When making claims about the sustainability credentials of confectionery products it is vital to have the evidence to back up your claims. Ingredient suppliers should be able to help here. Suzanne Callander reports. 

The incoming EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR)  legislation – which forms part of the European Green Deal initiative and aims to ensure that EU consumption does not contribute to global deforestation and forest degradation arising from agricultural expansion linked to the relevant commodities – along with the proposed EU Due Diligence Directive means that confectionery producers will need to be able to show that the ingredients they use are not having a negative impact on the environment or local people where it is sourced.  

But, sustainable ingredient sourcing isn’t just good for people and for the planet, it is also good for business. Sustainability is increasingly becoming a driver for consumers who see their product choices as a reflection of who they are and what they value. Consumers want to see the issues they care about acknowledged and actioned in the brands they buy. Transparency is how you earn the consumer’s trust. and today’s consumers are becoming more knowledgeable and are becoming wary of organisations that make bold sustainability claims, without evidence to support this.  

So, working with suppliers that are able to clearly demonstrate that they are working with farmers and producing governments to reverse the tide of deforestation and empower the farming communities will ensure greater levels of trust from consumers, employees, policymakers, and wider industry stakeholders. 

The sustainability ambition set by ofi, for example, for the future of cocoa – Cocoa Compass – sets measurable targets in the three areas in which it believes it can have the most impact – empowering communities to grow by putting children first, supporting farmers to prosper, and protecting the natural world by investing in nature. By focusing its sustainability efforts on these three areas, it is able to source and grow ingredients more sustainably. 

“Sustainability is baked into everything we do. We are always working to reduce the environmental impact of our ingredients and improve the livelihoods of those working in our supply chains,” says Andrew Brooks, Head of Cocoa Sustainability at ofi. 

“For confectionery manufacturers looking to purchase products with good sustainability credentials, AtSource, our sustainability management system, or other accreditations, such as the Rainforest Alliance certification, can give peace of mind. Data fed into our AtSource platform enables customers to track their sourced ofi products so they can have confidence in the social, economic, and environmental impact of their chosen ingredients. 

Ofi is also focusing on its own manufacturing processes and working to limit its impact on the environment. “To boost decarbonisation, our Mannheim processing facility in Germany has installed a biomass boiler, which is powered by waste cocoa shells, utilising a circular economy approach.  We are proud to be one of the first companies in Germany to implement this and hope more businesses follow suit,” continues Andrew. 

Sourcing assurances 

So, in today’s competitive confectionery marketplace, it is no longer enough just to create great-tasting products. Consumers want to know what ingredients are being used in the foods they buy, how those ingredients were produced and processed, and the standards and ethics that sit behind the ingredient choices.  

Consumers want assurances that the ingredients being used in their candy and chocolate are sourced in a sustainable way, with high regard for social standards and ethical economic practices. According to the Innova Market Insights Consumer Survey, 2020, around 56% of EU consumers have stated that they ‘want to know the story behind the food/drink they buy,’ and 47% want to know the story behind the food/ drink they buy to learn where the ingredients come from.  

Despite this, however, when it comes to chocolate, there isn’t a single universal definition to describe cocoa supply chain transparency and traceability and the proliferation of definitions and indicators for monitoring. This lack of standardization can pose challenges when it comes to traceability in the chocolate industry. 

“Making comparisons between the available traceability solutions has become an unenviable task,” says Kate Clancy, Group Sustainability Director, Cocoa & Chocolate at Cargill. “This issue is further exacerbated when you consider that traceability will probably mean something different to each actor within the value chain.” 

This is why Cargill highlights the importance of producers partnering with a trusted ingredient supplier who is able to offer sustainable, ethically sourced ingredients with transparent and traceable supply chains. “Look for ingredients backed by third-party certifications or company sustainability programs as this can help guarantee integrity,” advises Kate.  “These programs establish standards and requirements for compliance and are typically audited by independent third-parties.  

“For example, Cargill offers Promise Cocoa – a cocoa sustainability solution sourced from our direct network of known farmers. Sustainability requirements are independently verified either against Rainforest Alliance or Fairtrade, or against our newly launched verification scheme called Promise Cocoa Verified.  

“For us, an important level for physically traceable cocoa is digital first-mile traceability. This means being able to identify and trace cocoa beans delivered to the Cargill warehouse plant in the cocoa origin country, all the way back to the farmer.” Cargill achieves first-mile traceability using supply chain mapping, GPS/polygon field mapping and cocoa bag electronic tracking – harnessing digital technology to ensure the reliability of its sustainability claims.  

Fats and oils 

CSM Ingredients is increasing its efforts towards the research and innovation of the fats & oils segment to help identify and deliver new solutions aimed at promoting sustainability and nutritional benefits to human health. 

In the area of sustainability, the organisation is increasing efforts to uncover sustainable alternatives to animal products such as specialised margarines to replace dairy fat and butter.  Additionally, it is focusing on discovering substitutes for plant-based oils that have a significant environmental impact during production. The company is, for example, exploring new methods of obtaining microbial oils, which are produced by yeast or algae and can be grown using a variety of renewable feedstocks in various conditions.  

CSM Ingredients recently inaugurated a new Innovation Center dedicated to fats, oils and emulsifiers, in Delmenhorst, Germany. The primary objective of this newly created hub is to deliver innovative solutions focusing on plant-based and sustainable food technologies, and also to attract leading experts in various fields to collaborate and work towards achieving this goal. 

Commenting on the facility, Aldo Uva, CEO at CSM Ingredients, says: “We believe our newly opened Innovation Center in Delmenhorst will serve as a center of excellence aimed at developing a new generation of food ingredient solutions that will have a positive, sustainable impact on our planet and at the same time will improve human nutrition.” 

Clarity and transparency 

According to Francesca Angiulli, Group Sustainability Manager at Puratos, clarity and transparency are absolute fundamentals when it comes to sustainability. “We are committed to this way of working, as can be evidenced by the joint venture recently announced between Sparkalis (a newly created corporate venture arm of Puratos that offers support to small and medium sized enterprises) and Glimpact.”  

While talking about the carbon footprint of a specific product is, of course, a good thing, the environmental impact of a product should not be reduced simply to the amount of C02 released into the atmosphere when manufactured, transported, used or recycled. There are many other kinds of impact that also need to be considered and this knowledge led to the European Commission (EU) identifying all of these impacts, with the help of the international scientific community.  

The result, was that in 2018 the EU adopted a new scientific method – the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) – with the aim of more rigorously defining and assessing the environmental footprint of products. It focuses on 16 impact categories – taken from all stages of a product lifecycle – and when put together and assessed throughout the product lifecycle, it gives a much better idea of the full impact that a product has on the natural environment.  

With the PEF it is possible to see everything and have complete visualisation of the environmental impact of a product as well as services and organisations. However, to make the ecological transition possible, the PEF method needed to be simple to apply and easily accessible to everyone and that is what Glimpact offers. It has been able to model the PEF method to make it accessible to everyone. 

Working together with Glimpact, Puratos can use life cycle assessments (LCAs) to identify environmentally weaker ingredients and define where improvements can be made – in both the short term and the long term. “Working with our customers, we have already seen that even small adjustments in ingredients can have a significant impact on environmental footprint,” continues Francesca. 

Francesca also advises confectionery producers to work with suppliers that have a credible sustainability track record. “Certified processes should give reassurance, evidence and proofpoints to back up the information and sustainability claims that confectionery manufacturers may wish to make about their products.”  She points to Puratos’s Cacao-Trace – which has now been in place for seven years – as providing a good example of a sustainability program that has had tangible results for an ingredients provider, its own community of cocoa farmers and confectioners. 

“I would also recommend taking full advantage of any available resources that your supplier can provide. Sourcing ingredients ‘more sustainably’ can mean many things. Even if reformulation isn’t necessary, you should be receiving support from your suppliers in areas such as labelling, potential claims and lifecycle analyses.” 

When it comes to sustainable ingredients, drop-in replacements do exist. Belcolade, for example now offers plant-based white and milk-alike chocolates, both with Cacao-Trace certification. However, direct one-for-one replacements are not that common, so confectioners should expect some degree of reformulation when looking at creating more sustainable, plant-based confectionery alternatives.  

“The ingredients themselves are one thing, but switching them for more sustainable alternatives may also necessitate other changes, for instance to processing parameters, packaging, labelling and storage. It’s important to be aware of this from the start,” warns Francesca. “Contrary to what many people believe, a more sustainable ingredient does not necessarily mean a more expensive ingredient,” points out Francesca. “In fact some can actually offer cost savings. But, even where costs are higher, it is worth remembering that consumers today are prepared to pay a premium for products with strong sustainability credentials, according to researchers like IPSOS and FMCG Gurus as well as Puratos’s own Taste Tomorrow program. 

“Many of us in the industry feel a sense of responsibility when it comes to sustainability,” she continues. “We want to be part of the solution to the societal and environmental challenges the world faces today. But if the bigger picture advantages of sustainable ingredient sourcing aren’t motivation enough, there’s plenty more to be aware of.” Adopting a more sustainable policy will offer short term benefits that can include: 

  • Progress towards your own sustainability goals and those of your customers. 
  • Increased consumer transparency, which helps build trust. 
  • Improved brand reputation. 
  • Differentiation from competitors. 
  • Supply chain stability (for example, using a plant-based butter replacement protects pâtissiers from unpredictable volumes and prices). 
  • The option for premium pricing and/or entry into new markets. 
  • A resilient business model that maintains a competitive advantage for the long term. 

In any event, confectioners might well find their hands are forced on the issue of sustainability. Pressure from consumers, retailers and regulators will only continue to rise; so without question, a more sustainable food industry is coming. Confectioners that don’t make changes risk getting left behind, and ultimately will find themselves at a significant disadvantage. Being proactive about sustainability is preferable to being forced into action under pressure. Having the time to plan, prioritise, test, adapt and refine is ultimately the best way to achieve your goals. Your suppliers should be able to help you on the journey too, at the very least by offering verifiably sustainable ingredients. 

Editorial contact:
Editor: Kiran Grewal kgrewal@kennedys.co.uk