BATCH OR CONTINUOUS PRODUCTION?


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n line with other manufacturing sectors, confectionery manufacturers face a strategic decision – should a production line operate in


discrete batches, or should the line run continuously? Each option comes with its own set of distinct technological demands and operational constraints. The right choice will depend on a variety of considerations including scale and volume, product variety, flexibility requirements, quality control needs and of course, budget.


Batch production In confectionery, a batch production line will be designed to process a fixed quantity of product through a series of successive stages – including mixing, cooking, cooling, forming and finishing – before switching to another batch. The entire batch may move from one station to the next, or may wait between stations until completion, rather than flowing uninterrupted. This model offers a high level of flexibility, allowing different flavours, colours, shapes or formulations to be run as discrete jobs. Batch processes are commonly specified for small-series trial runs, seasonal variants, or for product lines where frequent changeovers are needed. It is also often the chosen solution for products that require longer cooling or settings times – for example fudge, fondant, cream fillings and small runs of artisanal truffles. Recipes that contain sensitive ingredients – for example gums, pectins or gelatin – which require tight control of ingredient blending, hydration and temperature gradients are also considered to be well-suited to batch production methods, along with products that need a series of defined steps – such as resting or aging – or which require manual finishing steps. Modern batch confectionery lines will


often include sophisticated subsystems. For example, high-precision gravimetric dosing systems are often integrated with recipe management software to enable each batch to draw exact quantities of sugar syrups, gums, flavourings and colourants and helping ensure consistency across different batches. Because batches may differ in recipe,


colour or flavour, washing and cleaning between runs is vital and for this


OCTOBER 2025 • KENNEDY’S CONFECTION • 29


reason many modern batch systems will integrate clean-in-place (CIP) or semi-automated CIP modules to reduce downtimes between batches. Often a supervisory control system will also be employed to track batch progress and log parameters which help with traceability and quality assurance.


Continuous production On continuous confectionery production lines, raw materials are fed steadily, processed, formed and output without interruption or pause. The mass flows continuously through cooking, cooling, forming and finishing machinery, rather than being segmented into discrete batches. Continuous lines are considered to be the most economical solution for high volume products, where changeover frequency is low or when a single product variant is run for extended periods. Typical confectionery products that


align well with continuous processing for example can include hard boiled candies, lollipops or gummies; chewy candies and caramels; gum bases or chewing gum sticks; continuous-extruded bars or chocolate enrobed centres and panned coatings. A hard candy line, for example, may continuously feed sugar syrup and flavour, cook it to target solids, drop the mass through a continuous cooler, and pull down or cut into sticks or lozenges.


BATCH PROCESSES ARE


COMMONLY SPECIFIED FOR SMALL-SERIES TRIAL RUNS, SEASONAL VARIANTS, OR FOR PRODUCT LINES WHERE


FREQUENT CHANGEOVERS ARE NEEDED. IT IS ALSO OFTEN THE CHOSEN SOLUTION FOR PRODUCTS THAT REQUIRE LONGER COOLING OR SETTINGS TIMES


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