Climate Agreement. The governments of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana have developed and published National Implementation Plans for the Initiative. This follows extensive consultations with stakeholders, including cocoa and chocolate companies, farmer groups, environmental organisations, and development partners. The National Plan for Côte d’Ivoire builds on the new Declaration of Policy for Forest Preservation, Rehabilitation and Extension adopted by the government in May 2018. Key strategic priorities include passage of the new Forest Code by government on 30 January 30 2019, creation of a National Forest Preservation and Rehabilitation Fund, development and implementation of the national cocoa traceability system, and implementation of pilot projects in five priority regions. The National Plan for Ghana leverages the Ghana Cocoa Forest REDD+ Program to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and enhance carbon stocks through sustainable forest management. The priority actions are to scale up landscape approaches to end forest degradation in six Hotspot Intervention Areas, improve cocoa yields through adoption of environmentally sound climate-smart practices, and strengthen supply chain mapping. Thirty-three companies, accounting for about 85% of global cocoa usage, have joined the Cocoa & Forests Initiative. Each company has now completed its initial action plan to spell out the steps taken over the 2018-2022 period to support ending deforestation and restoring forest areas in the cocoa supply chain. These initial plans will be updated in 2019 in conjunction with the governments’ completion of several ongoing steps, including the revision of land use policies and regulations, mapping of protected areas, and collection of key forest and land use data. The World Cocoa Foundation has released the consolidated initial plans of the companies for Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. Each company will publicly disclose its own individual initial plan over the next three weeks. World Cocoa Foundation Chairman Barry Parkin said, “The industry committed in 2017 to partner with cocoa producing governments to end deforestation in the supply chain. The disclosure of the initial company action plans is a major milestone to ensure transparency and accountability for our commitment. As we implement key actions on the ground, we look forward to partnering with international financial organisations to mobilise financing, garner knowledge, and technical assistance to scale up impact.” Companies that have signed the Framework for Action of the Cocoa & Forests Initiative are: Arysta Callivoire Barry Callebaut Blommer Chocolate Company Cargill Cocoa and Chocolate Cémoi Chocolats Halba Cocoanect Cococo Chocolatiers ECOM Group Fazer Ferrero General Mills Inc. Godiva Chocolatier Inc. Guittard Chocolate Company The Hershey Company Indcresa Lindt & Sprüngli Group Marks & Spencer Food Mars Wrigley Confectionery Meiji Co. Ltd. Mondelēz International Nestlé Olam Cocoa PBC Limited Sainsbury’s SIAT Tesco Toms Group Touton Tree Global Unilever Valrhona H. Whittaker & Sons
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Cargill to acquire Smet
04 March 2019Cargill has announced plans to acquire Smet, a leading Belgium-based supplier of chocolate and sweet decorations, to bring together the companies’ global gourmet chocolate activities. The combined business will provide significant opportunities to accelerate growth in the gourmet segment. Customers will benefit from increased intimacy and high speed-to-market with new decoration technology, enhanced production capabilities and a wide-ranging product portfolio. Smet has a global distribution network for gourmet products, two fully owned manufacturing sites in Belgium and Poland, and almost 90 employees. “The proposed acquisition emphasises Cargill’s commitment to its customers in the gourmet segment, building on the strengths of both organisations and enhancing complementary capabilities. We will broaden our product portfolio and services to artisans and chocolatiers, bakery, hospitality businesses and food service industries,” says Inge Demeyere, managing director of Cargill’s chocolate activities in Europe. “For over five decades, Smet is driven by a passion for chocolate and stands out with a relentless problem-solving attitude, innovative mindset and great flexibility,” says Theo Graban, executive member of the Board of Smet. Johan Smet, CEO of Smet, adds: “Cargill provides us with a unique opportunity to serve our customers with a globally integrated cocoa and chocolate supply chain, a renowned sustainability approach and deep chocolate expertise.” The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2019. Cargill’s cocoa and chocolate business offers the food industry a wide range of both standard and customised cocoa and chocolate ingredients for use in bakery, confectionery and dairy applications all over the world. The company’s product range includes high quality Gerkens cocoa powders, chocolate, coatings, fillings, cocoa liquors and cocoa butters.
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Waitrose commits to 100% Fairtrade cocoa
01 March 2019By the end of this year, all cocoa in Waitrose & Partners’ own brand confectionery will be 100% Fairtrade. The company says that this conversion to Fairtrade cocoa will significantly increase the volume of Fairtrade cocoa sold in Waitrose & Partners stores, helping to improve living standards for cocoa farmers. The commitment will extend to over 100 confectionery lines and increase the supermarket’s annual Fairtrade investment to more than $3.3 million, a figure that supports farmers, workers and producer organisations across the Fairtrade network. Lizzie Sutcliffe, buyer of confectionery at Waitrose & Partners said: “Responsible sourcing is something both we and our customers care deeply about. Given the popularity of our own brand confectionery and Fairtrade products in store, our new cocoa commitment is a natural fit and the perfect act of solidarity to support the Fairtrade Foundation in their campaign. “The typical income cocoa farmers currently earn mean they often struggle to cover their production costs, even before affording essentials like food, clothing, education and healthcare. By supporting Fairtrade’s campaign and ensuring all cocoa in our own brand confectionery is Fairtrade certified, through the support of our customers, we can improve living standards for many cocoa farming communities in Africa.” Along with its new 100% cocoa commitment across all own brand confectionery, Waitrose & Partners is Fairtrade across all own brand tea, speciality sugars, block chocolate and cafe coffee and black tea. The food supermarket retailer also sells a number of branded Fairtrade products including Divine Chocolate and the new Tony’s Chocolonely - a brand with a mission to make the chocolate industry 100% slave free.
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Cereal bars the fastest growing UK confectionery segment
28 February 2019According to a new data guide, the United Kingdom confectionery market registered a growth of 1.36% to reach £9.195m in 2018. Energy bars are the leading segment in the snack bars category, which recorded a per capita consumption of 0.039Kg in 2018, while bubble gum is the fastest growing segment in the gum category. The chocolate category is expected to reach a healthy CAGR of 2.18% by 2023. Among distribution channels, supermarkets and hypermarkets are the preferred destination. The guide has found that cereal bars was the fastest growing segment in the last five years, with a CAGR of 5.26%. The volume sale of sugar confectionery category observed a flat sale, despite the robust value growth; and liquorice accounts for the smallest share in the sugar confectionery category, which is expected to witness a CAGR of 0.28% during the forecast period. The data guide on confectionery provides a complete overview of the market during the period 2010-2018, while the forecast data is provided until 2023. The guide comprises retail sales of various categories within confectionery, such as sugar confectionery, gum, and snack bars, along with their values, volume and channels of distribution. Furthermore, it provides an in-depth analysis of the various segments in the confectionery market, along with their growth perspective, which is expected to help in venturing into specific growth areas.
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Olam announce acquisition of Indonesia's largest cocoa processor, BT Cocoa
28 February 2019Gerard A. Manley, CEO at Olam International and Piter Jasman, Owner of BT Cocoa Olam announces acquisition of Indonesia’s largest cocoa processor, BT Cocoa, to capitalise on Asia’s trajectory to become the largest global consumer of cocoa powder. Global food and agri-business Olam International Limited announced that it has acquired an 85% share of YTS Holdings Pte Limited for a consideration of USD$90 million which is 100% owner of PT. Bumitangerang Mesindotama (“BT Cocoa”). The remaining 15% of shares are to be held by the founding members of BT Cocoa, Piter Jasman and family. It will add 120,000 metric tonnes of cocoa bean processing capacity and 30,000 metric tonnes of cocoa mass pressing capacity to serve increasing demand for cocoa products in Asia, especially cocoa powder. The aquisition will strengthen brand portfolio offering and will enable further development and growth of the Olam Cocoa’s Huysman brand. CEO of Olam Cocoa, Gerard A. Manley said, “We are excited to have the opportunity to rapidly expand our footprint in Asia and to develop this business with the founder and family of BT Cocoa. Our longstanding relationship will enable us to deliver world class cocoa ingredients and services to our expanded customer base and look to strengthen these relationships in the future in one of the fastest growing regions in the world.” The acquisition satisfies increasing customer demand for full integration within the cocoa supply chain by bringing together Olam Cocoa, a world leader in traceable cocoa bean sourcing and a leading processor of cocoa ingredients, and BT Cocoa, the largest cocoa processor in Indonesia. Olam Cocoa offers breadth, depth and scalability from origin sourcing, trading, risk management, value chain processing and supply chain solutions, to sustainability, research and development, and cocoa ingredient innovation. BT Cocoa supplies size and scale in Indonesian cocoa processing with a total installed cocoa bean grind and cocoa mass capacity of 150,000 metric tonnes and a facility equipped with the latest processing technology. Olam Cocoa has been working closely with BT Cocoa for nearly 3 years through a Business Collaborative Agreement and has already made considerable financial and operational improvements, including helping BT Cocoa achieve a 30% reduction in energy consumption. This acquisition supports the worldwide positive growth trend of chocolate and cocoa ingredient consumption and the expectation that the need for cocoa processing will continue to grow, supported by additional investment in cocoa producing and consuming countries. In 2018, global chocolate consumption was above 6 million metric tonnes and is expected to increase in the next five years. Indonesia is currently the world’s 6th largest cocoa producing country and Asia is set to become the second largest consumer of cocoa ingredients in the world led by China, India, Japan and the Philippines1. Asian demand for cocoa powder in particular is increasing with a 5 year CAGR projection of 8%2. Growth in snack food categories like sweet biscuits and cookies, which accounted for 40% of new product development in Asia in 2018, is driving this trend3. BT Cocoa’s prominence as an existing supplier to leading chocolate and confectionery manufacturers in the region presents new market opportunities for Olam Cocoa’s ingredients portfolio, such as value cocoa powders brand Huysman, which was launched in Asia in 2018, and to complement premium cocoa brand deZaan. With its world-leading team of R&D and Product Development and Innovation experts, Olam Cocoa is well positioned to capitalise on these emerging trends to support the needs of regional consumers. Olam Cocoa has been operating in Indonesia since 1996 and is the country’s largest exporter of cocoa beans, establishing the company’s first cocoa sustainability initiative there in 2004. Since that time, USD$20 million in premiums have been paid to cocoa farmers and 5 million cocoa tree seedlings distributed. Today, Olam Cocoa includes 65,500 Indonesian cocoa farmers across 6 provinces in sustainability programmes. Supplying resources for the best cocoa growing techniques based on leading plant science R&D, programmes aim to support livelihoods comparable to the farming of competing crops. Olam Cocoa also owns one of the largest cocoa plantations in Indonesia, located on Seram Island. Piter Jasman of BT Cocoa, said, "The relationship with Olam Cocoa represents a powerful opportunity for BT Cocoa to significantly expand our market with enhancements to quality, safety and ethically responsible cocoa products. The past 3 years of collaboration has clearly demonstrated the potential for delivering better value. The combination of Olam Cocoa's expertise as the leading global supplier and processor of sustainable cocoa, with BT Cocoa’s strong local network, will provide our customers with increasing benefits.” Yeong Chye of Olam Cocoa, added: “With the acquisition of BT Cocoa ...
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Kezzler announce the serialisation of 6 billion products in 2019 including Mondelēz
28 February 2019Photo: Kezzler Kezzler, a global leader in serialisation technology announce that in 2019 over 6 billion products will carry unique Kezzler codes worldwide including Mondelēz Toblerone. Kezzler’s technology is used to give every item a unique, secure and traceable identity. Its patented, innovative and scalable solutions are deployed by global brands worldwide in multiple industries including fast moving consumer goods, food and beverage, agriculture, luxury, industrial, and pharmaceuticals. Brands that have deployed Kezzler’s solution to date range from Reckitt Benckiser and Pfizer Viagra in Asia, to Mondelēz Toblerone in Europe and Honeywell in the USA. Speaking on the milestone, Kezzler CEO, Christine Akselsen stated, “This remarkable achievement is the product of 16 years pioneering innovation in the industry with the objective of delivering solutions to real world problems such as counterfeit goods and unauthorised distribution, changing regulatory requirements and the need to build consumer trust.” An example of this technology is seen in a campaign which Packaging Strategies has covered. They featured a case study in which Kezzler and Amcor partnered with Mondelēz to enable personalised gifting with Toblerone. The case study forms part of Packaging Strategies’ February feature on Active and Intelligent Packaging. During the campaign, Toblerone bars were assigned unique IDs that were embedded into QR codes and applied to the packaging. By scanning the code with their phone, consumers were able to record a personal video message for the intended recipient. The message was then linked to their individual bar and could be shared via social media. It went live in November last year, with campaign activation for two days in 77 Sainsbury stores across the UK. The 360g Toblerone bars came with custom sleeves such as: ‘To my Mom’, ‘To my BFF’, and ‘To Grandma’, each with their own unique QR code. Earlier in 2018, Kezzler and Amcor rolled out a Valentine’s Day campaign with Mondelēz, using the MaXQ digital packaging system on boxes of Cadbury Milk Tray across 133 UK Tesco stores. The promotion, which asked consumers “what would you say with Milk Tray?” led to an increase in sales of 7%. The campaigns are great examples of the opportunities that exist for brands to boost consumer engagment using Kezzler’s technology. By digitalising a Toblerone bar or a box of Milk Tray, brands can enable personalised gifting, making it about more than simply a product, but also an experience.
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Vince Gruber to lead Mondelēz in Europe
26 February 2019Vince Gruber has been appointed Executive Vice President & President Europe of Mondelēz International, to shape and drive the company strategy ‘Snacking Made Right’ in the European business. The new strategy aims to empower people to snack right by offering the right snack, made the right way, for the right moment. “With ‘Snacking Made Right’, we have a strong strategic plan that will guide our actions in the years ahead and lead us towards sustained and profitable growth,” says Vince Gruber. “I feel honoured to lead such an excellent European team and look forward to creating the future of snacking.” Mondelēz International says that Europe is the most important contributor to the growth of the company, accounting for more than one-third of the revenue of the group, with $10bn net revenue in 2018. Power Brands like Milka, Cadbury, Toblerone, Oreo, LU, Halls are holding leading market positions across Europe. Vince Gruber's career began in 1989 at Kraft Foods Austria, holding various positions in marketing until 2000. After working outside the company for seven years, he returned to Kraft Foods in 2007 as Director Chocolate for Germany, Austria, Switzerland, a role he held until 2010 when he was appointed President Chocolate for Europe. In 2016, Mr Gruber took up the position of Area President Western Europe. In January 2019, he was appointed Executive Vice President & President Europe for Mondelēz International in Zurich. Vince Gruber has been appointed Executive Vice President & President Europe of Mondelēz International,
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Firetree launches single estate chocolate
26 February 2019New UK super-premium chocolate brand, Firetree, has announced the launch of its single estate range of chocolates. The cocoa beans are sourced from small, island estates in the South Asian Pacific and Madagascar where cocoa beans are produced with natural flavours that change, merge, and linger on the palate. The cocoa beans are of the very best quality and create smooth, rich chocolate, which is also dairy free and vegan-friendly Firetree works closely and directly with all their farmers to ensure best, sustainable agricultural practice, and the company takes social responsibility seriously, ensuring that the farmers are paid a premium necessary to support their families and invest in their business. Firtree’s craft manufacturing process is designed to enhance, develop and bend the taste; this includes fermentation, the drying process in the tropical sun, whole bean roasting in the shell to lock in the flavour, and slow conching. The company has recently secured £1.2 million of new investment funding from The British Business Bank (BBB), Foresight Group and Independent Growth of Finance (IGF) to increase the capacity of its craft production facility in order to meet increasing orders, growing contract manufacturing volumes, and to fund further brand development. CEO David Zulman said: “Firetree is extremely grateful for the support we have received both from our existing shareholders and for the investment commitment that British Business Bank, Foresight and Independent Growth Finance have made to enable us to deliver our vision. The investment will be used to extend our distribution amongst the UKs leading premium retailers and top chocolatiers, build distribution overseas and provide us with the resources to build an exciting new super- premium consumer brand” Firetree is headquartered in Stamford Lincolnshire with the factory based in Peterborough.
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BENEO creates first toffees containing Palatinose™
21 February 2019Functional ingredients manufacturer, BENEO, showcased the first toffees with its functional carbohydrate, Palatinose™ at iSM. The new product concept has been created to offer consumers a healthier toffee alternative, as it replaces more than 30% of the high glycaemic sugars contained in a standard toffee recipe, supporting a lower blood glucose response. The increasing global focus on healthy nutrition means that more and more consumers are searching for guilt-free indulgence. However, market research has shown that for many this still remains a challenge: one third (31%) of European consumers feel guilty when they are snacking. Half of German consumers and nearly two thirds of consumers in Spain, Poland and France agree that there aren’t enough healthy sweets available. BENEO-Technology Center has created a healthier toffee supporting a lower blood glucose response as an alternative to existing toffee products on the market which can contain up to 65% of high glycaemic sugars. The toffee and fudge category show continued growth: it has increased faster worldwide than the overall confectionery category in the past five years. This development is expected to continue, demonstrating an opportunity for confectionery producers looking to develop healthier alternatives. Thomas Schmidt, Marketing Director at BENEO comments: “Traditionally toffees conjure up pure indulgence and nostalgia but at the same time a relatively unhealthy image for consumers.” However, he said that the new toffees with Palatinose™ preserve the traditionally creamy-sweet taste and the pleasant bite and mouthfeel of their traditional counterparts, but with a significantly better nutritional profile. Palatinose™ (isomaltulose) is derived from sugar beet and has similar technological properties as sucrose. With its mild sugar-like taste it allows flavours other than sweetness to dominate, making it well suited for sweet snacks. Palatinose™ has received EU health claims for being tooth-friendly and lowering the blood glucose response. The functional carbohydrate is fully, yet slowly released, and provides glucose in a sustained manner, ensuring that blood sugar levels stay balanced. BENEO's first toffees with its functional carbohydrate, Palatinose™
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tna expands services in the Middle East with Dubai hub
21 February 2019tna has expanded its services in the Middle East with the official opening of a new office and training facility in Dubai. Located in the Dubai Airport Free Zone (DAFZ), the company’s new Middle East hub provides local food manufacturers with a range of new after-market services, including enhanced technical support and easier access to spare parts. Featuring state-of-the-art facilities, a modern design and open plan layout, the new site also incorporates a brand new training and demo centre to ensure food manufacturers are able to maximise the performance of their tna equipment. Mukul Shukla, General Manager, tna – Middle East said,“The Middle East food industry is experiencing considerable growth at the moment. Across the region, local and international companies are looking for manufacturing equipment that improves productivity, ensures product quality and meets local consumer demands to tap into the opportunities the Middle East food industry is offering. As a global supplier with a strong local footprint, we’re ideally placed to cater to the different requirements of this dynamic industry. In fact, tna Middle East has grown tenfold since we started operating in the region in 2006 – both in terms of sales as well as staff. Together with our full spectrum of innovative food processing and packaging solutions, our new facility will be instrumental in helping food manufacturers unlock the potential of this rapidly evolving market.” Located in one of the leading business hubs of the region and right in heart of Dubai, the new office is within easy reach of both Dubai and Sharjah airports. At double the size than the previous office, the new facility offers more room for tna’s ever expanding team, while also enabling the company to stock even more spare parts locally. That way, tna customers can benefit from more choice and shorter lead times, helping them minimise downtime, improve line efficiencies and reduce operating costs. Thanks to a brand new demo room, customers can now also experience tna solutions first hand and attend dedicated training sessions to ensure their equipment delivers the highest possible return on investment at all times. Shukla adds, “tna’s new demo and training area offers our customers with a training experience that goes far beyond standard operating instructions by offering them detailed insights into the functions of tna’s cutting-edge equipment in a live operational environment. In combination with our wide range of after-market services such as locally stocked parts, on-site technical support and online training programmes, the new facility will help customers improve workplace safety, reduce downtime, enhance operational efficiencies and maximise the lifespan and performance of their tna solution.”
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