Ferré & Consulting Blog (English Version)

The sugar confectionery category in China achieved growth of 3 and 4 per cent in retail value and volume terms respectively in 2010, according to estimates from Euromonitor.

Pastilles, gums, jellies and chews remained the most dynamic category within sugar confectionery last year, reports analyst Francisco Redruello, with the segment growing 8 per cent in retail value sales, due in part to variety in packaging design and flavours.

He notes that the Frutips brand, launched by Nestlé China in 2008, contain eight different flavours including mango and litchi.

“With the melamine contamination scandal fading away, as well as the country’s economic recovery, both retail value and volume growth were slightly faster than in the previous year,” said the analyst.

The industrial chemical melamine was detected in the milk based White Rabbit brand of Chinese sweets during the 2008 contamination scandal.

Gum remains dynamic

Sugar-free gum is also achieving strong growth in that market, as Chinese consumers there become more health conscious, and higher disposable incomes among the middle-class allows them to eat snacks with indulgent as well as functional properties.

Last year, retail volume and value sales for sugar free gum increased by 7 and 6 per cent respectively, said Redruello.

The category in China is dominated by two global brands, Extra and Mentos, with the latter experiencing impressive growth in 2009 due to its unique packaging and cube shape, he continued.

Many leading gum makers have been stressing the health benefits of the ingredient Xylitol to Chinese consumers, either on the packaging or through advertising, said Redruello.

Dark chocolate makes strides

Dark chocolate also recorded strong growth in 2010 due to its health-related benefits, with its lower fat content particularly favoured by female consumers, remarked the analyst.

Mars China and Ferrero China launched Dove Xinshui dark chocolate and Ferrero Rocher Lang Mu respectively in late 2009 and 2010, notes Redruello.

“In contrast with the rapid growth of dark chocolate, plain white chocolate declined in 2009 and 2010, mainly thanks to its relatively high fat content,” added the confectionery market specialist.

Source: Confectionery News

Confectionery chinese, melamine, Sweets

Chocolate manufacturers are the target of a new, easy-to-open and recloseable pack style for horizontally packaged products developed by Germany’s Bosch Packaging Technology in conjunction with Amcor.

Enabling manufacturers to add a lap seal anywhere on a package, the company said new pack style – Bright Side – can enhance brand differentiation and convenience and is particularly suited for chocolate tablets, bars and wafers in a variety of pack sizes.

Johanna Bauer, a spokesperson for the Bosch packaging technology division, told this publication that the technology has been nominated for a packaging award at the German trade event Interpack next month.

The film development for Bright Side was done by Amcor, she added, and the technology allows packaging speeds in the range of 80 packs per minute.

In addition, said Bauer, the German firm is launching new equipment at the Dusseldorf show aimed at the production of airtight and hermetically sealed packages for confectioners – its new Sapal Starpac 600 HL.

Bosch claims that with this equipment, single-wrap die-fold packages can now be produced with hermetic seals, allowing for higher quality chocolate products.

Bauer said that the Starpac is the first to fold and wrap hermetically with a single material around the product. “We hold a patent on this new wrapping style,” she added.

For products requiring more rigorous safety assurance, the company said it will also be showcasing the Pack 301 LD (Long Dwell) flow wrapper at Interpack, which uses a longer dwell head to strengthen seal integrity.

The 301 LD is particularly ideal for fresh, perishable goods where Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) is required, added the German firm.

Bosch is also flagging up a new OEE (overall equipment effectiveness) consulting service provided by its in-house specialists at the show, which it claims will “identify the root causes of inefficiency to enable manufacturers maximize profits.”

Confectionery, packaging Bosch, packaging technology

Confectionery, Ingredients Corn Products International, Erysta 3656, Erythritol, sugar-free

US confectionery manufacturer Hershey claims its growth levels are on pace to achieve $1bn international net sales – outside of North America – by 2015.

Hershey CEO David West and the company’s chief operating officer, JP Bilbrey, said that continued investment in emerging markets with the most potential while continuing to ensure a regionally relevant portfolio would secure such gains within the allocated five year timeframe.

They were participating in the 2011 Consumer Analyst Group of New York (CAGNY) conference yesterday.

Net sales in 2010 for the confectionery maker showed a 7 per cent gain on 2009 revenue, with certain product categories such as gum and chocolate showing increased market penetration.

And West revealed that he expects 2011 net sales for Hershey, which has a 43 per cent share of the US chocolate market and a 50 per cent share of the confectionery retail aisle space, to be around the top of the long term 3-to-5 per cent and 6-to-8 per cent objectives.

He claims the confectioner’s strong and repeatable business model is fuelling US and international growth, along with its decision to focus product innovation on ‘fewer, bigger ideas.’

In terms of emerging market growth, China net sales were up 50 per cent in both 2009 and 2010, reported the US manufacturer. In India, the company has designed its portfolio to meet relevant price points and local coinage, with rapid growth for Hershey’s chocolate range reported there – 21.5 per cent CAGR between 2006 and 2010.

Meanwhile, Kraft Foods, speaking at the same conference, said that it is facing a huge increase in commodity prices but pledged to shield its customers at the supermarket checkout.

The manufacturer, which acquired Cadbury in early 2010, said that rising prices for grains, wheat, and rice could add as much as $700m to $800m this year to the company’s overall costs in North America.

Source: Confectionery News

Confectionery

Nestlé inaugurated a new factory in Dubai in December 2010. The $136m facility is located at TechnoPark and will serve markets across the UAE.

Nestle’s TechnoPark facility is the first confectionery plant built by the company in a decade and is expected to be the third largest Kit Kat manufacturing plant worldwide. The factory will manufacture, can and package Nestle powder milk Nido, Kit Kats and the bottled water Pure Life.

The facility is intended to meet the demand for Nestle products in the region. There is provision to expand the facility for exports to other regions. The factory is an extension of a multi-million dollar facility opened in March 2010 to manufacture powdered milk and package imported Mackintosh’s Quality Street chocolates.

Facility details

Plans to construct a facility at TechnoPark were initiated in 2007. The construction of the facility was started in 2008 and completed in 2010.

The manufacturing facility is spread over 1m ft² and the building covers an area of 515,000ft². The facility currently employs 555 people. The production capacity of the plant is expected to be more than 100,000t a year.

The facility accommodates Nestlé’s Regional Microbiological Laboratory which specialises in analysing of salmonella. The laboratory began operations in 2009 and serves the Nestle factories in the Middle East region. It is also used as a training facility for various government bodies of the UAE.

Site

The TechnoPark is strategically located between a seaport and an international airport, and is to the west of Jafza (Jebel Ali Free Zone).

It enjoys the status of a special economic zone and offers 20m m² space for industrial development and 1m m² for science and technology core. The zone supports the water, health, energy, engineering, logistics and mobility sectors.

The TechnoPark is part of Economic Zones World, which is an arm of Dubai World.

Located in TechnoPark, the Nestle facility gets the advantage of 100% foreign ownership, a 0% corporate tax rate, the option to repatriate capital and profits, and flexibility in using international currency and hiring foreign employees.

Contractors

Amana Contracting and Steel Buildings was awarded the construction contract. The turnkey project was completed in 390 days.

Products

Nido powder milk has a few variants including Nido Laban and Nido Essentia. Essentia is available in 400g and 2,250g cartons.

Production of this is soon going to begin in Dubai. Kit Kat comes in various options such as Caramel, Chunky and Senses. Pure Life bottled water is produced under the company’s Nestle Waters arm.

Nestle Middle East

Nestle has been in the Middle East for 75 years, its first operation in the area opened in Lebanon in 1934. Nestle Middle East was founded in 1997 with a facility in Jafza. Nestlé Middle East operates in 13 countries including Iran, Iraq and Yemen.

Nestle owns 17 factories and 37 offices in the region and employs 7,000 people.

It has invested $400m since 1997 in the region, which contributed $1.4bn to the company’s total turnover in 2009. It is expected to grow to $3.3bn by 2017.

Nestle Middle East produces the Nido, Cerelac, Nescafé, Maggi, Chocapic, Quality Street, Cheerios, Nestle Fitness, Cornflakes and Nesquik brands.

Nestlé also established a sensory lab unit for innovation and new products in Al Quoz, Dubai in 2010. This unit is equipped with sensory technology and acts as a centre to carry out sensory profile analysis of confectionery, dairy products, and coffee.

Companies, Confectionery confectionery plant, Dubai, Nestle

A bakery in Japan has cornered the market on iPhone-inspired cookies. Yes, there’s a market for iPhone-inspired cookies.

Green Gables, a bakery in rural Japan, has an interesting item on the menu — an iPhone, an iPhone cookie, that is.

In 2008, Green Gables owner Kumiko Kudo, 44, was commissioned to make a cookie that resembled an iPod Touch. Kudo’s edible creation ended up looking more like an iPhone, but the customer didn’t seem to mind. Since then, the bakery has been making hundreds of the Apple-inspired cookies, especially after Japanese economist Kazuyo Katsuma recently tweeted a photo of the “amazing iPhone cookie” and sent it viral. The tweet spurred interest and salivation among readers and tech geeks worldwide.

The chocolate cookie features highly detailed glazed “apps,” including SMS messaging, a calendar, iTunes and YouTube. The cookies are a bit larger than an actual iPhone and they sell for 2,730 yen (approximately $33) a pop. Kudo says she can only bake and ice 20 cookies per day, because of the time-consuming attention to detail.

“It is totally surprising to have such a big reaction,” Kudo said. “At first, the cookie was made just to meet a friend’s request and I had no intention of receiving additional orders.”

The viral images have given SoftBank — the exclusive iPhone carrier in Japan — some free advertising, and Kudo gave one of the iPhone cookies to SoftBank’s CEO, Masayoshi Son.

The hand-made iCookie doesn’t come cheap at 2,730 yen (33 dollars), and is only available by order and inside Japan, where the waiting time to snap up one of the biscuits has been as long as two months.

Kudo has received requests for iPad cookies, but she says they are “too big, heavy and difficult to make.

Confectionery iCookie, iPhone Cookie

Wild has developed an all-natural binding system based on juice concentrates. It creates crunchy cereal bars and contains no additives, which allows for a clean label.

Until now, manufacturers had to use several additives when making cereal bars, and these commonly appeared on the label as E-numbers. The company notes, “Manufacturers no longer need many common additives and ingredients such as emulsifiers, fats, citric acid or sorbitol as a humectant. The use of our binding system streamlines the production process for making cereal bars, since manufacturers need to use only this binding system, which is added to the blend of cereals and/or dry fruit. This also decreases the list of ingredients in the finished product.”

The high Brix value and low pH-value of the binding system mean the bars do not need added preservatives. They have a shelf life of nine to twelve months.

Source: Confectionery Production

Confectionery clean label, natual binding system, Wild

Nougat

French nougat has been created egg-free by food scientists at Arla Foods Ingredient. In response to an enquiry from a customer in China, the bakery team has developed a solution which replaces the eggwhites in nougat with the whey protein isolate Nutrilac BK-9250.

Martin Kristensen, bakery technical manager, quotes a potential cost saving of 30-40% when replacing high quality crystalline egg white. The protein has an 18-month shelf life, requires no cold storage and the risk of microbiological contamination is minimal.

Source: Confectionery Production

Confectionery Arla Foods Ingredient, egg-free, French nougat, Nutrilac BK-9250

Confectionery giants Nestle and Cadbury are increasing the recommended retail price of a number of their chocolate bars, it has been reported.

A rise of around seven per cent will take place on some of the companies’ bestselling bars, including Cadbury’s Dairy Milk and Wispa, and Nestle’s Kit Kat and Yorkie, the Grocer reports.

In 2007, when the economic downturn hit, prices were hiked for the first time.

There will be a 3p rise in Dairy Milk prices, meaning the bar is 30 per cent more expensive than it was three years ago.

“My worry is that chocolate is becoming a luxury item rather than an affordable treat,” one wholesaler told the news provider. “We are beginning to reach the point now where people consider small bars to be expensive and we are seeing sales through independents declining.”

“We have taken the decision to increase prices because of economic factors including ingredient costs,” said a Cadbury spokesman.

He denied Kraft Foods’ hostile takeover of the confectioner, which took place in February this year, has led to the rise in prices.

Source: Ingredients Network

Confectionery Cadbury, chocolate bars, Nestle, prices

Kraft Foods has inaugurated its €10.4 million European Kraft Foods Gum and Candy Research & Development Centre in Eysins, Switzerland.

The facility will be dedicated to developing new products mainly for its Trident gum, Halls confectionery, Bassetts, Carambar, The Natural Confectionary Co., Trebor and V6 brands.

“Over recent years, gum has been growing in popularity in Europe as consumers look for new ways to indulge and refresh themselves through great flavours, fresh breath and even for oral care. At Kraft Foods, we see this as a great growth opportunity, both for our European business and globally,” says Chuck Davis, vice president of research, development and quality for Kraft Foods Europe.

The centre will also collaborate closely with the company’s Center of Excellence, in New Jersey, US.

Companies, Confectionery Candy, Gum, Kraft Foods, Research & Development Centre