Candy Industry articles from April 2006

Candy Industry archives from April 2006

Tipping points.(Opening Shots)(chocolates)(Column)
April 1, 2006... Although I love to read books, mostly on flights since there hardly seems any time to do so otherwise, I wouldn't call myself a non-fiction aficionado. There are exceptions, of course, especially when it involves the confectionery industry. The...

Wrigley coo announces retirement ...(Newsletter)(Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co., Ronald V. Waters)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... In an unexpected move, Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co.'s chief operating officer stepped down this month, leaving the founder's great-grandson, William Wrigley, Jr., to reclaim full operating control of the company. Wrigley announced the early retirement...

... While recent acquisitions cost the company in 2006.(Newsletter)(Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. aquires Kraft Foods Inc.)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... After initially expecting recent acquisitions to make a profit for the company in 2006, Wrigley announced this month that they will be slightly dilutive to earnings this year. Wrigley acquired several confectionery brands from Kraft Foods Inc....

Masterfoods cuts costs.(Newsletter)(Masterfoods USA)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Following declining sales, Masterfoods USA announced it is discontinuing AquaDrops mints, the Cookies & cookie line and bite-size Pop'ables candy. The company also plans to cut part of its estimated $300 million in promotion spending to...

UK confectionery market remains strong.(Newsletter)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... According to new market information by Key Note Publications Ltd., Cadbury Trebor Bassett, Masterfoods and Nestle Rowntree continue to dominate the UK confectionery market. The market has achieved year-on-year growth between 2001 and 2005 to...

Hershey enters snack market.(Newsletter)(The Hershey Co.)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... With the line between candy and snacks continually blurring, The Hershey Co. is releasing a number of new snack-related items based off its popular candy products. A new granola bar line includes Reese's Sweet & Salty and Hershey's Sweet &...

Russell Stover announces layoffs.(Newsletter)
April 1, 2006... Kansas City-based Russell Stover Candies announced more layoffs at its Cookeville, Tenn. chocolate factory late last month. The company plans to eliminate 496 jobs over the next two months, less than a year after it laid off 400 people when...

Frankford Candy Co. plans new production facility.(Newsletter)(Frankford Candy and Chocolate Company Inc.)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Philadelphia, Pa.-based Frankford Candy Co. announced plans to unveil its new $20-million facility this spring. The company is consolidating its three facilities into a single, 500,000-sq.-ft. headquarters located on a 23-acre site in...

Gourmet chocolate helped by seasonal sales.(Newsletter)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... According to a new report from market research publisher Packaged Facts, a division of MarketResearch.com, seasonal sales will help drive gourmet chocolate sales to nearly $1.8 billion by 2010. Seasonal sales accounted for about 29% of gourmet...

Blommer acquires plant from World's Finest.(Newsletter)
April 1, 2006... Chicago-based Blommer Chocolate announced the purchase of an 85,000-sq.-ft. chocolate manufacturing facility from World's Finest Chocolate late last month. World's Finest announced it was closing the plant, located in Campbellford, Ontario, in...

Chicago companies involved in look-alike lawsuit.(Newsletter)
April 1, 2006... Chicago-based The Cocoa Room is suing upstart Translucent Chocolates for selling candies that are "confusingly similar" to products it makes. The Cocoa Room's products, including chocolate-covered sunflower seeds, have been featured in O, The...

Chocolate proposed to treat heart patients.(Newsletter)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... In an attempt to build on current research supporting chocolate's healthy attributes, a professor in the UK is attempting to use chocolate as treatment. Roger Corder, a professor of experimental therapeutics, has asked permission to test the...

Study tests sweetener preferences.(Newsletter)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... A study conducted by Ohio State University food scientists shows that the most important factor in determining a person's sweetener preference is the level of bitterness in the compound. Scientists asked 30 college students to rank 13 different...

Fannie May's bouquet attractive to 1-800-FLOWERS.COM.(CANDY NEWS)
April 1, 2006... For gift givers throughout the years, candy and flowers have represented a natural pairing. Clearly management of 1-800-FLOW-ERS.COM sees it that way as well. Last month, the Carle Place, N.Y.-based floral/gift company announced an...

Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co.(People News)(Ralph Scozzafava named vice president)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Ralph Scozzafava has been named to the new position of vice president, worldwide commercial operations, for Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. He also becomes a member of Wrigley's Executive Leadership team. In his new role, Scozzafava, who joined Wrigley...

Medwar receives NCA service award.(CANDY NEWS)(Rich Medwar)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... A veteran of Mars Inc., now a member of the Ferrara Pan Candy Co., team, Rich Medwar (accompanied by his wife, Pat) was presented with NCA's Distinguished Service Award at the State of the Industry Conference. NCA Chairman saluted Medwar,...

Blueberry Hill Foods.(People News)
April 1, 2006... Blueberry Hill Foods has announced two new appointments. Stan Tyra, a 25-year-veteran of the consumer products industry, has been named vice president of sales. Kelly White, who has 14 years of experience in consumer packaged goods, including...

Jelly Belly Candy Co.(People News)
April 1, 2006... Jelly Belly Candy Co. has created new positions to expand the company's overseas sales. Ellen Welby, who has served as international sales manager, was appointed to the new position of business manager, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Canada.

Just Born.(People News)
April 1, 2006... Karl Heigold, who joined the company after three years as European regional manager for Just Born, was named to the new position of business manager, Europe.

Dorval Trading Co.(People News)(Steven Nadel appointed director of marketing)(Lance Reiter appointed director of sales)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Dorval Trading Co. has announced two appointments. Steven Nadel was named to the newly created position of director of marketing. He joins Dorval from The Ferolie Group, where he worked as a business manager for the Masterfoods Snack account....

Candy-coated kingdom: although quality milk chocolate confections are the main attraction at Sharon, Pa.-based Daffin's Candies, customers are equally drawn to the Chocolate Kingdom.(Cover story)
April 1, 2006... Once upon a time, a young man returned from battle to start his life anew. Anxious for adventure, albeit less warlike, he decided to move to a new land in hopes of creating his own kingdom. The kingdom started off slowly but with the help of...

Maestrani's metamorphosis: focused on maximizing its Swiss heritage, this midsized chocolate manufacturer is finding a way to flourish amidst consolidation, competition and consumer change.(International Profile)
April 1, 2006... As Alessandro Rigoni, the managing director of Flawil, Switzerland-based Maestrani went through the Power Point presentation, the subsequent statistics started to look amazingly familiar. First, the percentage of the family/household budget...

Palate progress: once the less popular, more expensive alternative to regular candy, organic confections have improved in taste, increased in availability and grown in popularity with consumers.(Category Closeup: ORGANIC CONFECTIONS)
April 1, 2006... Organic food, in general, used to score fairly low when compared to regular, mainstream foods. Consumers may have viewed organic products as a healthier alternative to traditional food products but were reluctant to trade less taste for a...

The trend against trans: the tide has turned against trans fats, leading fat and oil manufacturers to meet the growing demand for products without trans fats.(Candy R&D: TRENDS & APPLICATIONS IN INGREDIENT TECHNOLOGY)
April 1, 2006... Trends come and go in any food industry category, but few trends affect as many products as those in the fats and oils category. When saturated fats were deemed unhealthy by medical professionals and the general public, food manufacturers...

Skin solution.(Candy R&D: NEW PRODUCTS)
April 1, 2006... The Company: BORBA, Woodland Hills, Calif. The Product: BORBA Clarifying Anti-Acne Chocolate Bar The Hook: Consumers can now improve their skin while eating chocolate. The new BORBA bar features walnut husk, pomegranate and green tea...

Chocolate booty.(Candy R&D: NEW PRODUCTS)(M&M's White Chocolate Pirate Pearls)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... The Company: Masterfoods USA, Hackettstown, N.J. The Product: M&M's White Chocolate Pirate Pearls The Hook: Masterfoods releases its first white chocolate edition of M&M's with the new Pirate Pearls. Featuring yellow, cream, blue and...

Honey-roasted Roca.(Candy R&D: NEW PRODUCTS)(Honey Roasted Peanut Roca)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... The Company: Brown & Haley, Tacoma, Wash. The Product: Honey Roasted Peanut Roca The Hook: This new variety is the latest addition to Brown & Haley's popular Roca line. The combination of dry and honey-roasted peanuts with the...

Cocoa-covered nuts.(Candy R&D: NEW PRODUCTS)(Cocoa Nuts Epices Barre)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... The Company: Cocoa Designs, Burlingame, Calif. The Product: Cocoa Nuts Epices Barre The Hook: Adding to the current Cocoa Nuts line, Cocoa Designs introduces a new bar version of the confection. While regular Cocoa Nuts feature candied...

Anniversary accents emphasis on innovation: Aasted-Mikroverk, long-time supplier of chocolate processing equipment, fuses chocolate heritage and experience with creative engineering.(International Supplier Spotlight)
April 1, 2006... Sixty years old? As the saying goes, he/she looks much younger. To be accurate, it's Aasted-Mikroverk that's celebrating six decades of supplying chocolate process equipment to confectionery manufacturers; although 45-year-old managing director...

Sweet profile.(CANDY WRAPPER)(Laura Waitze Zuckerman)(Interview)
April 1, 2006... Her first love was fashion, says Laura Waitze Zuckerman, owner of the confectionery and clothing enterprise called Yummie. "I always wanted to be in the fashion industry, however when I went to my guidance counselor in high school, she told...

Chocolate and cocoa processing--at its finest.(PROVEN PARTNERS)
April 1, 2006... Aalen, Germany-based F.B. Lehman produces complete confectionery lines for chocolate, compound, fillings, coatings, fat binders, chocolate articles, nut pastes and chocolate spreads. Full-scale cocoa processing plants are designed and...

Technological developments enhance flexibility, output and sanitation.(PROVEN PARTNERS)(Carle & Montanari)
April 1, 2006... Carle & Montanari--a worldwide leader in chocolate moulding technology--and now part of the Sacmi group, is pleased to present its more recent developments: the V-Pack 2 project in chocolate wrapping; and a new generation of loose moulding...

Extruder's design minimizes cleaning, changeover times.(PROVEN PARTNERS)
April 1, 2006... In designing and engineering its new Alice extrusion system, Farum, Denmark-based Aasted-Mikroverk made easy cleaning and quick changeovers a critical priority. By making the extrusion unit lightweight, easy to handle, quick to release and...

Putting together the perfect packaging solution.(PROVEN PARTNERS)(LoeschPack)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... LoeschPack, faced with the the task of designing a packaging system for miniature bars, one that requires the automatic feed of the miniature chocolates into fold wrapping machines, came up with a signature solution. The 33.3-gram...

Specializing in cocoa and chocolate processing.(PROVEN PARTNERS)(Wormerveer)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Building on its worldwide reputation as a specialist in self-developed ball mills and conches within the cocoa and chocolate-related processing sector, Wormerveer, the Netherlands-based Caotech. b.v., melds both expertise and years of...

Complete production, packaging lines from one reliable partner.(PROVEN PARTNERS)(Bosch Confectionery & Chocolate)
April 1, 2006... Bosch Confectionery & Chocolate, a business unit of Bosch Packaging Technology, stands for the entire competence of Bosch: Hansella, Makat, Sapal and Togum. Five brands that combine tradition and reputation totalling more than 300 years handle...

Meeting the demands for ongoing flexibility, productivity.(PROVEN PARTNERS)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Today's confectionery producers face demands for more variety, new recipes and smaller production runs. To satisfy such consumer needs manufacturers must be capable of executing quick changeovers on production lines, short runs and improved...

Modernizing moguls to keep pace with technology.(PROVEN PARTNERS)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Wetherhill Park, Australia-based Fast Track Engineering (FTE), has yet again been commissioned by one of the worlds' leading gourmet candy manufacturers, Jelly Belly Candy Co., to assist and to rebuild its mogul operation, upgrading it for...

Next-generation moulding lines meet customer demands.(PROVEN PARTNERS)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... As one of the leaders in the market for chocolate enrobers and cooling tunnels, Farum, Denmark-based A.E. Nielsen has been driving innovation for the past 50 years. Today, the company manufactures and markets chocolate enrobing machines and...

Sweet competency.(PROVEN PARTNERS)(Klockner Hansel Process Machinery)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Klockner Hansel, which supplies worldwide tailor-made lines to ensure the effective production of successful products, has developed key innovations within the industry, such as the CrossFlow and JellyStar, both of which belong to a complete...

Ensuring variety and flexibility.(PROVEN PARTNERS)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... Drawing upon years of development and its extensive field experience, Ea Almere, Netherlands-based Mondomix continues to add innovation and flexibility within the marshmallow and aerated products sector. The company recently installed a number...

Delivering reliable innovation.(PROVEN PARTNERS)
April 1, 2006... Lloveras' philosophy in designing a chocolate moulding line focuses on integrating all steps critical to chocolate tablet and bar production in a manner that maximizes product variety. This enables the manufacturer to turn out as broad a range...

The arts of customer collaboration.(PROVEN PARTNERS)
April 1, 2006... New Castle, Del.-based SPI Polyols Inc., takes pride in its collaborative approach to working with customers. A genuine eagerness to work side-by-side with its customers, helping them to achieve their most challenging development objectives,...

Delivering the latest technology in efficient cocoa processing.(PROVEN PARTNERS)
April 1, 2006... For more than 100 years, Duyvis has been modifying, maintaining and overhauling cocoa butter presses of various manufacturers. About 30 years ago, the company decided to develop its own cocoa butter press. Today, the Duyvis cocoa butter presses...

Blommer Chocolate expands commodity team.(appoints Jeffrey Rasinski, Sheila Fortune and Allen Harju)(Brief article)
April 1, 2006... The Blommer Chocolate Company has added Jeffrey Rasinski and Sheila Fortune to its commodity department located at East Greenville, PA. Jeffrey Rasinski joins Blommer as director of commodities responsible for company-wide purchasing and...