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Gregg Wallace visits two factories in Italy and Wales to learn how denim cloth is made and then transformed into one of the world's most popular items of clothing - jeans.

Gregg Wallace visits two factories in Italy and Wales to explore the fascinating secrets behind how Welsh jeans brand Hiut make their trousers, learning how denim cloth is made and then transformed into one of the world's most popular items of clothing.

Meanwhile, Cherry Healey visits a zip factory to learn how the ubiquitous fastener is made, and she heads to the research and development facility of a denim manufacturer to witness environmentally friendly ways of distressing denim to make a new pair of jeans look old.

Historian Ruth Goodman discovers an unknown name in the history of jeans who helped to shape their design forever, and uncovers the fascinating history of indigo dye.

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BBC Two - Inside the Factory, Series 8, Jeans

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Gregg Wallace visits two factories in Italy and Wales to learn how jeans are made.

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Sales value of chocolate confectionary* manufactured in the United Kingdom (UK) from 2008 to 2016 (in 1,000 GBP)

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Sales value of chocolate confectionary* manufactured in the United Kingdom (UK) from 2008 to 2016 (in 1,000 GBP)

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With sugar declared public health enemy number one and chocolate sales flat, the ferocity of the battle to snap up Nestlé's US business may come as a surprise.

Two industry heavyweights have leapt into the fray. The Ferrero Group, the world's third largest confectionery producer, is going head to head with the Hershey Company, ranked number six.

According to reports in the US, a couple of private equity firms are also sniffing around the business, although the chocolate behemoths are still front-runners to prevail when the result is declared over the next week or so. The three major players have remained low-key about the negotiations, all declining to comment publicly. However, reports in Italy and the US claim that Ferrero, which is rumoured to have offered more than $2bn (£1.48bn), is in pole position.

The starting gun for the auction was fired in June when Nestlé announced it was exploring...

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Raising the bar: Big Chocolate bites back in the battle for Nestlé's US business

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With sugar declared public health enemy number one and chocolate sales flat, the ferocity of the battle to snap up Nestlé's US business may come as a surprise. Two industry heavyweights have leapt into the fray. The Ferrero Group, the world's third largest confectionery producer, is going head to head with the Hershey Company, ranked number six.

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http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/chocolate-is-on-track-to-go-extinct-in-40-years-a8136561.html

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Cacao plants are slated to disappear by as early as 2050 thanks to warmer temperatures and dryer weather conditions.

Scientists at the University of California are teaming up with Mars company to try to save the crop before it's too late.

They're exploring the possibility of using the gene-editing technology CRISPR to make crops that can survive the new challenges.

Beyond the glittery glass-and-sandstone walls of the University of California's new biosciences building, rows of tiny green cacao seedlings in refrigerated greenhouses await judgment day.

Under the watchful eye of Myeong-Je Cho, the director of plant genomics at an institute that's working with food and candy company Mars, the plants will be transformed. If all goes well, these tiny seedlings will soon be capable of surviving - and thriving - in the dryer, warmer climate that is sending chills through the spines of farmers across the globe.

It's all thanks to a new technology called CRISPR, which allows for tiny, precise tweaks to DNA that were never possible before. These tweaks are already being used to make crops cheaper and more reliable. But their most important use may be in the developing world, where many of the plants that people rely on to avoid starvation are threatened by the impacts of climate change, including more pests and a lack of water.

Cacao plants occupy a precarious position on the globe. They can only grow within a narrow strip of rainforested land roughly 20 degrees north and south of the equator, where temperature, rain, and humidity all stay relatively constant throughout the year. Over half of the world's chocolate now comes from just two countries in West Africa - Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana.

But those areas won't be suitable for chocolate in the next few decades. By 2050, rising temperatures will push today's chocolate-growing regions more than 1,000 feet uphill into mountainous terrain - much of which is currently preserved for wildlife, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Mars, the $35 billion corporation best known for Snickers, is aware of these problems and others presented by climate change.

In September, the company pledged $1 billion as part of an effort called "Sustainability in a Generation," which aims to reduce the carbon footprint of its business and supply chain by more than 60% by 2050.

"We're trying to go all in here," Barry Parkin, Mars' chief sustainability officer, told Business Insider. "There are obviously commitments the world is leaning into but, frankly, we don't think we're getting there fast enough collectively."

Its initiative with Cho at UC Berkeley is another arm of that efforts. If all goes as planned, they could develop cacao plants that don't wilt or rot at their current elevations, doing away with the need to relocate farms or find another approach.

Jennifer Doudna, the UC Berkeley geneticist who invented CRISPR, is overseeing the collaboration with Mars. Although her tool has received more attention for its potential to eradicate human diseases and make so-called "designer babies," Doudna thinks its most profound applications won't be on humans but rather on the food they eat.

An avid tomato gardener, Doudna thinks her tool can benefit everyone from large food companies like Mars to individual hobbyists like herself.

"Personally, I'd love a tomato plant with fruit that stayed on the vine longer," Doudna told Business Insider.

The research lab she oversees at UC Berkeley is called the Innovative Genomics Institute. Many of the efforts by graduate students there focus on using CRISPR to benefit small-holder farmers in the developing world. One such project aims to protect cassava - a key crop that prevents millions of people from starving each year - from climate change by tweaking its DNA to produce less of a dangerous toxin that it makes in hotter temperatures.

Doudna founded a company called Caribou Biosciences to put CRISPR into practice, and has also licensed the technology to agricultural company DuPont Pioneer for use in crops like corn and mushrooms.

Regardless of which crop the public sees CRISPR successfully used in first, the technology will be a key tool in a growing arsenal of techniques we'll need if we plan to continue eating things like chocolate as the planet warms.
Read more: * This chart is easy to interpret: It says we're screwed Read the original article on Business Insider UK. © 2016. Follow Business Insider UK on Twitter.
* How Uber became the world's most valuable startup
* These 4 things could trigger the next crisis in Europe
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Chocolate is on track to go extinct in 40 years

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Cacao plants are slated to disappear by as early as 2050 thanks to warmer temperatures and dryer weather conditions. Scientists at the University of California are teaming up with Mars company to try to save the crop before it's too late.

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It's shrinkflation! Graphics reveal EVERY chocolate that has dwindled in size in the last few years (and most have stayed the same price)

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It's shrinkflation! Graphics reveal EVERY chocolate that has dwindled in size in the last few years (and most have stayed the same price)

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The images reveal just how much popular chocolates have shrunk since 2012

Terry's Chocolate Orange has become smaller and more expensive

Toblerones shrunk from 170g to 150g after the Brexit referendum last year

From Snickers and Maltesers to Toblerones and the much loved Chocolate Orange, many of the most famous chocolate brands have dwindled in size over the last five years.

It's the curse of shrinkflation; the phenomenon which sees products remain the same price - or even become more expensive - even though they've been reduced in size.

In the past companies have blamed shrinkage on the rising cost of ingredients, arguing that shoppers would have to pay substantially more if the products remained the same size as they'd always been.

Now, new graphics reveal just how many of Britain's favourite chocolate treats have shrunk over the last few years.

And some have become as much as 25 per cent smaller.

Between 2,000 and 2,500 food and drink products have shrunk in size since 2012, data has revealed.

However the last year has seen more products than any other year shrink in size.

Many have blamed this rise in shrinkflation on the Brexit referendum vote, but industry experts say that the rising cost of key ingredients is the real culprit.

The reason why so many chocolates have shrunk is due to the high price of cocoa butter, and other ingredients required to make chocolate, which jumped by 40 per cent last year.

As a result, many companies have decided to make products smaller and keep them at the same price rather than retain the size and increase the price.

These graphics by MoneyGuru reveal just how much some of the most popular treats have shrunk since 2012 - and it may shock you.

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Graphics reveal EVERY chocolate that has shrunk in size

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The images reveal just how much popular chocolates have shrunk since 2012 Terry's Chocolate Orange has become smaller and more expensive Toblerones shrunk from 170g to 150g after the Brexit referendum last year From Snickers and Maltesers to Toblerones and the much loved Chocolate Orange, many of the most famous chocolate brands have dwindled in size over the last five years.

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The Hershey Company PESTEL & Environment Analysis

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Mars unveils Goodness Knows – its biggest brand launch for 20 years

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The World's Biggest Chocolate Consumers 

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The World's Biggest Chocolate Consumers 

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forbes - chocolate

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Forbes Welcome page -- Forbes is a global media company, focusing on business, investing, technology, entrepreneurship, leadership, and lifestyle.

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Chocolate has always been an emotive product. A real feel-good food, associated with love, relieving stress, bad moods and generally making us feel better. That should be enough, but the chocolate world is constantly evolving never the same from one year to the next.

Just now chocolate makers are financially exposed to prices for packaging cocoa beans the £ $ rates and of course the 'Brexit effect'; it's difficult to pass on the price to UK consumers, so makers are looking to export markets. The cocoa industry also faces increased legislation and regulation due to the public debate around fat, sugar and child labour policies.

Premium and dark chocolate are the strongest segments of the market in terms of % growth but not yet in market share. Here are a few more trends I see emerging in 2017:

Premium, healthy, sustainable, miniaturisation and clean are some of the key trends driving chocolate in 2017 but the overall market for confectionery is having a tough time with margins in decline along with slowing demand in Europe and other export markets.

Miniaturisation of Chocolate Bars
Industrial and craft chocolate companies are now moving towards making miniature bars. Fast and busy lifestyles. Time is precious. Consumers are looking for food on-the-go to satisfy their snacking needs. Chocolate is no exception to this trend. These new sizes range from 15g to 35g Easy to carry in a hand bag. Miniature bars perfectly meet the demand for practicality.
Craft chocolate companies are taking advantage of this trend by introducing smaller sizes of their bestselling bars or using it as a method of trialling new variants.

With this in mind many of the main stream confectionary companies have reduced the size of their bars which has cause suspicion among some consumers (shrinkflation) with recent research saying consumers don't want their favourite bar to shrink threatening to change brands.

Premiumisation
Demand for premium chocolate is at an all-time high with provenance and origin being key amongst cocoa and chocolate products. The lasting trend of single origin is still prevalent as it's not enough to just offer 'salted caramel truffles', the salt also needs provenance, a story; think Himalayan sea salt or Kalahari Desert salt smoked over French oak.

We have seen the third wave in artisan chocolate production with new bean to bar makers starting every week pushing the quality further upward towards the bean to bar pioneers like Duffy Sheardown.

Clean label
Sustainable and clean certified chocolate is now spreading to new countries and categories. It is important to know where food comes from and how it is produced. True ethical and environmental costs really matter to today's consumer. Examples of this trend can be seen as Ferrero announced in July it will increase the Blitzer trade source. In February 2017, The Co-Op announced that all cocoa used in own-brand products will be Fairtrade certified, signalling a clear CSR agenda but also the currency that it feels this provides for its members.

Personalisation
Every bean-to-bar producer would like to have a unique mould to create that special experience and identity. I use a sensory tasting stick to demonstrate how we use all of our senses when we taste chocolate.

It may not be practical to have a bespoke mould but it is important to create a sense of brand identity. The chocolate market is busy, noisy and confusing for a shopper and producers must find new ways to be memorable.

Healthy
Along with the trend for sugar reduction, gluten-free and lactose-free claims are increasingly being seen in cocoa and chocolate with milk alternatives such as almond or coconut milk appearing on the label.

Ingredients such as turmeric and other Indian spices are now taking over not only kitchens but also chocolatiers laboratories. Moreover, chocolate bars that include superfoods grow in popularity every day. Given its beneficial properties, it's no big surprise that turmeric is becoming the favourite ingredient for many health-oriented brands.

New flavours and textures:
We are seeing chocolatiers using more exotic and unique flavours. Herbs like fennel and basil, fruits like yuzu, sour cherries and even vegetables like kale, beetroot piccalilli!

The savoury trend, which started some years ago, with salted caramel, continues and we see more activity every year with flavours like bacon be paired with chocolate. Chocolate based BBQ rubs and crusts are young and emerging trends.

Asian ingredients exotic, intriguing, mostly sour, like miso, wasabi and soy sauce into truffles and pralines. Caramel is often used as the sweet to their sour. Matcha green tea is also another popular flavour.

Cardamom
After vanilla and saffron, cardamom is the world's third most expensive spice. However, its price hasn't stopped chocolate professionals from turning it into a trending inclusion.

Black figs chewy, sweet, this sweet fruit pairs perfectly well with dark chocolate.

Rare and single malts paired with bean to bar chocolate continue to excite and impress.

In summary, the chocolate world continues to be fast changing and exciting. Chocolatiers are responding to consumers that are demanding more from their sweet, or savoury, treat. The key trends I've highlighted are around size, premiumisation, clean credentials, personalisation, health and exotic flavours. If we look further into the future I'm confident we'll start to see insects creeping into our chocolate repertoire but that's certainly a few years away!
By David Greenwood-Haigh FIH

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Shifting Trends in Chocolate: 2017 and beyond

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Chocolate has always been an emotive product. A real feel-good food, associated with love, relieving stress, bad moods and generally making us feel better. That should be enough, but the chocolate world is constantly evolving never the same from one year to the next.

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Current and future trends within speciality chocolate and confectionery.

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Emma Murphy, Selfridges' Confectionery Buyer, comments: "We have seen strong sales in 'superfood chocolates' and tea-infused options, such as matcha and oolong. We're also predicting growth in 'grown-up' confectionery, including cocktail flavours." Additionally, within the speciality confectionery and chocolate sector, savoury combinations have been gaining traction and this trend shows little sign of abating.

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Top 6 Vendors in the Global Chocolate Market from 2017 to 2021: Technavio

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Technavio has announced the top six leading vendors in their recent global chocolate market report from 2017-2021.

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"This is due to increased sales of higher quality branded products," ​ an FDF spokesperson told ConfectioneryNews.

It comes as the country is in a chocolate trade deficit, whereby the nation's imports of chocolate outstrip exports by value.

Quality products driving exports​

First half (H1) January to June chocolate exports from the UK declined -5.6% in volume year-on-year, accordng to FDF data.

However, chocolate export value sales grew +2.9% to £8.5m ($11m) over the period.

Chocolate was the fourth largest UK food & drink export by value behind whisky, salmon and beer. But chocolate was overtaken by beer during the period.

Chocolate exports by value grew faster in non-EU countries (+7.27%) compared to within the union (+1.53%). Exports to Germany (+8.45%), France (+6.73%) and Belgium (+23.78%) were the fastest growing of the UK's top five chocolate export markets by value.

However, chocolate exports to the Netherlands - the second main export destination for UK chocolate - declined -18.48% in H1.

Sugar confectionery exports surge​

UK sugar confectionery exports grew even fastest than chocolate in H1, up +12.26% in value.

The nation reported strong growth in sugar confectionery exports to Germany (+24.8%), Netherlands (+80.11%), France (+21.35) and Belgium (+89.25%).

Mars-Wrigley and Nestlé are among the key exporters of UK confectionery through brands such as Wrigley Extra and KitKat.

Food and drink overall​

Overall UK food and drink exports grew +8.5% in value in H1 to £10.2bn ($13.2bn), including stronger growth to EU countries (+9%) than to countries outside the EU (+7.6%).

It was also the highest half year on record for branded food and drink exports up +11.3% to £2.7bn ($3.5bn) in H1 2017.

Chocolate trade deficit​

A recent FDF-commissioned report​​ by Grant Thornton said the UK has increased its dependence on food and drink imports since 2012 with imports now outstripping exports.

The UK has a larger food and drink trade deficit than many major consuming countries such as the US, Brazil, Germany, France, Ireland and Australia, it found.

In confectionery (chocolate and sugar confectionery) the trade deficit stood at £1.8m ($2.3m) in 2016.

Euromonitor International projects annual value sales in UK chocolate market will decline -7.2% from $8.16bn in 2016 to $7.57bn in 2021.

'Brexit is both threat and opportunity'​

The FDF said it does not forecast trade deficit expectations for specific categories, but said Brexit negotiations will be key for the export-import balance in chocolate.

"Brexit is both threat and opportunity - much will depend on the terms that are secured as we leave the EU," ​ said FDF's spokesperson.

"Also, the quality of FTAs that the UK Government is able to secure independently from the EU and the speed that they enter into force could have a significant impact. ​

"On top of that, the strength of the pound will play a role as well as movements in key commodity markets for sugar, cocoa, milk as well as other vital inputs such as packaging," ​they said.

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UK chocolate exports grow in value driven by premium brands

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"This is due to increased sales of higher quality branded products," ​ an FDF spokesperson told ConfectioneryNews. It comes as the country is in a chocolate trade deficit, whereby the nation's imports of chocolate outstrip exports by value. Quality products driving exports​ First half (H1) January to June chocolate exports from the UK declined -5.6% in volume year-on-year, accordng to FDF data.

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Sales for the category in the UK increased by nearly 55% in December compared to November 2016 versus a 53.3% rise in the same period in 2015.

Paymentsense said it indicates the desire for candy, nuts and confectionery is "not just alive, but it's growing with intent". ​

Paymentsense is one of the largest merchant service providers in Europe. It works with businesses from across multiple industries with vendors of baked goods and confectionery making up a significant portion of its over 50,000 customers.

In addition to bakery and confectionery retailers, Paymentsense December data also includes sales from dairy, meat, wine, liquor and other specialty foods stores.

Commenting on the general food category in the UK, Moreve said, "this growth in UK food spending was definitely reflected in the sales of our food retailers who saw a 12% uplift in the number of transaction from November to December 2016." ​

"Equally, our year-over-year sales from food retailers saw a significant rise, with food retailers enjoying a 9.6% increase in sales for December 2016 compared with the same period in 2015." ​

Guy Moreve, head of marketing at Paymentsense, said the company's data was calculated by the amount of purchases taken though their payment systems on confectionery items.

Sweets become a staple in British lifestyle ​

He said it seemed merchants were "as nervous as a cat in room full of rocking chairs" ​ following Brexit and the fall of the pound, but the resilience of British consumers has prevailed and dismissed many of their fears.

"For 2017, I believe we can see more of that resilience," ​ he said.

"Even with the rising prices of goods made both at home (from inflation) and goods made abroad (from the falling pound), confectionery manufacturers and retailers can feel safe in the knowledge that sweets and treats seem to have become a staple in the British lifestyle and one of the few items we're not willing to do without." ​

Others cautious on Brexit fallout​

Euromonitor International last year projected​​ confectionery would be the worst hit UK food & drink segment after Brexit with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) decline from 2015 to 2020 as consumers cutback on discretionary items.​

The majority of ConfectioneryNews readers polled last year said they expected the UK's exit from the European Union would harm sales volumes for their businesses and lead to increased food prices.

UK chocolate market leader Mondelēz International last week said it had upped prices​​ on select confectionery products in the UK, while trade body the Food and Drink Federation said the UK consumer price for confections is likely rise.

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British appetite for confectionery 'alive' and 'growing' in December despite Brexit vote

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Sales for the category in the UK increased by nearly 55% in December compared to November 2016 versus a 53.3% rise in the same period in 2015. Paymentsense said it indicates the desire for candy, nuts and confectionery is "not just alive, but it's growing with intent".