Category Archive: Uncategorized

Feb 04

Chocolate coating in belt, drum or Volvo pans

Chocolate Coating in Belt Coaters There are several factors to consider when trying to model coating times At the end of the coating process the chocolate coating must be largely crystallised, otherwise it will soften as latent heat is released after coating Chocolate for coating is untampered hence it will crystallise more slowly than would …

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Jul 11

Understanding the Flow of Fluids – Part 1

How (and why) liquids flow in the ways they do The liquids we encounter in the food and confectionery industries are some of the most complex and obscure in the ways they flow. Understanding why they behave in the strange ways they do – and being able to quantify it – is useful and can …

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Feb 24

Radio Interview

I was interviewed on BBC radio 5 this morning about the Mars product recall. It seems to me to be a very professional response, particularly given the danger of a choking hazard. It has clearly been made more difficult in that product was in the distribution chain, possibly for some time, before they were aware …

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Sep 18

Helping the Client to Shape, Develop and Operate their Business through Social Media

Social Media can be used in important ways to communicate with customers and consumers. It is therefore essential to get my clients thinking about the opportunities social media represents. Social media potentially changes the game completely for small start up businesses and ones which are developing, allowing direct access to consumer information in ways never …

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Sep 18

Satisfying the Customer and Consumer – Vital for any Business

The Route to Success – Satisfying the Customer and Consumer Satisfying the customer and consumer is a fundamental step to success in any business.  The product you offer must generate an image of Desirability, Quality, Trust, Consistency, Service and Value. Whilst there is reasonable and logical emphasis on satisfying and motivating the consumer, the customer …

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Jan 02

New Directions

New Product Directions – Some Challenging Thoughts for the Future The challenge and opportunity exists to change the whole direction of Chocolate and Confectionery development and to offer the consumer a series of radical new choices, relevant to now and the future rather than being rooted in the past. This also signals the opportunity for …

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Sep 26

Maximising the Performance of Your Business

In order to maximise performance a business must use all its assets to the full. However the “assets” of a business need to be considered much more broadly than just its manufacturing facilities. Businesses have three main groups of assets Their Brands Their Intellectual Property (Recipes, Processes, Technologies, Skills, Patents, Ingredients) Their Capability (Financing, People, …

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Sep 24

Starting a Chocolate or Confectionery Business

Starting or radically extending a business in chocolate confectionery is an exciting and challenging thing to do and extremely satisfying if it is successful.  The purpose of this article is to highlight some of the important issues you have to consider, choices you may have to make and where it may be useful to seek …

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Sep 21

Change is a Way of Life

We can’t go on like this!” Almost every manufacturing operation eventually needs to change. The reasons for this can include expanding or relocating production, manufacturing cost reduction, equipment which is worn out, processes which are no longer acceptable from a hygiene or labour point of view, expansion into a new market place and many others …

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Mar 26

Making Things – Profitably!

A high proportion of the work we do as a consulting business involves helping people to bring their ideas to fruition.  This requires working with them to identify the best technical and commercial approach to achieve a profitable realisation and commercial success from their idea. Most small and start-up businesses in food and confectionery fall …

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