Is smaller more healthy?

The news this week that members of the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) have signed up to a 250 calorie cap for all single serve confectionery sold in the UK might not be a surprise to many, as the big manufacturers have generally made initial progress in this area already. The FDF target is now spring 2016.

My first thought is to wonder whether this is a potential opportunity for manufacturers to make chocolate bars smaller still. After all, sugar, which makes up a fair percentage of calories in a chocolate bar, has a weight. Take this out or reduce it significantly (if the nation's taste buds can adapt) and the size of the bar falls.

Now, maybe eating smaller bars is a good thing (even if we don’t see a corresponding drop in the price and I’ll come back to that point shortly). Indeed Cadbury has chosen to scrap its CDM Bar and a Half range by the end of 2015 due to its higher calorific value. But being devil’s advocate, will smaller bars encourage those that like to indulge to buy two instead?! And will promotional activity encourage this?

Back to my point about price. There are pros and cons of smaller bars not seeing a reduction in RRP. Cheaper chocolate could mean that there is a tendency to buy more; certainly defeating the entire objective here. But make them smaller and retain the price and we’ll all feel somewhat cheated, perhaps indulging in better value confectionery items such as bigger bars to share and bags.

Another thought, will this activity in chocolate see sugar confectionery items (not calorie limited) look better value for money and move sales across to that category? And will £1 bars of chocolate simply become the loophole, further stinting the already faltering singles chocolate bar market.

The situation is far from clear in my humble opinion, even before we consider the excessive levels of sugar in many day to day foodstuffs such as bread and baked beans. I am wholeheartedly for developing a healthier nation and reducing obesity but if people want to eat chocolate that is exactly what they will do – in a quantity that they desire! 

A multi-pronged attack on obesity is certainly constructive, so long as we have the support of those that are obese. Eating and drinking less sugary foods overall and taking more exercise have to be key factors in the equation too.

www.sweetretailing.co.uk

Heart sweets for sale

If you were ever under any doubt that confectionery and love are not totally entwined, take a look at the list of heart shaped sweets to be found amongst the many confectionery wholesalers right now. As the wedding season heats up, there’s no shortage of love themed sweets to help you develop retail ideas in your store.

Whereas heart sweets and chocolates used to be confined to Valentine’s Day; not any more! Sweets for weddings has become a big trend to follow and it seems that everyone is trying to cash in. We hope you are too? There’s lots of ways to use this trend as a confectionery retailer. See our advice post here:

Wedding Sweets Season

I’m sure you’ll have your own ideas too and in the meantime, here are some heart sweet highlights we managed to find for sale from a number of the key confectionery wholesalers:

HF Chocolates

Small red heart shaped tins with two chocolate hearts inside

40g clear cubes filled with foil wrapped chocolate hearts

Milk Chocolate Heart Pops

Limar foiled chocolate praline hearts (bulk)

Chocolate Buttons

Foil wrapped chocolate hearts in a range of colours

Nets of red foil wrapped chocolate hearts

Heart Dragees in assorted colours

Milk and white chocolate hearts (bulk)

Hancocks

Chocolate heart shaped lollies

Love Hearts Tin (heart shaped too)

Jelly Love Hearts (bulk)

Foil wrapped chocolate hearts (red and gold)

Appletons

Apple and Custard Hearts (bulk)

Rock candy heart lollies

Ring Pop Hearts

Yogurt Hearts (bulk)

UK Sweets

Sweet Heart Lollipops (bulk)

Mallow Hearts (bulk)

Jelly Bean Factory Sweet Hearts

Vidal Fizzy Filled Hearts (bulk)

Happy heart hunting!

www.sweetretailing.co.uk

Delivering chocolate perfection

Scientists involved in the long and complicated process of creating the ‘perfect piece of chocolate’ reveal that while ‘perfect’  may be used to lure customers to buy the perfect crème egg or enormous chocolate-stuffed Easter Egg, perfect chocolate is actually the result of a well-scrutinised global supply chain working at its best.

This insightful account comes from a company called Intertek and their task is to work closely with chocolate manufacturers, testing, inspecting and evaluating at every stage of production from bean to bar.

The average chunk of sweet confection undergoes hundreds of assessments from the day the cocoa seed is planted (tested for water, segregation, nutrition), to when the cocoa pod is harvested (assessed in terms of child labour, salary scales, fair trade). These checks also include how the chocolate is transported and manufactured (tests for manufactured pollutants, manufacturing systems assessed), to the way it is blended, packaged and sold.

Every aspect of the chocolate production process from ingredient to blend to the finished product is monitored, tested and checked against regulations to ensure it’s safe, of good quality and conforms to all the legal standards. Analysis ranges from labour pay scales and conditions of farm workers tending the cocoa pods, to environmental issues around rainforest use, to monitoring the transportation process, as well as quality and safety in the manufacturing, packaging, distribution and selling of the finished chocolate product.

At the Cocoa farm itself, the task of where to plant and how to nurture the crops, is in itself a challenge.   By using precision farming, soil labs such as Intertek’s South Africa labs, carefully determine and provide details on how to respond to the land’s needs.  Allowing the farmers to accurately pinpoint and apply the right amount of nutrients in the precise location at the right time. This not only benefits the crop’s yield but creates a sustainable environment for future crop cycles and supports the local community.

To achieve a premium product, the cocoa chocolate must be quality checked pre- and post-shipping. It must be monitored to ensure correct loading and checked again during transit to ensure it is kept apart from the bulk cargo. If it has to be held in storage overnight, a further stock monitoring service may be required.

The seal on the premium cocoa is broken at the factory prior to the manufacturing process and all papers are checked. The factory itself will be subject to testing to ISO standards in terms of hazards, safety and quality procedures and practices.

When blending with other ingredients, each of those ingredients will have been tested and certified. For example, the milk used for blending with the chocolate will have undergone its own rigorous testing process including checks on cattle welfare on the farm as well as safe milk collection.

The final product is tested for cocoa mass, butter fat and milk solids to ensure that the product complies with chocolate regulations around the world and that the final product will be labelled correctly.  Other testers have the enviable task of carrying out sensory tests to ensure the chocolate feels, tastes and looks right.

Equally Intertek experts are also called upon to eat chocolates and sweets to assess whether these might cause choking hazards. Computer modelling and other scientific and physical analysis are also used to support these findings.

With the growing prevalence of allergies, such as dairy soya, nuts and gluten, these are controlled by risk assessments and quality management with the system being verified by audits and testing to ensure unlabelled allergens are not present in the final product. Also the microbiological quality of the final chocolate product is assessed.

Another area under increasing scrutiny is packaging testing. The chocolate wrappers should be proofed as safe when coming into in contact with the delicious chocolate, providing no risk for human health.

The testing continues once the chocolate hits the shops, as audits are also run in the form of brand quality to ensure the product fits with the look and feel of the brand. Mystery Shopper audits are then conducted to ensure the level of customer service being offered is as pristine as the chocolate itself.

So this Easter, as excited adults and children comb gardens for eggs and tear open silver paper packaging in search of a mouthful of chocolate, it’s worth considering how many people have worked together along the global supply chain to turn that simple pod into that perfect piece of mouth-watering scrumptiousness! 

www.sweetretailing.co.uk