Chocolate processing operations striving to meet major market challenges

With fluctuating cocoa prices and a growing emphasis on eco-friendly practices, chocolate manufacturers are investing in advanced machinery and optimising ingredient use to boost efficiency, reduce costs, and meet growing consumer demands. Daisy Phillipson reports

There’s no denying the global chocolate industry has faced challenges over the past year,  with one of the biggest being cocoa prices, which hit an all-time market high of more than $12,000 per metric tonne in April 2024.

Although this has decreased, the market remains volatile and is expected to continue impacting the industry in 2025. Coupled with growing pressure to adopt sustainable practices and meet ever-evolving consumer demands, now more than ever manufacturers must maximise the efficiency of their machinery, optimise ingredient use, and strategically invest in technology to stay competitive.

“To achieve this balancing act economically, flexible production solutions are required,” says Carsten Butz, technical director at machinery specialist WDS. With flexibility in mind, WDS plants are available for all capacities and are modular in design, allowing manufacturers, including those in the chocolate sector, to expand existing plants to meet changing production requirements. “The WDS plant portfolio offers confectionery machines for chocolate, gum and jelly, toffee, fondant and hard candy to produce an almost infinite combination of shapes, fillings and colours,” adds Butz.

A notable innovation in chocolate equipment is Egan Food Technologies’ ChocMolder Flex, a semi-automatic moulding system that can be customised with modular components tailored to individual production needs.

The confectionery and baking process equipment company recently introduced new bookmoulding modules to the system which, when combined with a double-press ShellForm Chill, can be used to create double-sided, hollow items with inclusions, such as cocoa bombs. Modules on the ChocMolder Flex include mould magazine feeding, mould heating, multiple depositor stations, cooling, vibration and shaking, extended ingredient insertion areas, and now, book moulding modules, which seal chocolate shell halves.

“With hot chocolate bombs experiencing an explosion in popularity, our customers are looking for affordable lines with shorter lead times, so that they can meet rising demand,” says Egan’s managing partner, Mike Sherd. With flexibility being key to navigating ongoing challenges, the ability to adapt machinery to meet specific production needs has become more important than ever.

For extruded bars, the latest chocolate innovation from Selmi is its Selmi Extruder. As outlined by the machinery specialist, the new system is designed to produce a variety of products, and is particularly suited to recipes incorporating marzipan, almond paste, protein paste and date paste

Operators can introduce the chosen recipe to the hopper and then the Selmi Extruder (pictured below) will extrude the bars through a choice of three or four nozzles, which can be custom made to create the size of bar required, while a special guillotine cuts the bar to the required length.

By integrating with a Selmi Cooling Tunnel, it is possible to automatically enrobe the bars with chocolate. Not only is flexible machinery important but so too is the industry know-how.

Speaking to Confectionery Production, Michael Kamlish, a distributor for Selmi (Home Chocolate Factory), based in the UK, explained that the equipment supplier had gained traction with small and medium-sized enterprises within the region, in response to wider market growth.

He commented: “With a portfolio of 60 different machines, SELMI has become established as a leading manufacturer of production equipment for artisan and semi-industrial chocolatiers & bakers. For 2025, SELMI will be focussing on affordable product innovation and cost effective integrated production solutions. Two products that have created a lot of interest are SELMI’s Chocoform Extruder and their new Continuous Extruder – both of which connect to a SELMI Enrobing Unit & Cooling Tunnel.

To help customers create their new products, Home Chocolate Factory – SELMI’s UK distributor – is offering assistance with product development supported by a team of highly experienced chocolate consultants. Other big pluses are SELMI’s fast delivery time and impressive technical support (Home Chocolate Factory employs two full time SELMI trained engineers).”

For its part, equipment and systems group Bühler continues to demonstrate its commitment to supporting its customers in the food industry, including chocolate manufacturers, in feeding the world’s growing population in a sustainable and healthy way. Last year, the company launched its Food Creation Centre in Uzwil, a state-of-the-art facility for product testing (below), production trials, training and education, whether that be for protein, muesli and nut bars, wafers, cookies, chocolate, baked products, spreads or snacks.

Bühler opened the facility in a bid to help its customers unlock opportunities in global megatrends such as premiumisation, health, sustainability, affordable nutrition and on-the-go snacks. Among the many innovations made possible at the Food Creation Centre include chocolates with unusual fillings, an example being a vegan, gluten-free chocolate praline with a peanut-free peanut filling. “In Uzwil, we have the smallest scale industrial production line,” explains Stefanie Hardtmann, head of Bühler’s Food Creation Centre and Consumer Food Technology. “This means we can offer our customers the opportunity to test small batch sizes of a product, assess process performance and scale up to higher production scales with confidence.”

 

Premium chocolate precision
Despite volatile cocoa prices, processing equipment producer PTL notes a shift towards the use of real chocolate as opposed to compound in products such as granola, protein and snack bars. This is driven by the growing consumer emand for premium and healthier products, and while this presents benefits, extra equipment and new processes are required. An integral addition in this context is a tempering machine.

“With real chocolate, you need to melt it, cool it and then heat it in a very precise manner,” says PTL founder, Jim Halliday. “The process forms tempered fat crystals. If you don’t do it properly, the chocolate won’t form or snap – it’ll be soft.” PTL’s Washdown Temperer features a stainless-steel design and quick, simple disassembly, allowing for flexibility between chocolate types. Another critical component is the enrobing system. Since compound and chocolate aren’t compatible, remnants from one will reduce the quality of the other. However, it’s possible to handle both on a single line with a PTL enrobing system, which features a user-friendly disassembly and washdown process. Halliday recommends incorporating dedicated feed and return lines for both compound and chocolate to prevent any cross-contamination, adding, “It’s a more efficient and effective solution for manufacturing with both compound and real chocolate.

” With manufacturers seeking to drive down costs, another attractive benefit of PTL’s enrobers is efficient ingredient recovery. “Despite the challenges, going with real chocolate gives your bars a serious edge. Genuine flavour, perceived health benefits and premium ingredients can command a higher price, attracting a new market of consumers who want something special,” says Halliday. “By investing in the right machinery and know-how, you can meet the changing tastes of consumers and stand out in a competitive market.” The ability to recover and reduce waste of ingredients has become a key focus for manufacturers striving to optimise production efficiency and manage rising costs.

This can be achieved all the way along the production line, including the mixing process. The ROKK CCM200 process mixer, for instance, although traditionally used for dairy, lends itself to the mixing of chocolate and fillings.

Premium chocolate manufacturer Lily O’Brien’s has been able to significantly improve production by using the ROKK CCM200 to mix the sweet fillings for its luxury chocolate collections. Kevin Coleman, process manager for Lily O’Brien’s, states, “Since we brought it on board, the texture and evenness of the mix has improved throughout, which means we have reduced waste mixes by 15 per cent, saving both time and money.” In addition to efficient machinery and ingredient optimisation, streamlined maintenance processes can significantly enhance productivity in chocolate production.

One example of this is Iceland’s leading chocolatier, Nói Síríus, which sought the assistance of the major industrial group Rockwell Automation to enable a move to predictive maintenance. Although it produces 2,000 tons of sweets and chocolates each year, Nói Síríus struggled with production slowdowns due to unplanned machine downtime.

To address this, the company implemented Rockwell’s cloud-based, AI-powered computerised maintenance management system, Fiix CMMS. The software has enabled continuous data collection, automated maintenance management, and real-time insights into machine performance. With Fiix CMMS, Nói Síríus transitioned to a preventative maintenance model, reducing downtime and improving overall efficiency. Looking forward, the company plans to move to a predictive maintenance model, maximising uptime and cutting costs further.

“Since adopting Fiix, our maintenance staff are much happier,” comments Guðmundur Ingi Einarsson, technical manager at Nói Síríus. Sustainable supply chain Ingredients suppliers are also embracing technology and innovative approaches to help manufacturers meet growing market demands and navigate the industry’s ongoing challenges. Barry Callebaut has been making moves with its strategic investment program, BC Next Level, which aims to move the company closer to customers and markets, while implementing globally standardised and digitised

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