Thornton's recalls Smile Jars because of glass pieces

Thorntons have been forced to recall three of their 'Smiles' jars varieties from supermarket shelves after the discovery of small pieces of glass amongst its chocolate contents. These include the 135g and 350g milk chocolate jars and the 135g pink chocolate jar.

It is a blow for the company who had been enjoying a decent beginning to the year, having previously announced a 'satisfactory' Easter period despite the tough economic climate which is affecting high street stores, and were expecting to beat its original market forecasts of £3.1m.

The product recall was has been confirmed by the Food Standards Agency, whilst Thorntons stated 'This action has been taken in response to small pieces of glass being found loose inside a small number of Smiles Glass Jars'.

'This recall only affects Smiles in the glass container and is not a result of any issue with the manufacture of the chocolates themselves. Smiles Bags and any other Thorntons products are unaffected'.

Customers who bought the jars have been strongly advised not to consume them. Instead they are being urged to return them for a full refund.

'The safety and quality of our products are our utmost priority' Thorntons added.

'We sincerely apologise to our customers for any inconvenience caused. An investigation into how this occurred has been launched'.

Article posted by Spencer Samaroo, Managing Director, Moo-Lolly-Bar. A true chocoholic, he also is chief editor of I Love USA Candy.


Source and Photo: London Evening Standard

German's Can't Eat Anymore Chocolate

Apparently the German confectionery industry is at a bit of a crossroads at the moment with the revelation that the country can't eat anymore chocolate than they currently do.

According to German confectionery industry association the average German eats 32kg of chocolates and lollies every year with one of its most popular brands being Ritter Sport. Yet with sales plateauing in the country the domestic industry is being forced to seek out growth markets abroad.

'The sweets business is not exactly a cakewalk at the moment' said association president Dietmar Kendziur.

'We would be happy if 2013 turned out like 2012' he added.

Last year the confectionery industry in Germany generated €12.47 billion, which was a slight drop of 0.3% in turnover. Believing that the German market has saturated, this has left manufacturers looking to explore foreign markets for growth to the point that since 2000 German confectionery manufacturers have more than doubled the amount of products they are selling abroad.

Article posted by Spencer Samaroo, Managing Director, Moo-Lolly-Bar. A true chocoholic, he also is chief editor of I Love USA Candy.


Source: The Local

Queensland Family Owned Chocolate Manufacturer Placed in Administration

Terribly sad news for the family owned Queensland based confectionery manufacturer, Chocolate Fare, who have now been placed in administration.

According to this report from SmartCompany the company has acquired a debt of $670,000 in debt and has recently been unable to pay the Australian Tax Office a $150,000 bill. As a result they have been forced to call in the administrators.

'It was this debt which likely caused the company to collapse' said administrators Jason Bettles who also confirmed the company is likely to be liquidated because:

'it doesn't look like the directors are going to put a deal to the creditors'.

Operating three main brands, The Rocky Rock Candy Company, Monique's Chocolates and Chocolate Fare, the company is the latest in a long line of small or family run confectionery businesses who have struggled in recent times. The most high profile of which was Darrell Lee who were placed into administration in July 2012.

Unfortunately their demise is testament to an industry which is dominated by intense consumer loyalty to a handful of extremely popular brands made by the likes of Cadbury, Nestly and Mars. A situation which evidently is having a massively debilitating effect on the chances of small and medium sized manufacturers sustaining a successful business.

Source: Smart Company

Chocolate giant's sweet $400M investment in supply chain

Mondelēz International, The largest chocolate company in the world has recently announced their intention to plough over $400 million over the next 10 years into an initiative that will help their suppliers to not only enhance productivity but also significantly improve their sustainability efforts.

Touted as 'Cocoa Life' the initiative is based on the successful Cocoa Partnership programmes that Cadbury (one of their subsidiaries) launched into Ghana, India and the Dominican Republic. Programs which have already assisted thousands of farmers in these countries to boost their own productivity, and therefore profitability, whilst congruently reducing the impact of their work on the environment.

Having committed $70 million worth of investment into its sustainable supply chain programs up until 2018 Cadbury has noted impressive success in Ghana where cocoa yields for farmers taking part in the program are believed to have increased by 20%.

In light of this Mondelēz International has confirmed it will invest around $400 million in similar programs up until the year 2022, including over $100 million which has been specifically dedicated to support over 75,000 farmers in Côte d'Ivoire - the largest cocoa producing country in the world.

In doing this Mondelēz International hope to drastically improve the living and working conditions of 200,000 cocoa farmers around the world. In addition they also aim to accelerate the overall adoption of sustainability best practices that should help to reduce biodiversity loss and soil erosion whilst also enhancing water efficiency and yields.

'I'm proud of Mondelēz International's $400m investment in Cocoa Life – a distinctive, holistic approach to cocoa sustainability that will create a cycle of growth from bean to bar' said Tim Cofer, executive vice president and president for Mondelēz Europe.

'Our mission is to create thriving cocoa communities and help secure the future of the cocoa industry'.

Cofer confirmed the program would target the Côte d'Ivoire, Indonesia, Brazil, Ghana, India and Dominican Republic initially. It would also work in partnership with a number of different NGOs, including the United Nations Development Program, the WWF and the Anti-Slavery International to foster 'a robust set of principles for success and ways to measure progress'.

He also added that as well as committing to education and financing-based efforts to promote more environmentally sustainable farming practices, the initiative would also seek to eradicate child labour and promote community development.

Article posted by Spencer Samaroo, Managing Director, Moo-Lolly-Bar. A true chocoholic, he also is chief editor of I Love USA Candy.


Source: Green Biz

Study Finds Chocolate Tastes Better When You’re ‘Primed With Guilt’

It is something we probably all knew on some level already but scientists at Northwestern University have now confirmed it. In a study that was published by The Journal of Marketing Research they found that people enjoy chocolate more when they’re 'primed with guilt'.

In total six experiments were conducted to analyse the link between pleasure and guilt. One involved showing half the subjects tested the glossy covers of six different health-related magazines while the other half were shown covers unrelated to food prior to offering them all chocolate. The study found those who looked at the healthy magazine covers all said the chocolate tasted better than those who were shown the unrelated non-food or health magazine covers.

Article posted by Spencer Samaroo, Managing Director, Moo-Lolly-Bar. A true chocoholic, he also is chief editor of I Love USA Candy.


Source: Smart Company