FORMING AND EXTRUSION
Addressing trends and technology choices
Kennedys Confection posed some questions about trends and technology choices to forming and extrusion companies.
Q: What are the biggest trends in extruded and formed confectionery products today and how is technology helping confectionery manufacturers address these trends? Stuart Grogan, Operations Director at BCH (Rochdale): A few trends have recently been seen in confectionery production. Clients are seeking more and more flexibility when a choice is made to invest in a production line. Companies are less likely to invest if they feel they will be limited to the production of just one product type further down the line, as this can significantly impact their competitive advantage.
These demands would typically include a wider variety of shapes and formats. We have also worked with clients and suppliers to allow the introduction of multiple co-extruded masses, functional inclusions and healthier alternatives by switching out the traditional ingredients for alternatives.
There is also a growing trend towards manufacturers wanting to be able to add healthier snacks to their portfolio. Now, more than ever, consumers are conscious of what they are eating and the nutrients it is offering. Whether this is reducing sugar or creating products with no sugar.
Mike Sherd, Managing Partner at Egan Food Technologies: Snack and protein bars have been on the rise for the last decade, and now many producers are looking to create bite- size versions of their recipes. While rounders provide one equipment option to make bite- size balls, they require a separate process and greater investment. Instead, we are helping many of our confectionery customers to
34 Kennedy’s Confection July 2024
create bite-size squares by adding slitter/ spreader assemblies to existing lines. This allows customers to continue to use the same equipment that they have been producing their bars on, offering an economical way to capitalise on the bite-size trend.
Q: In your view, which confectionery products are best extruded, and which are best created using forming technology (and why is this)? Stuart Grogan: From our experience in niche markets, we find that viscous masses are best extruded, given the pressure required to force them through the manifolds and die sets that are in place to form the finished product. Equally, other viscous confectionery masses are best ‘formed’ such as some harder caramels
and candies that may need to go through a series of processes to form a slab or a rope that is then passed through dies or rollers to achieve the desired article.
Mike Sherd:We offer testing services for exactly this reason. It can often be difficult to determine if a slab forming or extruding equipment will be best for each recipe. As a general rule, recipes with ingredients that can be combined into a homogenous slurry are better for extruding, since they are being pushed through a die to create long ropes to be cut. Recipes with whole nuts, seeds or fragile ingredients are better suited for a slab forming process, because they are more gently pressed into bars by a series of forming rolls.
KennedysConfection.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44
