Confectionery Live came to a close on 25 January 2023, after two-days of thought-provoking content, insightful discussions and great connections between players in the industry. The event oversaw thousands of registrations with people from 70+ countries, demonstrating the global reach and engagement of Confectionery Live.
The confectionery industry has become subject to many challenges over the years, including the ethical sourcing of chocolate – as cocoa farmers struggle with living wages – and the sourcing of other raw materials and ingredients, as climate change has meant how ingredients which go into chocolate are grown require rethinking. As legislation, regulation and perceptions in the confectionery industry constantly change, it was incredibly important for attendees to keep track of these issues learning insights, trends and consumer behaviours – which they were able to access at the event.
It was thanks to the strong relationship International Confectionery magazine has with industry players that we were able to create a platform where speakers representing all aspects of the world and industry were able to share important insight, companies launched their products and solutions, and struck up discussion about issues such as, particularly poignant, the ethical sourcing of chocolate as cocoa farmers face poor pay, lack of access to education and financial systems.
Our conference agenda reflected a detailed and thorough range of content, covering ethical sourcing of chocolate, sourcing raw materials and ingredients, and packaging materials.
Latest trends and insights formed a major part of our event, as our partnership with market research company, FMCG Gurus, who provides market research and insight into consumer attitudes and behaviours across the food, beverage and supplement markets worldwide, enabled our attendees to gain access to key insights into consumer behaviour. It is thanks to the work of FMCG Gurus that confectionery companies are able to keep pace of continually changing consumer demands and attitudes. In our show guide, FMCG Gurus have provided a four-page report on global confectionery trends including health consciousness, and nutritional and functional focuses.
In line with the media partnership, FMCG Gurus’ Content and Editorial Executive Emily Ann Smith delivered a speaking session on better-for-you confectionery and functional claims, as she examined the connection between the pandemic and increased consumer consciousness about health and wellbeing, as well as examining the rise of the eco-conscious consumer. The importance of the consumer focused on alternative confectionery is so integral to the demands we are seeing from consumers for the confectionery industry, that it will become a key content topic in our next edition of Confectionery Live.
Day one oversaw strong sessions, including Emily’s presentation on better-for-you confectionery, as insights from FMCG Gurus reflected an overall increase in health-consciousness.
“Consumers are becoming increasingly more aware and motivated to boost their health which influences their purchasing habits, attitudes and behaviours,” Emily explained in her presentation, adding: “20% of consumers claimed they purchased functional confectionery in 2020, and this figure increased to a third of consumers in 2022. This reflects the rising interest in the functional confectionery market over the years, and we can expect this figure to continue to rise in the upcoming years.”
During and at the end of the event, our testimonials from both attendees and speakers were glowing, reflecting the importance of the platform for industry and the positive experiences they had during the two-day period:
“First of all, we found the event very successful. Your platform was very straight forward and easy to use, and you were super helpful whenever we needed. Udi asked to say thanks as well from him and his team,” said Dafni Folkman, Office Manager at NutriPR.
“It all seems to be running really smoothly, so congratulations! It’s great to see the positive reception for such an innovative event,” added Lola Carter, Senior Client Executive at Milk and Honey PR.
“Thank you for inviting me and for giving us a chance to explain all the great things we are doing at Mars to create a positive societal impact,” concluded Marc Carena, Regional President at Mars Wrigley.
From the team here at Confectionery Live, we’d like to extend a huge thank you to our sponsor, Luker Chocolate, our exhibitors, Luker Chocolate, CEPI Spa, TheChocolateLife and FMCG Gurus, our knowledge partner, as well as our speakers, for delivering such interesting sessions, and to our attendees, for being there with us. All of you made for such an enriching and informative event, and we’re looking forward to seeing you back again on 20-21 June 2023, when we’ll be running the next edition of Confectionery Live.
See you then!
