The changing face of chocolate: suppliers looking to cut costs or boost healthful offerings have more options as consumers demand more from chocolate without sacrificing flavor.(Special Report)

Candy Business, July, 2003

WTH COCOA PRICES reaching new highs in the last 12 months, new opportunities are becoming available to cut costs through alternate ingredients, increase sales by adding healthful benefits and capitalize on the FDA's new definition for white chocolate.

Gary Guittard, president of Guittard Chocolate Co., says last Fall's run-up in cocoa pricing last Fall "was dramatic and caught people off guard. When we were down in the $700 to $900 market, it was just a matter of time before the growers couldn't make it on those prices.

Citing higher cocoa costs, Kraft Foods Inc.'s Nabisco unit and Kellogg Co.'s Keebler division increased cookie prices late last year. When Nestle USA, Hershey Foods Corp. and Masterfoods USA increased count good chocolate prices...

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