Candy company acquisitions played a big role in the candy industry during past year, including Chocoladenfabriken Lindt & Sprüngli purchasing U.S. box chocolate-giant Russell Stover.
"Consumers are very well informed these days and they view confectionery products containing nus as a healthy way to indulge their sweet tooth," says Lucas Schmidt, industrial sales manager at HGO/Westnut.
“Organic compliance is still a niche market,” says Wen Shieh, technical leader for Cargill’s Texturizing Solutions. “Yet it is a market that traditional moulding starch will not be able to meet the regulations.”
While some markets have remained flat and several of the Global Top 100 Confectioneries have lower sales figures than seen in the past, 2012 still saw several mega-mergers and positive gains by quite a few candy companies.