Confectioners facing the costs of reformulation head on
The Perfetti Van Melle team at Sweets and Snacks Expo (including CEO Sylvia Buxton, centre), have reported a strong show so far,
Beyond the major trends that emerged at this year’s Sweets & Snacks Expo in terms of plant based options, Dubai Chocolate and a wide range of hard candy innovations, there was also much discussion of a raft of legislation and financial headwinds impacting the US, as much as the rest of the world.
Right now, there can barely be a sector of business that is not immediately facing the ramifications of the White House invoked tariffs that have changed on a weekly, sometimes daily basis in the past two months that have introduced an element of uncertainty that few have found palatable. Will they have their hoped for consequence of bringing manufacturing on a grand scale to the US?
The smart money from most economists has noted that the multi-billion cost of creating new factories across sectors – which are all increasingly being automated and staffed by advanced robots means that the net effect on the US jobs market will not outstrip the vast cost of attempting to recreate that kind of industrial re-set.
However, that’s not to say that having some levels of manufacturing domestically, whatever nation you live in, is not a bad thing, and in here in the UK, the decline of many of our own traditional manufacturing and engineering segments has been a significant loss to the country’s economic core. We have reverted to service sector-based nation and the dull state of our nations finances is at least in part related to the lack of industrial infrastructure compared against previous generations.
As for the present day confectionery market in the US, one of the hottest topics in addition to the hugely disruptive tariffs was the FDA’s decision over dyes, including red colouring over cited consumer concerns over a potential link to cancer in synthetically created products. The move is part of the White House’s Make America Healthy Again movement, though the science behind its claims has yet to be fully put forward.
That said, the US has lagged behind progress shown in Europe in terms of applying a greater level of regulation over food colourings and e-numbers, and so there is a certain degree of inevitability that the time for placing greater scrutiny on these issues would arise. Consequently, manufacturers of sweets and snacks in the US are now facing some key reformulation challenges that will add notably to their production costs in the coming months and years ahead.
One bright spot remains that the region’s confectionery sector remains in comparatively fine health, having just racked up record sales last year of $54 billion, which proved that in spite of tests ahead, the sector is on a strong growth track. This was more than evident at this year’s Sweets & Snacks from the conversations we enjoyed with many exhibitors and visitors to the show, which continues to go from strength to strength.
Neill Barston, editor, Confectionery Production magazine
