Hard Candy and Lollipops
“Depositing systems can help ensure complete control throughout the line for high dimensional, shape and weight accuracy of finished products,” continues Keith. “High levels of automation, reliability and efficiency will enable much greater product output per operator in addition to enabling rapid changeovers. Automation also helps reduce product waste and energy consumption – which is rapidly becoming a major issue around the world and the cost of power is seeing fast increases.” Integrated, automated depositing has the ability to produce confectionery with more visual appeal than older processes. Hard candy systems from Baker Perkins, for example, can facilitate the production of a wider range of good quality and colourful candies using both sugar and sugar-free recipes, at outputs of between 50 and 2,400 kg/hour. One-shot depositing is able to provide multi-colour, multi- component candies in one, two, three or four colours – in stripes, layers or random patterns, with one or two hard or soft centre-fills, and with every possible colour and flavour. An area where Baker Perkins has identified increased interest from its hard candy customers is for on-line equipment support which is helping reduce their reliance on in-house skills. “This helped many companies cope with staff shortages experienced throughout the pandemic and we believe it will continue to be of value even in more normal times,” says Keith. Process support and operational trouble-shooting can be achieved via rapid communication with equipment supplier’s engineers, who can be located anywhere in the world. Contact can be made via phone, tablet, computer or headset – indeed, any device with a camera and microphone – to discuss a wide variety of topics. Concerns with machine service, maintenance and operation, process calibrations, breakdowns and training can all be discussed. Minor issues can often be rectified quickly with expert guidance, to reduce downtime. The efficiency, time and cost benefits of remote troubleshooting can be significant. Problems can be solved in minutes, rather than days waiting for a service engineer to travel to site. Routine preventative maintenance can be undertaken on-line without the need for an engineer’s visit – which proved particularly useful while stringent Covid-19 travel restrictions were in place.
“Indeed, while international travel was not possible, we also found that new equipment commissioning could be successfully carried out on-line. Commissioning, start-up and training costs and time can all be significantly reduced as engineers do not have to leave their base,” adds Keith.
Automated solutions
Compared with more conventional processes, automated solutions can help achieve wider ranges, higher quality products, and greater production flexibility. “Combinations of colour and flavour provide a host of possibilities beyond the more traditional choices. Fillings can be softer than with die forming, which provides some interesting possibilities,” Keith explains. For confectionery companies seeking to enter new markets, depositing can also provide a way of entering the rapidly growing functional sector, where accurate process control and hygiene are critical requirements. Functional hard candies could include antiseptics, menthol or eucalyptus oil to alleviate the symptoms of minor ailments such as coughs, colds, sore throats and nasal congestion. “Consistently accurate weight and dosage control means that these products are reproducible, and capable of validation, with the active ingredients present in precisely the quantities claimed,” concludes Keith.
Functional trends
According to a study by Allied Market Research, the functional food market size was estimated to be $177,770.0 million in 2019, and was predicted to reach $267,924.4 million by 2027, recording an annual growth rate of investment of 6.7% in the forecast period 2021-2027.
Some hard candy producers have sought
to benefit from this trend by adapting their product offerings – turning to the use of natural and organic raw materials,
for example. The
certifications that give these products organic, vegan, or natural status or products with nutritional and medical-healing properties, can also help remove the perception of hard candy being an unhealthy product. Medicated products are also well-suited to a hard candy delivery system –
particularly where slow release of an
active ingredient is required such as anaesthetics, menthol or eucalyptus. Further, a hard candy that can boast in its list of ingredients some dietary supplements such as vitamins, minerals, natural extracts, or omega 3, can acquire status and value higher than that of a simple hard candy.
One company which has successfully addressed this trend is Zile, a producer of hard candy products, located in Rupperswil in Switzerland.
14 Kennedy’s Confection April 2022
KennedysConfection.com
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