Hochdorf reports pleasing net sales revenue
The Hochdorf Group’s net sales rose by a pleasing 3.8 % compared to the first half of 2021 to CHF 145.7 m.
The Food Solutions and Food Specialities divisions contributed CHF 118.3 m (+5.2 %), while the Baby Care division, which covers infant nutrition, contributed CHF 27.4 m (–1.6 %) to the net sales. The increase in sales of approximately 27 % for milk powder more than compensated for the decline in lower-margin milk and cream products (–18 %). This positive development is due to the strong increase in demand from the chocolate industry combined with the change in strategy to focus on Smart Nutrition. Hochdorf is transforming itself from a volume-oriented milk processor to a technology and needs-based milk refiner.
Ferrero Group names Alanna Cotton President & Chief Business Officer of North American business
Ferrero Group has announced the appointment of Alanna Cotton as President and Chief Business Officer of Ferrero North America.
Cotton will be responsible for Ferrero's business in the U.S., Canada, and Caribbean, building upon its growing footprint and capabilities for iconic brands like Kinder, Butterfinger, Nutella and Tic Tac, and cookie favourites such as Keebler, Famous Amos, and Mother's. Cotton, who will report directly to Lapo Civiletti, CEO of Ferrero Group, joins the company to support Ferrero's global business strategy of strengthening its position in the sweet packaged food category.
Ferrero North America, an important growth driver for the company, is the fastest growing confectionery company in the market, experiencing double digit growth and guiding multiple brand turnarounds over the years. The company is also expanding its capabilities in North America, with a new Innovation Center with R&D Lab in the U.S. and a chocolate processing plant and Kinder Bueno line in Bloomington, Illinois. In addition, with support from the Southwestern Ontario Development Fund, Ferrero is creating new jobs and automation at its Brantford, Ontario plant.
Ghana facing 12-year low cocoa crop
Ghana may be seeing the lowest cocoa crop it has produced in 12 years, as its plantations suffered from severe droughts and damage from illegal gold mining.
Early data from anonymous sources suggests that the country will harvest approximately 685,000 t of cocoa beans in its mid-crop season, which runs from July to September. In comparison, Ghana’s crop in the previous year reached a record of around 1.05 m t.
Cocobod, Ghana’s cocoa regulator, previously predicted an output of 950,000 t. It has since revised this estimate after the country was struck with unexpectedly long dry spells early on. The situation is worsened by small-scale gold miners who have reportedly destroyed over 19,000 ha (about 2 %) of cocoa plantations with their illegal mining.
In comparison with Ghana’s record-breaking cocoa production just a year ago with already 965,493 t in June, it has only produced 641,000 t in the same month this year. Current estimates are for Ghana to reach 850,000 t of cocoa output in October, the start of the next season.
NielsenIQ confectionery monitor: sugar confectionery exceeds last year’s performance
German retail confectionery sales in the first half of 2022 have fallen short of the level of the previous year. According to the NielsenIQ confectionery monitor from calendar week 26 of 2022, revenues fell by 3.3% down to € 7.304 bn with a decline in sales volume of 4.0% down to 858,600 tonnes (basis: grocery retail + drug stores).
Sugar confectionery was the only product group to surpass the value of the previous year (+ 0.6%; € 1.180 bn). Sugar confectionery sales volume declined by 1.1% down to 178,700 tonnes. Salty snacks suppliers suffered the biggest losses in revenues (- 4.7%; € 1.876 bn) and sales volume (- 6.5%; 220,900 t). Chocolate products also struggled with losses in revenues (- 4.0%; € 3.337 bn) and sales volume (- 3.5%; 309,000 t). Sweet baked goods revenues sank by 2.9% down to € 911.9 m (sales volume: - 4.6%; 150,000 t).
Drug stores were the only sales channel to increase confectionery revenues with a 6.5% rise (+ € 23.5 m). Small supermarkets achieved the previous year’s value (+ 0.1%; + € 0.1 m). Large supermarkets (- 7.5%; - € 43.0 m), small consumer markets (- 3.4%; - € 57.5 m), large consumer markets (- 4.6%; - € 68.9 m), and discounters (- 3.1%; - € 105.0 m) all remained below last year‘s figures.
DSM sales elevated by robust demand
In its half-year results, Royal DSM saw organic sales in its Food & Beverages division boosted by 10 %, with net sales of EUR 753 m.
The Dutch ingredients supplier’s overall profits were largely led by its Health, Nutrition & Bioscience business, which delivered sales up by 17 %, organic sales up 10 % and adjusted Ebitda up 8 %. “Our Health, Nutrition & Bioscience businesses delivered a good half-year performance, underpinned by resilient market demand and strong pricing,” comments Geraldine Matchett, Co-CEO of DSM. “While acknowledging the challenging global macroeconomic environment, we see continuing good market demand, positive pricing momentum and favourable foreign exchange effects supporting our full-year outlook.”
DSM reports that business conditions in the second quarter of the year are similar to its first quarter, with “good market demand across all segments.” Volumes impacted by temporary supply chain challenges – which mainly affected savoury and beverages – led to a backlog of orders. However, the business saw a strong exit rate into Q3.
Azelis partners with KMC to expand nutrition presence in New Zealand
Food ingredients supplier Azelis has extended its distribution agreement with KMC, a Danish potato-based ingredients provider.
“As (environmental) sustainability is essential to our business, we are aligned with Azelis’ goal of developing healthier solutions that incorporate plant-based ingredients for the Asia Pacific region,” says Jens Helmer Larsen, Director, KMC Asia Pacific. “With Azelis’ market knowledge, strong sales capabilities and dedication to (environmental) sustainability, we are confident that together we can look forward to continued growth in New Zealand’s food & nutrition industry.”
KMC is a cooperative owned by Danish starch-potato farmers that grow, develop and produce potato-based ingredients. The company’s product portfolio is used in various applications, from plant-based alternatives, nutrition and protein fortification and dairy alternatives, to bakery and sugar confectionery. The partnership allows Azelis to offer more sustainable and plant-derived food solutions and formulations.
Kerry delivers strong growth across Taste and Nutrition
Kerry’s financial results for the first half of the year saw a revenue increase of 13.3 % to EUR 4.1 bn, representing 15.2 % organic growth overall.
Taste & Nutrition reported revenue increased by 27.5 % to EUR 3.445 bn, driven by volume growth, positive pricing, favourable foreign currency impacts and a positive contribution from acquisitions net of disposals. Overall growth across the group’s key growth platforms was strong, led by increased demand for Kerry’s range of food waste solutions, with good growth across authentic taste and plant-based solutions.
Great interest in the ISM, the leading global trade fair for sweets and snacks
After the announcement that the event was being postponed from 29.01.-01.02.2023 to 23.-25.04.2023, ISM has recorded a high number of applications.
More than 30 pavilions have already confirmed their participation, including applications from Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, the USA. Also groups from the People's Republic of China, Latvia, Lithuania and Taiwan, which didn't take part in 2022, are back on board again too.
Alongside individual stand areas, the trade fair also offers special zones for start-ups or newcomers and theme-oriented areas such as Trend Snacks or the specialised trade section "Finest Creations – hand-crafted". The latter celebrated its debut in 2022 and attracted a high level of interest.
The challenges in the sections climate, raw materials, energy, supply chains, logistics, health and digitalisation are the key themes of the supporting programme of ISM 2023. As an international industry meeting point, in addition to being the central discussion platform, the trade fair of the sweets and snacks industry also offers a display window for solutions and new product ideas. "In the course of this discussion, resilience and a sustainable, resource-saving production of sweets and snacks is called for more than ever. At the coming edition, beside the presentation of products, the emphasis will above all lie on the contents and themes of the industry. The personal exchange plays a significant role here, which we are dedicating new event and networking formats to," explained Sabine Schommer, Director ISM. ProSweets Cologne, the international supplier fair for sweets and snacks, is also being staged in April as a one-time occurrence, special edition and will focus on networking and a business exchange.
Gelita opens biotechnology lab
Gelita AG has established a centre for biotechnology. At the Biotech Hub in Frankfurt am Main/Germany, biologists and biotechnologists work, among other things, on the development of proteins from biotechnological processes for applications in nutrition, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical and medical products.
“Investing in Gelila’s Biotech Hub is a clear commitment to biotechnology, a key and future-oriented 21st-century technology that offers enormous innovation potential,” said Dr Sven Abend, CEO of Gelita, at the opening ceremony. “It allows us to meet the growing demand of international markets sustainably and with new offers. At the same time, the new research laboratory underlines our commitment to innovation in our markets and our goal of sustainable, profitable growth.”
Gelita collagen peptides from animal raw materials have recorded high growth rates in recent years. As a pioneer in the clinical research and production of specific bioactive collagen peptides, the company also plans to systematically expand its expertise in the field of biotechnology. A move that shall secure its core business in the long term and open up new, lucrative market segments.
In the new research laboratory located in the Höchst Industrial Park in Frankfurt am Main, Laboratory Manager Dr Christoph Schorsch and his team are developing and optimizing microorganisms that can produce almost unlimited varieties of organic compounds. Their initial focus is on proteins for the food and cosmetics industries and companies in the pharmaceutical and medical sectors.
Lindt & Sprüngli reports double-digit sales growth
Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli AG, Kilchberg, generated in the first half of 2022 an organic sales increase in comparison to the previous year of 12.3% to CHF 1.99 bn and an increase in operating profit of 33.4% to CHF 185.2 m.
Given the ongoing high free cash flow and the strong balance sheet, Lindt & Sprüngli initiates a new buyback program for registered shares and participation certificates of CHF 1 bn. In the segment Europe, Lindt & Sprüngli achieved organic sales growth of 9.1% to CHF 980.1 m. The core markets Germany and Italy reached double-digit sales growth thanks to the good Easter business. The Swiss market and the smaller subsidiaries in Austria, Central Eastern Europe, Poland, and Benelux also recorded good sales growth.
The North America region recorded a double-digit organic sales increase of 15.2% to CHF 739.1 m. The Lindt companies in the USA and Canada as well as Ghirardelli are standing out, as they grew at an above-average rate. Russell Stover, on the other hand, was able to keep sales around previous year’s levels. The North American market thus became the absolute strongest growth driver for the company, and Lindt & Sprüngli further expanded its leading position as premium manufacturer in the world’s largest chocolate market.
The segment Rest of the World increased sales organically by 16.9% to CHF 272.5 m. Noteworthy are the companies in Japan, China, Brazil, and the duty-free business, all of which posted good double-digit sales growth. The duty-free business benefited from the renewed rise in worldwide passenger traffic at airports and was able to increase sales accordingly with an attractive range of products.
For the full year 2022, Lindt & Sprüngli expects organic sales growth in the range of 8 – 10% (previously 6 – 8%) with an operating profit margin of around 15%. These assumptions are based on expectations that the present geopolitical tensions will not increase further and that the existing supply chain bottlenecks will improve slightly in the second half of the year.
Ferrero Group names Alanna Cotton President & Chief Business Officer of North American business
