Confectionery confusion
11 February 2011 – I am completely confused about what consumers want from their confectionery and what manufacturers should be doing to satisfy them!
This week I attended the Reformulate conference, which although not specifically aimed at the confectionery industry but the food industry as a whole, discussed the reformulation of foods to make them healthier, including bakery items, chocolate and biscuits as examples. The idea of healthy confectionery is a trend I also noticed at ISM, with many confectioners feeling pressure to produce products with less sugar, fat and salt. However, reducing ingredients such as sugar can impact on mouth feel and taste. Furthermore, the addition of sweeteners as an alternative to sugar can cause a bitter taste.
Also this week I viewed a product showcase by PCB Creation which did not mention the word ‘healthy’ once. The showcase highlighted that confectionery is an indulgence and should be fun. The products on show were absolutely beautiful, were brightly coloured and decorative. Each product could be personalised for different events or occasions. Taste and appearance of these products were not compromised for anything.
So… what do consumers want? I personally feel that if I was trying to be healthier I wouldn’t buy a chocolate bar because it was reduced calorie or fortified with omega-3, I would choose fruit or vegetables. I view confectionery as a treat and think manufacturers should focus on it being as tasty as possible without having to worry about the calorie content.
Email me and let me know what you think?
Your thoughts:
"I totally agree.
"The ‘nutraceutical’ trend, which has been present in the USA for at least 20 years, is appropriate and relevant in certain sectors, but for me, not in confectionery. The only legitimate variation is in low/no added/sugar free and as you say, usually taste is compromised.
"Tooth friendly chocolate’ epitomises this sort of trend/fad and it never ceases to amaze me as to how much time and effort is expended by large companies pursuing what will always be a very tiny part of the market.
"Stick to clean label, good provenance products minimising food miles and remember why your consumer buys what they do.
"Eat confectionery when you are happy
"Eat confectionery, when things are tough, to cheer yourself up.
"That is why chocolate is fairly robustly recession proof "
Tony Mycock
HB Ingredients
"I was interested in your comments in the Confectionery Production newsletter about this in which you say that manufacturers should focus on confectionery being a treat and as tasty as possible without worrying about calories.
"I totally agree – but – within that context, if there are things that can be done to improve the nutritional characteristics of the product while maintaining its taste, texture etc, shouldn’t we be doing that? A good example is the removal of partially hydrogenated fats from confectionery. These trans-containing fats were doing no-one any good health-wise and they have now been almost all removed while the product characteristics in terms of taste, texture etc have been maintained. It’s not been an easy thing to do but it has been done.
"Similarly, if we can do the same with saturated fat shouldn’t we also aim to achieve that? I think that, as long as the sensory properties of the product (however you define these) are not compromised then we should aim to have as healthy a product as possible within those constraints."
Geoff Talbot
The fat consultant
