In attending the Welcome Reception on Monday evening and then touring the Expo the next day, I suddenly realized how quickly time can fly in the confectionery industry.
June is also National Candy Month. While it’s a great excuse to savor some of our favorite treats, it also offers an opportunity to reflect on some of the positive trends and developments in our industry.
Given that the National Confectioners Association (NCA)’s Innovation Awards were to be announced the next day at 11:30 on the first day of the Sweets & Snacks Expo, which was held May 23-25 at McCormick Place in Chicago, I was thrilled to get a sneak preview.
I’ll admit: I didn’t see this coming. Last week, eight major candy manufacturers — a confectionery Justice League, if you will — joined forces on a new mission, but it’s not to stamp out crime.
And this year, they even have machines talking to themselves. It’s dubbed Industry 4.0. As Wikipedia explains, “Industry 4.0 is the current trend of automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies. It includes cyber-physical systems, the Internet of things and cloud computing.”
With all the recent gyrations going on in the confectionery industry, I thought it might be wise to get some outside perspective. Periodically I get a publication called U.S. Talking Points from Rabobank, written by senior analyst Nick Fereday. It’s essentially a brief on recent events affecting the food and beverage industries, peppered with Fereday’s observations.
Local governments in the United Kingdom are calling on chewing gum manufacturers for more help with a sticky situation they say costs millions of British pounds a year.