Exclusive video: World Confectionery Conference 2026: Cargill interview

Plans for our World Confectionery Conference 2026 iteration have taken a notable step forward with the addition of Renee Boerefijn, senior R&D director at Cargill joins our event this September.

Watch our exclusive preview video interview with him (below), as editor Neill Barston quizzes him at the recent Fi Europe event, where he enthuses on the prospects for making a personal debut at our show, which is being staged on 10 September, at The View in London.

Confirmation of his joining the event follows in the wake of our first keynote announcement of Tobias Bachmüller of Katjes, who serves as president of the Caobisco European confectionery association.  

Renee is a specialist in the indulgence category, Indulgence (Bakery, Chocolate Confectionery, and Ice Cream) Europe at Cargill across all product lines including cocoa & chocolate, oils & fats, starch, sweeteners & texturisers.

He has 27 years of R&D leadership experience in food ingredients after FMCG, from a background in engineering with a PhD in chemical & process engineering (Surrey, UK) and an MSc in Mechanical Engineering (Twente, NL). Renee co-authored about 60 scientific papers, 13 published patents, and speaks half a dozen languages.

Before studying in the UK, Renee spent two amazing years in Naples, Italy, and is today based with his family in The Netherlands, and is keenly awaiting the chance to revisit Britain as part of our conference this September.

See the next edition of Confectionery Production for a full interview with Renee, discussing broader market conditions, tests and opportunities, as the business continues to expand its presence across the confectionery, snacks, gelato and bakery segments.

• Early bird exhibiting, speaking and visitor rates are presently available for the event, via our website at confectioneryconference.com