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The Swiss company has analysed in detail which consumer preferences will shape the global and regional chocolate markets in 2024 and beyond. The new Top Chocolate Trends 2024 Report is out now.  Readers can discover the three types of indulgence that will characterise the chocolate market in 2024 and gain access to expert knowledge for global and regional markets such as North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East and Africa.

The food technology company has appointed Michael Leonard as its new Chief Executive Officer. Simultaneously, Alan Hahn, Co-Founder and former CEO, will take on the pivotal role of Executive Chairman. MycoTechnology’s investment in leadership, including their recently appointed CTO and CFO, will prepare the company as it continues to build on its next-generation innovations, including the recently announced discovery of Honey Truffle Sweetener and Vital Foods, their joint venture in Oman focused on producing a novel whole food ingredient in the region. With a proven track record of success, this elevated leadership team has the expertise required to drive significant growth of existing products and new platforms, while leveraging the company’s powerful mycelial fermentation platform for ongoing innovation. Michael Leonard joins MycoTechnology from Motif FoodWorks, where he led the development and commercialization of a ground-breaking portfolio of plant-based flavor and texture ingredients as CEO since 2022, and as CTO from 2019-2022. Previously, he held senior leadership roles at Kraft Heinz and PepsiCo in both Asia and the US, where he and his teams launched hundreds of products across the snacks, ready meals, beverage, and nutrition categories. With a Ph.D. in Polymer Science & Engineering from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management, Leonard has also held progressive roles in process and product development, platform leadership, business development, and strategy at International Flavors & Fragrances and DuPont Nutrition & Health. He brings over 20 years of experience in technology development, commercialization, and innovation leadership in the food ingredient and CPG industries that will be vital to MycoTechnology’s ongoing expansion and success.

They store better, keep longer, and offer clear cost benefits: Cooking and whipping cream based on vegetable fat and milk protein have several advantages over conventional cream. The final products are more stable and feature attractive properties. What’s more, vegetable fat is generally available at all times. Stabilizing specialist Hydrosol offers many different stabilizing and texturing systems for individual product solutions, and its latest development is a system for making mixed fat cream. Manufacturers can learn about these concepts at FiE in Frankfurt, at booth 3.1D160. Hydrosol also offers new ideas for applications, for example a whippable vegetable fat cream to which a fruit juice concentrate can be added while whipping, for a fruity cream alternative with stable foam that is ideal for desserts, cakes, and cupcakes.

Rebranded from Food & Nutrition Marketing Services, Smartcore will make its official debut in Frankfurt As the official digital marketing provider of Fi Europe, the entire Smartcore team will be present onsite (Hall 4.1 Stand FY01).

Smartcore’s invaluable data, including an extensive global network of over 360,000 ingredients buyers, unrivalled expertise in your prospects, data-driven insights, and specialised digital content channels set it apart from the rest. This strong synergy translates into smarter solutions, custom-created to maximise your brand awareness, generate excellent-quality leads, and deliver greater returns on your investment and time.

“Our content strategy, underpinned by data-backed insights, aligns seamlessly with Smartcore’s dedication to smarter digital campaigns. Our proficient team of producers, editors, journalists, and project managers consistently delivers customised content that remains unwaveringly relevant and impactful. This ensures our customers have a distinctly tailored approach to their digital marketing needs,” says Angelique Cachia, Senior Content & Digital Director, Food & Nutrition, Informa Markets.
Matthew Colvan, Commercial Director Digital, Smartcore at Informa Markets, adds, “Smartcore’s rebranding elevates our customer-centred strategy and strengthens our status as industry leaders. Our promise of utilising smarter digital marketing solutions positions our clients for success in a competitive industry.”

Rapeseed lecithin’s strengths become apparent in times of crisis Lecithin from regionally grown rapeseed not only has cost advantages, it also scores points for availability, quality, functionality, and sustainability. Tom Eggerstedt, Product Manager Rapeseed lecithin at Sternchemie, says, “In the past, rapeseed was overshadowed by its botanical competitors sunflower. But due to supply chain disruptions resulting from the various crises in the past three years, many of our customers have switched to rapeseed lecithin. And not just that – rapeseed stands out as a safe, available, lower priced, and more regional alternative. We get more and more feedback from customers saying that going forward they want to stay with this lecithin source.”

Without doubt, economic considerations encourage a switch to rapeseed lecithin by customers. For over 30 years rapeseed lecithin has averaged lower in price than lecithin from other non-GM botanical sources. As a natural product, mostly regionally grown and produced with short transport distances between growers and final customers, rapeseed lecithin also has an attractively low environmental impact.

Sternchemie focuses on quality and functionality. “With its current quality standards, rapeseed has overcome the critical image it once had. By modifying seed and improvement of production and processing steps, today rapeseed lecithin has reached the same level as lecithin from other botanical sources,” says Kira Plake, Technical Product & Application Manager. “Undesirable erucic acid long ago stopped playing any role in cultivated rapeseed varieties.”

It reduces ink and solvent consumption while simultaneously optimizing print quality – with its innovative SPQ technology for flexo printing, Südpack already offers potential carbon savings for package printing. The manufacturer has expanded the range of use for the innovative printing process to also include rotogravure printing and now offers an alternative that is not only highly efficient, but also conserves resources. Using the technology for rotogravure printing requires the complete standardization of machine and process parameters as well as smart color management. And just like for flexo printing, all of the designs are mapped automatically in the pre-press stage using a reduced color palette.

Thanks to the PUR-based (polyurethane) color system, the ink is also suitable for pasteurization and sterilization. This opens up a wide variety of options for applications that involve heating, for example for packaging ready meals, pet food or baby food. The technology is also ideal for finishing flexible films for high-quality, fast-moving consumer goods, such as coffee, tea or confectionery, because it can also incorporate metallic colors, like gold or silver, as well as coatings for texture and other finishes. The process is also suitable for imprinting Digimarc digital watermarks.

Swiss technology group unveiled on 20th November its new food innovation hub, bringing together a diverse range of capabilities into a single location and setting a new stage for product and process development.  

Four Application & Training Centers (ATCs) – Flavor Creation Center, Food Creation Center, Protein Application Center, and Energy Recovery Center – are opening their doors to customers and complement the existing ATCs, such as the Extrusion Application Center. The new ATCs connect the entire value chain and enable a circular economy approach to food production. With Bühler’s cutting-edge infrastructure and team of experts, customers have the ideal environment to master market changes and design the food of the future.

“In this world where requirements are changing so fast, customers need flexibility and creativity to adapt their products addressing key issues such as sustainability, the use of local raw materials, healthy diets, and affordability,” says Johannes Wick, CEO of Grains & Food at Bühler Group. “With the completion of the new Application & Training Centers we are able to cover the entire scope of production, from different raw materials to multiple types of finished products. We can offer our customers enormous flexibility and the options they need to disrupt their markets.” 

Following its successful European launch during Labelexpo in Brussels, Flint Group’s award-winning Evolution products are now available for narrow web printers worldwide. The latest innovation includes Food Contact Material (FCM) compliant technologies that enhance shrink sleeves and label recyclability. Evolution products, aptly named because they enable packaging to be reused in ever-evolving forms, are designed to increase the yield of material reclaimed from the recycling process by enabling label material to be recycled at the same time as a PET bottle without risk of contamination. Using Evolution products, previously unrecyclable products can be reprocessed, potentially boosting reclaimed material yield by up to 10%. Evolution Deinking Primer is applied to the substrate before the ink and provides strong ink adhesion throughout the life of the label. The Primer then enables the ink to be released (de-inked) into the recycling caustic wash and the substrate is broken down into flakes. This ensures that more than 99% of the material can be recycled into something new. In contrast, Evolution Varnish ensures that inks remain on the label during the caustic wash used in the recycling process. The varnish application avoids contamination of the washing solution while not impacting the floatability of the label, and therefore, the resulting quality of the reclaimed material is significantly improved. The protected ink can then be skimmed off with the floating label and directed to an alternative waste stream.

The Vice President Marketing and President-elect of WPO (World Packaging Organisation), Luciana Pellegrino, represented the Organisation in two important events in Europe. The ‘Sustainable Packaging Summit’ and the ‘Sustainability Awards’, both organized by Packaging Europe, and hold in Amsterdam, on November 14 and 15. Luciana was also representing WPO member, the Brazilian Packaging Association (ABRE), where she is the General Manager. While The Sustainability Awards sets the tone for the latest trends on sustainable packaging and technology, the Summit has a very important role in putting together leaders and thinkers that can focus on the dilemmas and barriers on the pathway to the sustainable transformation. “It was a great honor to represent both ABRE, and the Brazilian packaging industry, and WPO in these two important occasions, joining Tim Sykes, Brand Director of Packaging Europe, in announcing the winners of this prestigious competition and participating in the closing panel of the Summit. At the same time, being here allowed me to map the key topics driving discussion and efforts in packaging sustainability in Europe. And last but not least, having the opportunity to meet distinguish packaging professionals from different companies and bodies in person.” says Luciana. Internationally recognized for awarding edge sustainable packaging innovations, the Sustainability Awards attracted submissions from start-ups, global brands, academia and OEMs and from every region of the world. This year’s competition received a total of 325 valid submissions. The international, expert jury picked out 60 innovations and initiatives as finalists across 13 categories. This year’s edition of the Sustainability Awards accepted submissions from commercialized products, pre-commercialized innovations and broader initiatives in 13 categories. In addition, the judges selected an overall winner of the Sustainability Awards 2023, while the audience of Packaging Europe nominated the recipient of the annual Readers’ Award.