Forging ingredients for a sustainable success in confectionery

Chocolate splash with explosion of chocolate pieces, roasted peanuts cocoa powder and wafers on black background
In the wake of a major manufacturing season such as Christmas, it’s perhaps inevitable that there’s a lull in activity early in the New Year, which almost feels like a calm before the coming storm of a whirlwind of events throughout the spring that shape much of the confectionery and cocoa calendar.
Clearly, for anyone in the manufacturing industry, there is in truth rarely any let-up in terms of schedules throughout the year, and with a number of challenges for those in the confectionery sector still looming large, it’s hard to imagine anyone putting their feet up anytime soon.
As you’ll see from the pages of our February edition, which is out now for subscribers, there has been a huge amount of work that has gone into the preparations for ISM and its sister ProSweets show by the management behind the events, and indeed well over 1,700 businesses involved in total (read all the latest on this in our magazine), but there’s no underestimating the sheer significance of these events of where they fall in the annual retail buying and manufacturing calendar.
Though it’s fair to say that all areas of product development are facing their respective tests, significantly, for those in the confectionery, snacks or bakery trade will perhaps readily relate to a new report from MarketsandMarkets that has highlighted the multi-billion growth projected for the emulsifier market.
As it asserts, the upturn in the segment is largely being driven by manufacturing desires to try and save money from production budgets with alternative ingredients – without compromising on the kinds of tastes that consumers have come to love and appreciated. It’s a difficult balancing act to achieve, but as visitors to our last edition of the World Confectionery Conference witnessed, there are some forward thinking businesses such as Palsgaard that have very much positioned themselves to fulfil that demand.
As a fresh report from Barry Callebaut found on the chocolate market, it seems consumers are still willing to pay for premium product ranges, though many household budgets remain under strain, but the desire for quality that is affordable as well is something that rarely, if ever changes, whatever the underlying economic conditions. But one of its major points was that ethical considerations in sustainable production are increasingly informing purchases on a level that has never been witnessed. But as we have covered, manufacturing to the highest level of sustainable practices is something that adds an additional costs – which many companies rightly believe is worth the investment – it is now just a question of convincing shoppers that doing the right thing in paying more for chocolate and snacks in order to support those throughout the supply chain, is a challenging task in financially straitened times.
- Neill Barston, editor, Confectionery Production magazine
Keep in touch at [email protected] or via our Linkedin pages