Newswise — CHICAGO—Real-life Willie Wonkas are hard at work in their chocolate factories coming up with innovative new ways for consumers to enjoy candy. From non-traditional parings, such as jalapeno and mint or seeds and chocolate to hard candies that smell like roses, confectioners everywhere are tapping into the latest consumer trends.
According to Innova Market Insights, confectionery led the global food and drinks sector with the most new product launch activity in the first half of 2011. In the October 2011 issue of Food Technology magazine, published by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), Senior Editor Donald E. Pszczola looks the newest candy products and how they demonstrated the new directions candy makers are taking in terms of health, indulgence, cost and other considerations.
Confectioners such as the Hershey Company are using a new method called "aerating" which involves creating bubbles in chocolate by using air. This method can increase a chocolate fillings volume up to 30-50 percent while still letting consumers enjoy a full chocolaty sensation with a less fatty taste. The resulting products provide consumers with a new taste and texture sensation with a light, air texture that allows the chocolate to melt with ease over the tongue. In addition, these fillings have a long shelf-life, are technically compatible with other ingredients and aren’t as susceptible to the dreaded fat bloom—that chalky white film that can develop on the surface of chocolate. According to Pszczola, the use of aeration may be one innovative way to respond to the high costs of cocoa and sugar—a growing concern for today’s confectioners.
Some of the new products highlighted in the article that address health needs include Xan Confections Cocoa Preggers, chocolate truffle fortified with folic acid and DHA omega-3 fatty acids specifically targeted to pregnant women. Italian confectioner Agastoni is adding probiotics to some of their chocolate products.
Consumers’ quest for indulgence is another key driver of new candy launches. Chuao Chocolatier created an unusual combination that pairs the salty crispness of potato chips with the sweetness of chocolate in their new candy bar, Potato Chips in Chocolate. A Bulgarian confectioner is now offering hard candies that smell like roses by using an ingredient called geranoil. This "perfume candy" is said to emit a smell of roses through the skin when consumed.
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Information from this press release used for online, print, or broadcast content must be attributed to Food Technology magazine, a publication of the Institute of Food Technologists.
About IFT
The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) is a nonprofit scientific society. Our individual members are professionals engaged in food science, food technology, and related professions in industry, academia, and government. IFT’s mission is to advance the science of food, and our long-range vision is to ensure a safe and abundant food supply, contributing to healthier people everywhere.
For more than 70 years, the IFT has been unlocking the potential of the food science community by creating a dynamic global forum where members from more than 100 countries can share, learn, and grow. We champion the use of sound science across the food value chain through the exchange of knowledge, by providing education, and by furthering the advancement of the profession. IFT has offices in Chicago, Illinois and Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit ift.org.
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