23 Jul 2018 --- A sugar-reduced version of the iconic British chocolate bar Dairy Milk will hit the shelves next year as confectionery giants Cadbury progresses with its initiative to drive down sugar in its products. In a bid to help consumers manage their sugar intake and launched against a backdrop of changing consumer preferences, Cadbury Dairy Milk will be available in a new bar with 30 percent less sugar as from 2019.
23 Jul 2018 --- The role that start-ups have in future product development success was a key theme at IFT in Chicago where inspiring innovation “to feed the future and beyond” was in the spotlight. Continuously evolving consumer demands, together with the need to achieve a sustainable future, are helping to fuel start-ups with convention-challenging innovation, Innova Market Insights reported at the event.
23 Jul 2018 --- Leading flavor & fragrances supplier Givaudan has reported that sales for the first six months of the year were CHF2.67 billion (US$2.70 billion), an increase of 5.6% on a like-for-like basis and 7.7 percent in Swiss francs. But the company saw its first-half profit slip 3.4 percent as foreign currency losses in countries including Argentina dented its results.
23 Jul 2018 --- Arcadia Biosciences, Inc., an agricultural food ingredient company, and Shriram Bioseed, a leading research and hybrid seed development company, have announced the achievement of a key milestone in developing extended shelf life (ESL) tomatoes. Bioseed has field tested Arcadia’s ESL technology in multiple tomato hybrid backgrounds in multiple locations and seasons. Significant and consistent improvements in field yield and fruit quality, such as firmness, shelf-life and color development, were observed. These new hybrids are in the pre-commercial, wide area field testing stage with anticipated launch in 2019.
23 Jul 2018 --- The integration of several portfolios into a single larger ingredient entity was a key theme at the IFT 2018 Food Expo in Chicago last week. The relatively small trade show floor was a reminder of how many previous exhibiting companies have been swallowed up over recent years, in order to be integrated into the likes of DSM (e.g. Martek, Ocean Nutrition Canada and Fortitech), Kerry (e.g. Ganeden, Red Arrow and Biothera), ADM (Wild Flavors) and IFF (Ottens Flavors and David Michael). Naturex (currently being acquired by Givaudan) could be the next to disappear from a show floor, amid a consolidating ingredients world, where questions must soon be raised about a growing lack of competition and diversity in ultimate holding companies.
02 Jul 2018 --- Lesaffre is targeting opportunity for fermented ingredients such as yeast, amid a reinvigorated interest in the use of these age-old processes. Growing global demand for natural and clean label ingredients is further boosted by an overarching theme towards salt and sugar reduction. These market dynamics have led the company to expand production, including at a key French facility, but future expansion will likely come in developing markets.
25 Jun 2018 --- Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) CEO, Datuk Darrel Webber has warned against the unforeseen sustainability and biodiversity impacts that may come from switching to, what he calls, less sustainable edible oils than palm oil. “The knee-jerk reaction is, ‘if this stuff is bad why not stop buying it,’ but of course, there are perverse incentives. You do this and that will incentivize something that is worse. More messages are coming out from academia and civil society saying that banning palm oil could lead to worse impacts than what we have now,” notes Webber.
22 Jun 2018 --- The closure of carbon dioxide production sites in Europe has led to a shortage of CO2 and concerns over the possibility of low stocks of soft drinks and beer during one of the busiest times of the year. Despite the fact that most retailers and drinks manufacturers hold high volumes of soft drinks, there are growing concerns that stocks could run low during the height of summer, a high-demand period for carbonated beverages and beer.
04 Jun 2018 --- The US agricultural industry is bracing itself to feel the full force of any potential trade war between America and the European Union as well as other nations who may retaliate against President Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum.
28 May 2018 --- The European Commission plans to reshape 25-year-old rules governing excise duty on alcohol because they need to be modernized to keep pace with the advances of technology and trade opportunities that are present today.
28 May 2018 --- As the clock counts down to the UK leaving the European Union in March 2019, more than 100 organizations have joined forces to set out the key principles for a positive Brexit. A drawn up manifesto stresses the need for positive outcomes on trade, labor, regulation and domestic agricultural policy.
28 May 2018 --- Nestlé is bringing the Garden Gourmet food brand to the UK, "offering delicious and healthy meat-free products for food lovers looking to cut down on meat but not wanting to compromise on taste." Answering the popular consumer lifestyle trend; flexitarianism, or eating less meat and more plant-based protein, Garden Gourmet is claimed to offer an exciting variety of “scrumptious meat alternatives” made with the highest quality ingredients.
28 May 2018 --- PepsiCo, Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Bare Foods Co. (doing business as Bare Snacks), a US-based maker of baked fruit and vegetable snacks. The transaction will expand the company's snacking portfolio and further deliver on its Performance with Purpose vision to offer consumers more positive nutrition options.
22 May 2018 --- UK retailer Tesco is scrapping “Best Before” consumption guidance dates from almost 70 fruit and vegetable lines in its latest move to help reduce food waste. The move is being made to help prevent perfectly edible food from being thrown away and is part of the supermarkets ongoing efforts to cut waste. It follows a recent campaign by the National Federation of Women’s Institutes (NFWI) into causes of food waste which found that less than half of respondents understood the meaning of “Best Before” dates.
22 May 2018 --- Andreas Fibig, CEO of International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF), has identified the broad base of small and medium-sized customers as a key benefit in acquiring Frutarom in a “transformational move” for the company. A base of 30,000 customers from the legacy Frutarom business compared to just 3,000 for the much larger New York-headquartered company, could provide an opportunity to replicate IFF’s Tastepoint model that has proved to be successful in meeting the needs of small and medium businesses in the US since its inception last summer.
15 May 2018 --- Kraft Heinz has reported its first-quarter 2018 results which show net sales dropped 0.3 percent to US$6.3bn in the three months to the end of March, while organic net sales fell 1.5 percent overall.
09 May 2018 --- As the dust settles on the International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) and Frutarom US$7.1bn deal, all eyes are on the flavors and fragrances industry as the takeover is expected to shake up the sector when the company goes up against current market leader Givaudan.
09 May 2018 --- Dutch-based Royal DSM this week issued its full Q1 2018 results, which are in line with the previously announced preliminary figures for Q1 2018 on 12 April 2018. Highlights include continued strong organic sales growth in underlying business estimated at 11 percent, additional temporary vitamin price benefit estimated at €165 million (US$195.3 million) on Adjusted EBITDA and total Adjusted EBITDA up 56 percent and Net profit up 122 percent to €331 million (US$391.8 million).
07 May 2018 --- Finnish food group Raisio has published its interim report for the first quarter of 2018 stating net sales of €67.8 million while comparable EBIT was €7.4 million, accounting for 10.9 percent of net sales. The company, which is behind the brands Benecol, Elovena, Nalle and Sunnuntai, has gone through some group structure renewals, including two divestments in confectionery and cattle feeds business.
07 May 2018 --- French-headquartered group Tereos is undergoing some significant transformational changes. In the first months of 2018, the merging of the sugar beet, potato starch and alfalfa cooperatives into a single entity was unanimously approved.
