ConfectioneryNews.com • 6th May 2025

Farmers’ short end of the supply chain deal is not over

October marks Fairtrade month, a significant event this year amid the continuing cocoa crisis and its impact on farmers’ livelihoods.

ConfectioneryNews.com • 6th May 2025

Rising cocoa prices set to test confectionery innovation for Easter

According to Financial Times market data, cocoa market prices were up 143% on January 15 compared to the same time in 2024. The spike in cocoa costs came only a month after the business and economic publication reported how the cocoa sector was on “the brink of a big price surge”.

ConfectioneryNews.com • 6th May 2025

How brands are tackling cocoa shortages, shrinkflation, and pricing pressures

Price is on the mind of all confectioners as attention turns to the strategies sweet makers will be adopting to navigate the changing and complex confectionery landscape.

ConfectioneryNews.com • 6th May 2025

Is vanilla the go-to flavour for confectioners in 2025?

Vanilla plays a role in classic and contemporary confectionery creations, scoring favour among shoppers.

ConfectioneryNews.com • 6th May 2025

What’s in store for global confectionery regulations in 2025?

With the new year comes new growth projections and regulatory updates, shifting confectioners’ preparations and priorities for the year ahead. With new legal updates around deforestation compliance, human rights protections and plastic waste requirements taking shape this year, confectionery manufacturers are looking for the latest insights ahead of the legal changes.

ConfectioneryNews.com • 6th May 2025

Prebiotic confectionery attracts scalable start-ups

While remaining in its infancy, prebiotic confectionery has been growing in functional formulations in recent years. Known for their high-fibre content and healthy gut bacteria, prebiotics have gained a reputation as a formidable functional food ingredient, standing out as a sought-after claim, particularly on dairy products such as yoghurt.

ConfectioneryNews.com • 6th May 2025

Predictions for the future of chocolate

After a year of escalating costs that culminated in an already peak price of $12,261 per ton in April 2024, cocoa prices surged once again in December 2024, which, according to the World Bank, were up by 30%. On December 18, they reached an all-time high, once again, hitting $12,646 per ton, TrackInsight reports.

ConfectioneryNews.com • 6th May 2025

How to supercharge a modest marketing budget in 2025

For candy SMEs whose ad campaigns can’t stretch to a Superbowl ad or YouTuber-backed social media blitz, there is one tactic that’s emerging as a great way to achieve cut-through in a saturated and sophisticated confectionery market: freakification.

ConfectioneryNews.com • 5th May 2025

What’s hot in confectionery? New product development from Hershey to Hi-Chew

As the countdown to the holiday season ramps up, confectioners are releasing festive-focused SKUs and new formulations that can stand out to shoppers on the shelves. Leading confectionery names are leaning into the festive season’s popularity to unveil new products, selections and flavour combinations across the sector.

ConfectioneryNews.com • 5th May 2025

Confectionery brands boost sales with big-name collaborations

In 2024, confectionery brands leaned hard into cross-category and cross-industry partnerships. The last quarter of the year saw global names team up with food service, fashion, and sporting giants, making an early addition to their 2025 marketing campaigns and sales figures.

ConfectioneryNews.com • 5th May 2025

Confectionery giants amass almost $500 million in US advertising spend

The collective advertising spend in the US for confectionery companies reached almost $500 million in 2023. According to the latest figures published by Statista in December 2024, a total of nine sweet treat companies spent close to half a billion in advertising over the course of 12 months in the US throughout 2023.

ConfectioneryNews.com • 5th May 2025

Inside the sour sweet boom winning over multiple generations

From new formulations, collaboration and flavour maximisation, 2024 has seen new sour varieties hit the SKU concept boards and onto the shelves. Manufacturers have jumped onto the sour sales boom, with multinationals and start-ups getting in on the growing trend.

ConfectioneryNews.com • 5th May 2025

How mouthfeel will drive confectionery innovation in 2025

Melty, crunchy, chewy, crumbly and airy are just some of the textures confectionery manufacturers deploy to delight consumers. But what about appealing to their desire for clean label products or foods with functional benefits? These are some of the more subtle shifts in mouthfeel technologies and trends uncovered by a new report.

ConfectioneryNews.com • 5th May 2025

Why Veganuary is the new seasonal sweet spot for Swizzles

British sweet maker Swizzels is upping its vegan sweet output to cash in on Veganuary, a non-profit charity event that aims to inspire consumers to take up – and hopefully continue – the vegan diet throughout January.

ConfectioneryNews.com • 5th May 2025

Embrace the ‘perfectly imperfect’ era in 2025

It’s that time of year when Q4 is well underway, and the industry sets its sights on evolving consumer demands. As we head into 2025, on the cusp of confectionery changes, brands and manufacturers explore their research and development (R&D) plans, marketing strategies and business goals.

ConfectioneryNews.com • 5th May 2025

Farmers building climate resilience face $151 billion financing gap

Social enterprise One Acre Fund has released new insights detailing that the global farming community would need $153 billion annually to support smallholder farmers across sectors in implementing agricultural methods. These are designed to enable farmers to generate long-term resilience in the face of climate change. The multi-billion dollar amount is based on an annual investment of $300 per farmer.

ConfectioneryNews.com • 5th May 2025

Chocolate sales still soaring in US with consumers favouring milk variety

The National Confectioners Association (NCA) releases its latest insights on chocolate consumers in its new research, Getting to Know Chocolate Consumers 2024.

ConfectioneryNews.com • 5th May 2025

Is public-private sector collaboration vital to EUDR success?

Since the European Commission announced its proposal and subsequent confirmation to delay the implementation of the European Union’s (EU) Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), attention has turned to how confectionery companies and the sector can seize the 12-month EUDR extension.

ConfectioneryNews.com • 5th May 2025

Calorie-free sweetener producer pursues sweet protein growth

Sweet protein is a sugar-reduction solution that is forging ahead in the functional confectionery category. The Institute of Food Technologists found in 2024 research that naturalness, taste and satiety prompt shoppers to pick up protein products that contain specific protein sources.

ConfectioneryNews.com • 5th May 2025

Pursuing critical sustainable food production at COP16

The 16th Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP 16) kicked off on October 30, this year (2024), marking the latest collaborative effort to action the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). The GBF seeks to tackle the triple environmental crises of climate change; nature, biodiversity and land loss; and pollution and waste.

ConfectioneryNews.com • 5th May 2025

What’s Mars’ convenience store strategy for 2025?

Mars has announced its convenience store strategy and new product launches for 2025. As we move closer to the new year, Q4 is a time for new product development research and reveals, campaign strategies and marketing announcements.

5th May 2025

Mondelēz International invests $5 million in Pakistan

The leader in food, snacking, and confectionery is putting $5 million into its Pakistan subsidiary, an emerging market in Asia, to grow its localisation and exports.

5th May 2025

Savvy shoppers choose savings despite lower inflation

Consumers remain cautious about spending, despite global drops in inflation and the UK recording its lowest inflation levels in recent years.

5th May 2025

Are Indian spice exports heading for crisis?

Spice mix contamination investigations, tightened safety rules, market volatility due to crop production changes, and price hikes are affecting India’s spice market.