The market for gluten-free children’s food will be a big area for growth, predicts market research firm Mintel – but mainstream brands are yet to capitalize on the opportunity.
Pecan Deluxe Candy (Europe) has invested in a €300,000 Yamato multihead check weigher, which can operate up to 100 bags per minute, to meet increasing demand for inclusions in products such as ice cream, desserts, cookies and donuts.
Turkey lags behind Western Europe when it comes to salt reduction, but has an openness that makes it ripe for bakers to introduce innovative technologies, according to Leatherhead Food Research.
AarhusKarlshamn (AAK) will acquire Belgium bakery fats specialist CSM Benelux to drive strength in its bakery supplies business, its European president says.
Food manufacturers have pampered to health-conscious Europeans with a raft of new fruit-based product launches in 2013, with overall fruit ingredient launches up 22% over the preceding year, according to Innova Market Insights.
Fuchs North America will launch a line of snack seasonings that draw inspiration from Asia, South America and the Mediterranean region to differentiate amid the ethnic flavor boom.
Dispatches from Bakery Innovation Europe in Munich
One-third of all new bakery launches were sweet biscuits and cookies in 2013, the most popular on-pack claim was ‘no additives’ and the average price of baked goods rose, according to Innova Market Insights.
The global frozen bakery market will reach $32,505.2m by 2018, with the Asia-Pacific market promising the greatest growth, according to new report findings.
According to a market study, revenues from sales of packaging machinery in European countries reached nearly 10 billion Euro in 2012, driven by a need for automation and efficiency.
Kellogg has launched a breakfast biscuit range in France, Spain and Italy to cash in on consumer desires for ‘dunkable’, handheld breakfast options on the continent, it said.
Frito-Lay’s flagship brand Lay’s has a global penetration of 26% and is the ninth most chosen fast-moving-consumer-goods (FMCG) brand in the world, according to Kantar World Panel.
Paccor Netherlands has sold its injection-moulding foodservice business to Proplast subsidiary Nutripack Benelux for an undisclosed sum, freeing itself up to focus on developing its core foodservice thermoforming capabilities.
Crown Speciality Packaging is offering premium food and beverage brands in Europe easier access to a form of tin design intended to make their products stand out more.
Smilde Bakery plans to close its Mijdrecht factory in the Netherlands and will expand production at its Edam plant to enable it to grow share in international markets.
The first nine months of this year showed a positive development for the European manufacturers of aluminium foil, according to the European Aluminium Foil Association (EAFA).
Smurfit Kappa (SK) said a £98m (€118m) investment in one of its major paper mills will both boost and secure supply of materials for its entire packaging operations in the UK and Ireland.
The Association of European Coeliac Societies has adopted Coeliac UK’s gluten-free symbol as it looks to standardise gluten-free labelling across Europe.
Elopak announced that an overhaul of its European organisation has been fuelled by the need to adapt to the current economic crisis and an industry landscape transformed by consolidation and M&A activity.
JBT Corp has blamed a drop in demand for its decision is to cut 115 jobs in its food processing division and shift some operations out of Europe in a bid to make annual savings of US$9m by the end of next year.
Barry Callebaut has acquired a 100% stake in Spanish company La Morella Nuts for an undisclosed sum as it aims to be the European leader for nut products.
British bakery firm, Warburtons, has announced plans to invest and diversify its business over the next ten years, both in the UK and abroad as it sees strong performance in gluten-free and eastern European markets.
The global market for flexible packaging is projected to be worth more than US$71bn with worldwide consumption set for annual growth of more than 4 per cent to reach almost 22.5m tonnes by 2016, said a new report by Pira International.
Cereplast has inked a distribution deal with MasterColour AB to supplying bioplastic resin to the Scandinavian market as demand for its material grows.
The expansion of its UK manufacturing facility will allow Linpac Allibert to supply the whole of Europe with its stacking containers for food, industrial and engineering industries.
Sun European Partners has continued its push to become a major packaging player in Europe after acquiring an Austrian flexible packing firm from Mondi.
The newly renamed Natural Colors Division was the star performer in Danish ingredients supplier Chr Hansen’s Q3 results, showing 34% organic sales growth for the quarter, compared to 5% for Cultures and Enzymes, and 9% for Health and Nutrition.
Global capacity for biobased materials is set for huge growth over the next few years – but challenges remain as production moves inceasingly into emerging markets, said European Bioplastics.
All is not well down on the novel foods farm. If food innovation in Europe is to thrive anew, MEPs and the Council need to get past the recriminations over the failed talks and remove the troublesome question of cloned foods from the negotiating table.
Royal Cosun has struck a deal to sell Unifine to US bakery products and equipment supplier Dawn Foods, as it repositions to focus on processing of arable crops.
Swiss company Aryzta said its hike in revenue growth in the first six months of the financial year 2011 has been underpinned by its strategic acquisitions including Fresh Start and Maidstone Bakeries but it notes ongoing input cost pressures.
Sugar Puffs and Poppets maker Big Bear Group has been snapped up by Raisio in a £80m deal less than a year after it acquired snacks and confectionery maker Glisten.
US bioplastic firm Cereplast has announced two new distribution agreements in Poland and Romania that will aid its expansion into Central and Eastern European markets, according to the company.
The palletizing and automated end-of-line sector is likely to experience greater consolidation and increased strategic alliances as industry players seek to deliver greater efficiencies, says Newtec boss Didier Pradeilles.