August 27, 2007 - Cadbury will be relaunching the Wispa bar in the United Kingdom after a
campaign on the Internet involving sites such as MY Space rallied support for the idea. The
bars will be hitting store shelves in October and the situation shows how new technology
can influence consumer and company decision making. The Almond Board of California
(ABC) was turned down when they requested that the USDA delay for six months of the
implementation of mandatory pasteurization. The pasteurization is slated to begin in
September.
August 26, 2007 - Their is a new Vosges Haut-Chocolat Boutique here in New York City
and it is drop dead gorgeous. Opened at 1100 Madison Avenue, a block away from the
Metropolitan Museum Of Art, the newest Vosges serves ice cream and the same great line
of products as their other boutiques. Their are in our opinion few people in the business,
Vosge's owner and chocolatier Katrina Markoff, who manage to combine so many different
and fascinating ingredients with chocolate. This location is definitely worth a visit. Combine
it with a trip to one of the fine museums on Fifth Avenue's Museum Mile. DeBrand has a
new product Chocolate Hazelnut Crisp Cigars. We haven't yet sampled them but they look
really nice and give a nice option for something to hand out to announce the birth of a child.
We've found other DeBrand products that we've sampled over the years to be high quality
and great tasting so we have no doubt that these are an excellent product. Nestle has
announced that they will be slowing their pace of acquiring other companies. They had
been on a spree lately which had the merging or acquiring many companies including
Gerber. They plan on now focusing on health and nutrition and not making any more
acquisitions. Nickelodeon has announced that they will no longer license their characters
to products that they consider " junk food" as the company wants to make a commitment to
help fight childhood obesity. In the United Kingdom a new study has found that their is an
increase in coffee allergies. The industry has been on a roll especially with research over
the last few years finding health benefits with the consumption of coffee. The percentage of
people who are allergic to coffee is quite small. Lindt has announced that they will be
increasing prices to make up for the increases in raw materials. Lindt has seen double
digit growth in some markets and doesn't feel the increase in prices will impede the
companies growth. After a year of cocoa price increases the International Cocoa
Organisation (ICCO) has issued a report stating that they believe with large crops due from
the Western Africa coca fields that prices will stabilize in the upcoming year. A new study
has found that US consumers find organic labeling confusing. They also showed a high
degree of mistrust when it came to accepting the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA)
organic seal. The consumers felt that the USDA was watering down the requirements for
the labeling of food as organic.
August 12, 2007 - Chef Brian Goodman of New York’s Parea restaurant has an interesting
recipe. It's for Parea Tuna Spinialo with Meyer Lemon and Cacao Nibs. Scharffen Berger
has the recipe posted on their site. Hilton Hotels have challenged their chefs to create the
ultimate chocolate confection. Over fifty chefs competed and the winner was Derryck Adams
from the Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa in Florida. His creation was his
Cappuccino Chocolate Delight. You can check out the recipe here.
August 10, 2007 - Campbell Soups chief executive officer Douglas Conant has announced
the company may be shopping Godiva Chocolates. The company has been aggressively
expanding its soup operations, recently inking deals in Russia and China and Godiva
doesn't fit into the companies overall strategic vision. A new survey in the USA has found
that although 97% of mothers hope to pack nutritional snacks and have their kids snack
well up to 70% of children throw them away or give them to friends. This creates a quandary
for parents and manufacturers. How to find a tasty treat to pack with lunches that kids will
eat but is also nutritious or at least not high calorie or high fat. Barry Callebaut has
launched a new chocolate product that may influence the chocolate market. They have
refined a process that allows them to aerate ingredients. This will allow manufacturers of
chocolate and baked goods to cut the amount of chocolate used without affecting taste or
appearance. Named Aerated Inclusions they are chocolate chunks that weigh one third of
regular chocolate. They can be used anywhere chocolate chunks might be used including
ice cream and cookies. Callebaut claims that they have a lighter texture than regular
chocolate chunks but taste the same. A new report claims the future of US confectionery
growth will come from organic candy. The report claims growth in 2006 was 7% higher than
the year before but growth in 2007 might only be 4%. This is for non chocolate items an
area that has yet to really go "healthy" or "light". ABC News has a good piece about the
battle that Gary Guittard is fighting to stop the change of the definition of what constitutes
chocolate by the FDA. The battle is whether the cocoa butter in chocolate can be
adulterated with vegetable oil and if so would the resulting product be labeled chocolate.
Current guidelines state that chocolate must contain 50 - 60% cocoa butter. The larger
firms in the industry Hershey, Cadbury etc. claim they need the guidelines amended so that
they can modernize production. Purists like Mr. Guittard would prefer to be consistent and
keep the guidelines intact. Terra Nostra Organic the chocolate producing company is trying
to have a zero carbon footprint. They are doing this by using fuel efficient plants as well as
purchasing wind power credits. Noka, a company who's packaging we have raved about in
the past, has announced their plans for their Limited Edition Winter White Encore
Keepsake Boxes for the upcoming holiday season. The packaging sounds great and we've
sampled Noka's chocolate in the past and have found it to be some of the finest on the
market today. If you're purchasing chocolate as a gift and appearance is important definitely
take a look at Noka.
August 7, 2007 -We here at eChocolateNYC are always happy to announce good news in
the chocolate community. Last June we had reported the closing of Leopold Schreiber's
shop in Montrose, Pennsylvania. Mr. Schreiber worked at Nagel's Candy as the General
Manager of the store's chocolate factory before opening his own factory in Binghampton.
New York in 1994. He then moved on to Montrose before closing down. He's back at The
Sweet Spot in Montrose with a new team. Welcome back Leopold and if your near
Scranton, Pennsylvania drop by and try some of his chocolate. Barry Callebaut is making
all sorts of product changes to reflect changes in consumer desires. They will be selling a
variety of single origin chocolates and cocoa powders under the Limited Edition Brand.
They also are releasing ten different flavors of white chocolate and will be the first company
to release chocolate with probiotics which helps to strengthen the immune system. The
Global Agricultural Information Network and USDA have issued a report that points to the
number of factors that could lead to rapid growth in the Chinese confectionery market. With
growing incomes the market is ripe for expansion. The report showed some of the
differences between US and Chinese consumers. In China consumers pprefer smaller
portions with more attractive packaging partially as chocolate is more likely to be given as a
gift. The Chinese market prefers a less sugary or milky chocolate than the average
American consumer. A study from the University of Barcelona recently published in the
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that Wistar rats that consumed cocoa-
enriched diets had increased activity in the bodies antioxidant defense systems. This
increase in antioxidant defenses would be a boon to human health if a cocoa-enriched diet
led to an increase in humans as it did in rats. Deborah Markus BellaOnline's Chocolate
Editor has an interesting article about chocolate and its relationship with the Catholic
Church. Cadbury has announced a decline in operating profit for the first half of 2007.
Revenue was up 6% mostly due to an increase in gum sales but operating profit dropped
6% to $360,000,000 due to restructuring, the fine they paid in the salmonella case in
England and the costs associated with the launch of Trident gum among other factors. If
you live in the United Kingdom, they don't currently deliver in the USA, or just like to take a
look at some nice chocolate Hotel Chocolat has some nice summer chocolate items for
sale. Sales for Wrigley grew 14% last year. The company has been aggressively
expanding into new and growing markets which helped fuel the companies growth.
Auckland, New Zealand hospitals are finding their vending machines will be limiting the
amount of kj's allowed in a product. This means larger sized chocolate bars are out.
Hospital administrators are also considering prohibiting whole milk in hospital tea rooms.
This is all part of a plan to combat obesity. Hershey's second quarter profits plunged and
two of the reasons were higher dairy prices and consumer reluctance to purchase
Hershey's dark chocolate and "healthy" options. We here at eChocolateNYC had wondered
about this for awhile. How would Hershey convince consumers that they should pay a
premium price for Hershey product as Hershey's reputation has never been one for "high
end" products. We have sampled some of the newer Hershey items from the Cacao
Reserve line among others and found them to be excellent and the price while higher than
regular Hershey was still more than fair.
August 4, 2007 - According to NPR a squirrel in Finland has been raiding a store's Kinder
Egg supply. The bushy tailed little thief eats an egg, heists the toy inside and then leaves
the discarded wrapper behind as a calling card. You can listen to the story here. In
Edinburgh, Scotland restaurant manager Egerpi Tolga has purchased financially troubled
Plaisir du Chocolat. The shop was opened by Bertrand Espouy and Heather Kiernan in
2000. The shop was famous for its line of teas and chocolate drinks. Mr. Tolga was the
manager of Cafe Rouge in Edinburgh and is adding a lunch and dinner menu. If you
happen to be in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia tomorrow you can attend the Chocolate Rush
Festival which will include the Australian Chocolate Championships. Many of the big
names of the Australian chocolate scene will be attending and competing in the
championship.
August 3, 2007 - Endangered Species Chocolate has scored an advertising coup. Their
chocolate bars will be in the gift bags distributed at The Four Seasons Hotel during the
59th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards. Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Inc. and The
Grove, Inc. have inked a deal to develop Rocky Mountain locations in airports. The Airport
Franchise Development Agreement will have Grove develop Rocky Mountain locations.
Grove already has deals with companies such as I Can't Believe It's Yogurt!©, Swensen's
Ice Cream©, Subway©, Dunkin Donuts©, Smoothie King©. The U.S. Food and Drug
Administration announced the recall of 365 Organic Everyday Value Swiss Dark Chocolate
Bars because of a labeling error. The bars are sold at Whole Foods and are being recalled
because they were mislabeled as nut free when they do possibly contain nuts or nut
byproducts which could cause a reaction to those with nut allergies. Fat Bloom , that
whitish discoloration that occurs on chocolate when it is exposed to temperature
fluctuations mostly heat, has long been the bane of chocolate companies. Now Marigot
claims its Aquamin F can slow the growth of Bloom crystals by increasing the mineral
content of the chocolate. Aquamin F is a organic mineral ingredient derived from seaweed
and is Okay for vegans. Bloom poses no health risk but makes chocolate unattractive to
consumers. Cadbury's chief financial officer Ken Hanna announced that due to the
worldwide increase in dairy prices Cadbury would be forced to increase the price of
chocolate bars. The company is hoping to make up a $60 - 80,000,000 shortfall due to the
increase in dairy prices.
campaign on the Internet involving sites such as MY Space rallied support for the idea. The
bars will be hitting store shelves in October and the situation shows how new technology
can influence consumer and company decision making. The Almond Board of California
(ABC) was turned down when they requested that the USDA delay for six months of the
implementation of mandatory pasteurization. The pasteurization is slated to begin in
September.
August 26, 2007 - Their is a new Vosges Haut-Chocolat Boutique here in New York City
and it is drop dead gorgeous. Opened at 1100 Madison Avenue, a block away from the
Metropolitan Museum Of Art, the newest Vosges serves ice cream and the same great line
of products as their other boutiques. Their are in our opinion few people in the business,
Vosge's owner and chocolatier Katrina Markoff, who manage to combine so many different
and fascinating ingredients with chocolate. This location is definitely worth a visit. Combine
it with a trip to one of the fine museums on Fifth Avenue's Museum Mile. DeBrand has a
new product Chocolate Hazelnut Crisp Cigars. We haven't yet sampled them but they look
really nice and give a nice option for something to hand out to announce the birth of a child.
We've found other DeBrand products that we've sampled over the years to be high quality
and great tasting so we have no doubt that these are an excellent product. Nestle has
announced that they will be slowing their pace of acquiring other companies. They had
been on a spree lately which had the merging or acquiring many companies including
Gerber. They plan on now focusing on health and nutrition and not making any more
acquisitions. Nickelodeon has announced that they will no longer license their characters
to products that they consider " junk food" as the company wants to make a commitment to
help fight childhood obesity. In the United Kingdom a new study has found that their is an
increase in coffee allergies. The industry has been on a roll especially with research over
the last few years finding health benefits with the consumption of coffee. The percentage of
people who are allergic to coffee is quite small. Lindt has announced that they will be
increasing prices to make up for the increases in raw materials. Lindt has seen double
digit growth in some markets and doesn't feel the increase in prices will impede the
companies growth. After a year of cocoa price increases the International Cocoa
Organisation (ICCO) has issued a report stating that they believe with large crops due from
the Western Africa coca fields that prices will stabilize in the upcoming year. A new study
has found that US consumers find organic labeling confusing. They also showed a high
degree of mistrust when it came to accepting the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA)
organic seal. The consumers felt that the USDA was watering down the requirements for
the labeling of food as organic.
August 12, 2007 - Chef Brian Goodman of New York’s Parea restaurant has an interesting
recipe. It's for Parea Tuna Spinialo with Meyer Lemon and Cacao Nibs. Scharffen Berger
has the recipe posted on their site. Hilton Hotels have challenged their chefs to create the
ultimate chocolate confection. Over fifty chefs competed and the winner was Derryck Adams
from the Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa in Florida. His creation was his
Cappuccino Chocolate Delight. You can check out the recipe here.
August 10, 2007 - Campbell Soups chief executive officer Douglas Conant has announced
the company may be shopping Godiva Chocolates. The company has been aggressively
expanding its soup operations, recently inking deals in Russia and China and Godiva
doesn't fit into the companies overall strategic vision. A new survey in the USA has found
that although 97% of mothers hope to pack nutritional snacks and have their kids snack
well up to 70% of children throw them away or give them to friends. This creates a quandary
for parents and manufacturers. How to find a tasty treat to pack with lunches that kids will
eat but is also nutritious or at least not high calorie or high fat. Barry Callebaut has
launched a new chocolate product that may influence the chocolate market. They have
refined a process that allows them to aerate ingredients. This will allow manufacturers of
chocolate and baked goods to cut the amount of chocolate used without affecting taste or
appearance. Named Aerated Inclusions they are chocolate chunks that weigh one third of
regular chocolate. They can be used anywhere chocolate chunks might be used including
ice cream and cookies. Callebaut claims that they have a lighter texture than regular
chocolate chunks but taste the same. A new report claims the future of US confectionery
growth will come from organic candy. The report claims growth in 2006 was 7% higher than
the year before but growth in 2007 might only be 4%. This is for non chocolate items an
area that has yet to really go "healthy" or "light". ABC News has a good piece about the
battle that Gary Guittard is fighting to stop the change of the definition of what constitutes
chocolate by the FDA. The battle is whether the cocoa butter in chocolate can be
adulterated with vegetable oil and if so would the resulting product be labeled chocolate.
Current guidelines state that chocolate must contain 50 - 60% cocoa butter. The larger
firms in the industry Hershey, Cadbury etc. claim they need the guidelines amended so that
they can modernize production. Purists like Mr. Guittard would prefer to be consistent and
keep the guidelines intact. Terra Nostra Organic the chocolate producing company is trying
to have a zero carbon footprint. They are doing this by using fuel efficient plants as well as
purchasing wind power credits. Noka, a company who's packaging we have raved about in
the past, has announced their plans for their Limited Edition Winter White Encore
Keepsake Boxes for the upcoming holiday season. The packaging sounds great and we've
sampled Noka's chocolate in the past and have found it to be some of the finest on the
market today. If you're purchasing chocolate as a gift and appearance is important definitely
take a look at Noka.
August 7, 2007 -We here at eChocolateNYC are always happy to announce good news in
the chocolate community. Last June we had reported the closing of Leopold Schreiber's
shop in Montrose, Pennsylvania. Mr. Schreiber worked at Nagel's Candy as the General
Manager of the store's chocolate factory before opening his own factory in Binghampton.
New York in 1994. He then moved on to Montrose before closing down. He's back at The
Sweet Spot in Montrose with a new team. Welcome back Leopold and if your near
Scranton, Pennsylvania drop by and try some of his chocolate. Barry Callebaut is making
all sorts of product changes to reflect changes in consumer desires. They will be selling a
variety of single origin chocolates and cocoa powders under the Limited Edition Brand.
They also are releasing ten different flavors of white chocolate and will be the first company
to release chocolate with probiotics which helps to strengthen the immune system. The
Global Agricultural Information Network and USDA have issued a report that points to the
number of factors that could lead to rapid growth in the Chinese confectionery market. With
growing incomes the market is ripe for expansion. The report showed some of the
differences between US and Chinese consumers. In China consumers pprefer smaller
portions with more attractive packaging partially as chocolate is more likely to be given as a
gift. The Chinese market prefers a less sugary or milky chocolate than the average
American consumer. A study from the University of Barcelona recently published in the
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that Wistar rats that consumed cocoa-
enriched diets had increased activity in the bodies antioxidant defense systems. This
increase in antioxidant defenses would be a boon to human health if a cocoa-enriched diet
led to an increase in humans as it did in rats. Deborah Markus BellaOnline's Chocolate
Editor has an interesting article about chocolate and its relationship with the Catholic
Church. Cadbury has announced a decline in operating profit for the first half of 2007.
Revenue was up 6% mostly due to an increase in gum sales but operating profit dropped
6% to $360,000,000 due to restructuring, the fine they paid in the salmonella case in
England and the costs associated with the launch of Trident gum among other factors. If
you live in the United Kingdom, they don't currently deliver in the USA, or just like to take a
look at some nice chocolate Hotel Chocolat has some nice summer chocolate items for
sale. Sales for Wrigley grew 14% last year. The company has been aggressively
expanding into new and growing markets which helped fuel the companies growth.
Auckland, New Zealand hospitals are finding their vending machines will be limiting the
amount of kj's allowed in a product. This means larger sized chocolate bars are out.
Hospital administrators are also considering prohibiting whole milk in hospital tea rooms.
This is all part of a plan to combat obesity. Hershey's second quarter profits plunged and
two of the reasons were higher dairy prices and consumer reluctance to purchase
Hershey's dark chocolate and "healthy" options. We here at eChocolateNYC had wondered
about this for awhile. How would Hershey convince consumers that they should pay a
premium price for Hershey product as Hershey's reputation has never been one for "high
end" products. We have sampled some of the newer Hershey items from the Cacao
Reserve line among others and found them to be excellent and the price while higher than
regular Hershey was still more than fair.
August 4, 2007 - According to NPR a squirrel in Finland has been raiding a store's Kinder
Egg supply. The bushy tailed little thief eats an egg, heists the toy inside and then leaves
the discarded wrapper behind as a calling card. You can listen to the story here. In
Edinburgh, Scotland restaurant manager Egerpi Tolga has purchased financially troubled
Plaisir du Chocolat. The shop was opened by Bertrand Espouy and Heather Kiernan in
2000. The shop was famous for its line of teas and chocolate drinks. Mr. Tolga was the
manager of Cafe Rouge in Edinburgh and is adding a lunch and dinner menu. If you
happen to be in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia tomorrow you can attend the Chocolate Rush
Festival which will include the Australian Chocolate Championships. Many of the big
names of the Australian chocolate scene will be attending and competing in the
championship.
August 3, 2007 - Endangered Species Chocolate has scored an advertising coup. Their
chocolate bars will be in the gift bags distributed at The Four Seasons Hotel during the
59th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards. Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Inc. and The
Grove, Inc. have inked a deal to develop Rocky Mountain locations in airports. The Airport
Franchise Development Agreement will have Grove develop Rocky Mountain locations.
Grove already has deals with companies such as I Can't Believe It's Yogurt!©, Swensen's
Ice Cream©, Subway©, Dunkin Donuts©, Smoothie King©. The U.S. Food and Drug
Administration announced the recall of 365 Organic Everyday Value Swiss Dark Chocolate
Bars because of a labeling error. The bars are sold at Whole Foods and are being recalled
because they were mislabeled as nut free when they do possibly contain nuts or nut
byproducts which could cause a reaction to those with nut allergies. Fat Bloom , that
whitish discoloration that occurs on chocolate when it is exposed to temperature
fluctuations mostly heat, has long been the bane of chocolate companies. Now Marigot
claims its Aquamin F can slow the growth of Bloom crystals by increasing the mineral
content of the chocolate. Aquamin F is a organic mineral ingredient derived from seaweed
and is Okay for vegans. Bloom poses no health risk but makes chocolate unattractive to
consumers. Cadbury's chief financial officer Ken Hanna announced that due to the
worldwide increase in dairy prices Cadbury would be forced to increase the price of
chocolate bars. The company is hoping to make up a $60 - 80,000,000 shortfall due to the
increase in dairy prices.
| August 2007 News Archive |
| Any comments or suggestions, contact us and let us know what you're thinking. |
