BW Packaging has introduced the Hayssen X650, a long-dwell, bottom-fed flow wrapper designed to support hermetic sealing, improve sanitation and maintain product quality in high-hygiene food manufacturing environments. The machine has been developed with cheese manufacturers in mind, but is also suitable for other hygiene-sensitive applications, including individually quick-frozen (IQF) foods and fresh produce. Joining the company's Hayssen X850 in its flow-wrapping portfolio, the X650 combines long-dwell sealing technology with full washdown construction and automation features to support consistent production performance. A key feature is its Jam Detection Technology, which is designed to protect product and packaging integrity during operation. If a product is incorrectly positioned, the machine's sealing jaws automatically detect it and open before making contact, helping to prevent product damage and contamination of the seal area. The system can then produce a double-length package and track it for downstream rejection when an optional reject system is installed. Operating at speeds of up to 150 packs per minute, the X650 also incorporates RFID login, recipe-driven settings and the company's OpView human-machine interface (HMI). These features are intended to simplify machine operation, streamline changeovers and support troubleshooting. Meeghan Sheppard, product manager for flow wrapping at BW Packaging, said: “Manufacturers operating in high-hygiene environments face increasing pressure to maintain product quality while improving operational efficiency. “The Hayssen X650 combines dependable hermetic sealing, hygienic machine design and intelligent automation in a solution that's easy to operate and built to support consistent production performance.” The launch expands BW Packaging's range of flow-wrapping solutions for food manufacturers seeking to balance packaging performance, product protection and sanitation requirements.

Mondelez International, owner of the Toblerone chocolate bar brand, is suing British vegan chocolatier Catherine’s Originals over the shape of one of its products. At the centre of the dispute is Catherine’s Originals’ O’Bar, a plant-based chocolate bar featuring a long, flat piece of chocolate topped with oval-shaped segments. In a lawsuit filed at the UK High Court in London, Mondelez claims that the bar’s appearance is too similar to that of the Toblerone, alleging trademark infringement. Toblerone is one of Mondelez’s best-known chocolate products, famous for its chunky triangle shape inspired by the Swiss Alps. The bar’s prism shape has been protected by a trademark in the UK since 1994. Catherine’s Originals, a small brand based in West Sussex, UK, offers a range of dairy-free chocolate products including the O’Bar, which is available in various flavour varieties such as Pumpkin Spice and Cookie No Crumble, in addition to original dark chocolate and plant-based milk and white chocolate variants. The original vegan milk chocolate O’Bar contains vegan honeycomb pieces and blanched almonds, while the original Toblerone contains honey and almond nougat. This latest lawsuit is not the first to be filed by Mondelez in recent years over alleged trademark infringement. The company, which is headquartered in the US, filed a lawsuit against retail chain Aldi in an Illinois court last year, claiming that the retailer had copied the packaging designs for several of its well-known cookie and cracker brands including Oreo and Belvita. This particular lawsuit – relating specifically to the shape of the products in question – is fairly unique, said Laurie Bray, a senior associate trade mark attorney at European intellectual property (IP) firm Withers & Rogers. “It’s quite rare for a brand owner to sue another over the shape of one its products,” she commented. “Even with a trademark registration in place protecting the shape of its Toblerone chocolate bar, it could be challenging for Mondelez to prove that the bar made by Catherine’s Originals is sufficiently similar in shape that it would cause customer confusion.” She added that while it is difficult to obtain commercial protection for the shape of a product alone, it is “worth considering” as brands contend with the rise of ‘dupe culture’ – a trend in which consumers seek lower-cost alternatives that are similar to premium and luxury branded goods. However, Catherine’s Originals’ vegan bar does not fall into this lower-cost ‘dupe’ category – prices for its 200g sharing bar start at £9.20, with special flavour varieties costing up to £10.55. Meanwhile, Toblerone’s 200g bar typically retails at around £4.20. According to reporting from The Guardian, Catherine’s Originals has strongly disputed the claims from Mondelez, with founder Catherine Dodd stating that the bars’ rounded segments represent the ‘O’ in ‘Originals’ from the brand’s name. In a statement sent to FoodBev Media, a Mondelez International spokesperson said: “The iconic Toblerone shape is one of the most recognised and distinctive product designs in the UK and across the world, and has been a hallmark of the brand since 1929. We have a responsibility to protect our trademarks and intellectual property, which we take seriously.“ They added: “We have attempted to resolve this matter constructively and directly with Catherine's Originals over several months but unfortunately have been unable to reach an agreement. We cannot comment further on ongoing legal matter.“ FoodBev has approached Catherine’s Originals for comment. Top image: © Catherine's Originals

Growing product ranges, more frequent changeovers and shorter production runs are making PET packaging operations harder to manage. For manufacturers using multiple blow moulding platforms, separate tooling for each machine type can increase costs, consume storage space and limit the ability to move production between lines. Competek believes there is another option. Drawing on more than 25 years of experience in PET packaging, the company has developed Flex Mould, a universal blow mould designed to work across multiple compatible blow moulding platforms through a dedicated interface system. The development builds on Competek's wider expertise in custom mould design, packaging optimisation and line conversion. Working with beverage, liquid food and personal care manufacturers, the company supports projects from initial bottle concepts through to mould development, engineering and production implementation, validating designs through mechanical and laboratory testing. Moulds remain one of the most important assets in any PET packaging operation. They influence bottle quality, production efficiency and the ability to introduce new formats. Yet many manufacturers operating mixed machine environments still rely on machine-specific moulds, creating additional complexity when transferring production between lines or responding to operational challenges. Flex Mould was developed to tackle this issue directly. Through its dedicated interface system, the same mould can be transferred between compatible machines, reducing dependence on machine-specific tooling. Rather than maintaining separate mould inventories for different platforms, manufacturers can use a single mould solution across a broader production environment. This approach can provide greater flexibility when managing production schedules. The ability to move a mould between compatible machines gives manufacturers an additional option during maintenance periods or unexpected downtime, helping to maintain production continuity and minimise disruption. Flex Mould has also been designed to simplify day-to-day operations. A tool-free replacement system enables faster mould changeovers, reducing setup times and making it easier to shift production between compatible machines when requirements change. The benefits extend beyond operational flexibility. Using one mould across multiple machine platforms can reduce the number of moulds a manufacturer needs to purchase, store and maintain. This can help lower investment costs while simplifying mould management and reducing storage requirements. The launch reflects Competek's broader focus on practical solutions that help manufacturers improve performance without adding complexity. Alongside mould development, the company supports customers with lightweighting projects, packaging optimisation, energy-saving initiatives, prototyping and line conversion programmes, providing technical expertise throughout the packaging lifecycle. As PET producers balance efficiency, cost control and increasingly diverse production requirements, mould strategy is becoming more important. By reducing tooling complexity and allowing moulds to move between compatible platforms, Flex Mould offers manufacturers a practical way to gain more flexibility from their existing production assets.

London-based dessert brand Chin Chin is launching Mello, a shelf-stable squeezable marshmallow crème designed for hot chocolate, baking and other dessert applications. Described as the UK’s first product of its kind, Mello will make its retail debut at a six-month pop-up in Selfridges Foodhall on 9 November 2026. The 175g tube is priced at £6.95 and is handcrafted in small batches by Chin Chin’s pastry chefs at its Soho development kitchen. The product is based on the marshmallow crème developed for the brand’s signature hot chocolate, which features a scoop of whipped marshmallow crème finished with a blowtorch. Mello is vegetarian, dairy-free and certified halal, and is made using natural ingredients. Its shelf-stable format is designed to offer consumers a convenient way to recreate the dessert topping at home. Suggested applications include piping onto hot chocolate and cakes, topping fruit and whipping into marshmallow cold foam for drinks such as matcha lattes. The launch follows two years of development, with work on the packaging beginning in summer 2024. The concept was inspired by Chin Chin’s experience serving marshmallow crème on desserts at its London locations and seasonal Selfridges pop-ups. Nyisha Weber, co-founder of Chin Chin, said: “Our torched marshmallow hot chocolate was something people hadn’t seen before, and now it’s everywhere. We started piping marshmallow crème onto baked Alaskas at Selfridges and wondered, why can’t everyone do this at home? Two years later and we got it right. We’re excited to launch Mello in the same building where the idea started.” To mark the launch, Chin Chin will introduce a dedicated menu at the Selfridges pop-up, featuring Mello Hot Chocolate, S’mores Salted Butter Chocolate Pudding and Mello-Mallo Fro-Yo. The product will initially be available exclusively through the Selfridges Foodhall pop-up, with consumers able to register online for a place on the preorder waiting list. Founded in 2010 by business partners Ahrash Akbari-Kalhur and Nyisha Weber, Chin Chin operates independently and is known for its experimental approach to desserts and ice cream.

Nestlé has entered a three-and-a-half-year collaboration with BirdLife Europe to assess how regenerative agriculture practices can support biodiversity and nature restoration across European farmland. The science-led programme will monitor farmland birds, butterflies and wild bees, comparing their presence in fields using regenerative agriculture practices with those managed through conventional farming methods. The findings will help identify which agricultural practices deliver the greatest biodiversity benefits and inform Nestlé's approach to farmer support and responsible sourcing. Monitoring will begin in 2026 in Spain, building on biodiversity research conducted by Nestlé and SEO/BirdLife on dairy farms since 2021. The programme will also launch in Poland with OTOP (BirdLife Poland), with Belgium joining in 2027 alongside Natuurpunt/Natagora. The collaboration comes amid concerns over declining European farmland biodiversity. According to the Pan-European Common Bird Monitoring Scheme, farmland bird populations across Europe fell by 58% between 1980 and 2024, with agricultural intensification identified as the main contributing factor. Through the programme, BirdLife's national partners will use established survey methods to monitor wildlife on participating farms, providing comparable data over time. Nestlé said the research would help assess how regenerative agriculture can contribute to more resilient food systems by supporting soil health, water conservation, biodiversity and carbon capture, while also strengthening farmers' livelihoods. Anita Wälz, head of sustainability and corporate communications at Nestlé Zone Europe, said: “We want to back farmers with the science, the tools and the long-term commitment to help them farm in ways that aim to support nature and their businesses. “This is about learning honestly what works. Birds are one of the most trusted signals nature can give us. Together with BirdLife, we are measuring selected bird populations in participating European farming areas to help assess changes in on-farm biodiversity.” Ariel Brunner, director of BirdLife Europe and Central Asia, added that intensive farming was contributing to biodiversity loss, soil depletion and increased vulnerability to climate change. He said the food industry had an important role to play in supporting the transition towards more sustainable agricultural practices, but emphasised the need for robust scientific evidence to determine which approaches should be prioritised. The partnership aims to provide that evidence, helping Nestlé, BirdLife and participating farmers understand where regenerative agriculture can deliver measurable environmental improvements and where farming approaches may need to be adapted.

Mondelēz International has reported strong third-quarter 2026 results, alongside an agreement to acquire a majority stake in better-for-you snack brand Undercover Snacks. The acquisition, which is expected to close in early 2027, will strengthen Mondelēz’s position in the growing ‘permissible indulgence’ category as the company looks to expand its portfolio of snacks targeting health-conscious consumers. Undercover Snacks produces chocolate-coated quinoa crisps, available in chocolate and frosted varieties. Its products are gluten-free and made with simple ingredients, offering consumers an alternative to traditional confectionery and snacks. Mondelēz said the brand has been gaining consumer preference and has opportunities to increase household penetration and expand distribution. In a statement, Dirk Van de Put, chairman and CEO of Mondelēz International, said: “We are delighted to announce our recent agreement to acquire Undercover Snacks, a delicious, crunchy quinoa crisp line that highlights our continued expansion in the high-growth permissible indulgence segment.” For the quarter ended 30 September 2026, Mondelēz reported adjusted earnings of $0.78 per share, exceeding analysts’ average estimate of $0.71 per share. Quarterly revenue reached $9.97bn, slightly below the $9.98bn expected by analysts. The company attributed its performance to broad-based volume growth and strong market share performance across developed and emerging markets. The statement said the business continued to see growth momentum across its markets, while increasing investment in its brands, innovation and distribution. The acquisition of Undercover Snacks forms part of Mondelēz’s wider strategy to capture growth in snacks that combine indulgence with perceived nutritional benefits, as consumer demand for alternative snacking options continues to evolve.

Barry Callebaut has unveiled Flavourcode, a new flavour solution for chocolate developed through a proprietary approach to cocoa fermentation. The Switzerland-headquartered chocolate specialist said its new offering guides fermentation to unlock ‘unexplored flavours’ within the cocoa bean, leading to greater depth and intensity without the need for added flavourings. It has been designed to reproduce defined flavour profiles consistently at scale, leveraging the company’s expertise in diversity of cocoa characteristics that vary between origins, harvests and seasons. Barry Callebaut’s research, carried out across 24 markets, suggests consumers are showing greater interest in distinctive, complex and more immersive taste experiences. Meanwhile, brands and manufacturers are seeking new ways to create flavour differentiation and meet rising consumer expectations around chocolate quality. The first commercial expression of the new Flavourcode platform is Callebaut Flavourcode 01, developed for chocolatiers, chefs and artisans. According to the company, this expression provides a layered flavour profile opening with tropical fruit notes, including passion fruit, pineapple, mango and ripe banana, followed by dried-fruit characteristics and a refined cocoa finish. The sensory profile is designed to equip chefs and artisans with a reliable foundation for reproducing an intended taste experience, developed for applications including pastry, confectionery, ice cream and plated desserts. Barry Callebaut is also assessing how the platform can be developed for food manufacturing applications across different chocolate profiles. Potential directions currently being explored include Dark 70%, Dark 54% and Milk profiles. Hein Schumacher, CEO of Barry Callebaut, said: “Cocoa is an extraordinarily complex raw material, and understanding how to work and innovate with that complexity is a core part of Barry Callebaut’s expertise”. “With Flavourcode, we are putting that expertise to work for our customers, opening up unexplored natural flavours within the bean, driving taste intensity, while delivering consistency and workability… We see significant potential to build this into a broader innovation platform across gourmet and food manufacturing.”

UK juice and smoothie brand Innocent has joined forces with seaweed packaging start-up Notpla to pilot plastic-free, edible packaging for the brand’s ginger shots. Notpla’s ‘Ooho pod’ packaging is made of biodegradable seaweed, with the innovative ‘pod’ able to be swallowed after the shot is consumed, eliminating packaging waste and aligning with the UK’s circular economy ambitions. Innocent’s packaging lead, Andy Wallis, said the innovative packaging format could be used not just in the brand’s ginger shots, but across other drink and smoothie formats. The pilot aims to explore how the packaging technology could be used and to assess consumer receptivity. The brand chose Nobottle – a tiny hamlet with a population of 30 in Northamptonshire, UK – to launch the new ‘no bottle’ innovation trial. It invited residents to try the product for the first time before expanding the trial to the wider public in a nearby city. According to Innocent’s wider survey of 321 people, carried out on 27 October 2026, 78% of those who tried the pods said they would buy them if available today. Pierre Paslier, co-founder and co-CEO of Notpla, said: “Our natural packaging range, including our Ooho pods, use seaweed to create compostable, edible alternatives to single-use plastics, designed to disappear without leaving waste behind”. “Working with great brands like Innocent gives us an exciting opportunity to explore how it could work for everyday moments, sustainably.” Notpla, headquartered in London, produces a broader range of plastic-free seaweed packaging materials in addition to the pods. Its packaging innovations can be used across food and beverage product formats such as drinks, sauces and single-use liquids. Formats of the seaweed packaging have already been used at events such as festivals and marathons, to reduce plastic usage and container waste. © Notpla

Dairy-free brand Daiya has launched a new frozen treat in the US, Poppable Cheesecake Bites, designed to deliver convenient indulgence. The bite-sized frozen treats are available in three flavours – original, strawberry and chocolate. They each feature a creamy, dairy-free cheesecake centre, wrapped in a dark chocolate coating, in a ‘poppable, freezer-to-mouth’ snacking format. “What makes Cheesecake Bites exciting is that they make indulgence feel easy,” said John Kelly, chief marketing officer at Daiya. “The creamy cheesecake centre and rich dark chocolatey coating give you a real dessert experience, and whether you go for original, strawberry or chocolate, two to three pieces are just 100 calories.” The brand has teamed up with professional basketball player Cade Cunningham in a marketing campaign to launch the product, aligning with Cunningham’s dairy-free lifestyle. Daiya Cheesecake Bites are available in 227g individual flavour bags, in the frozen dessert aisle at Sprouts Farmers Market, Meijer and Kroger nationwide, priced at an RRP of $8.99.

Biospringer by Lesaffre, a fermentation and yeast ingredients specialist, has today (29 October 2026) announced its acquisition of ModuMax, a portfolio of taste modulation solutions developed by DSM-Firmenich. The move aims to strengthen Biospringer’s capabilities in helping food and beverage manufacturers to improve taste performance in new or reformulated F&B products. The acquisition adds a multi-mechanism taste modulator to the company’s range of solutions, capable of reducing bitterness, masking off-notes, strengthening mouthfeel and improving flavour delivery in applications such as high-protein beverages, plant-based milk alternatives, reduced-sugar drinks and low-fat dairy alternatives. This will allow Biospringer to provide integrated taste design platforms that build richness and roundness. The taste modulation solution is designed to neutralise bitterness, reduce astringency and boost creaminess. ModuMax will be integrated into Biospringer’s Go To Market organisation, global R&D and application network. Carmen Arruda, global general director at Biospringer by Lesaffre, said: “ModuMax is a powerful complement to our current portfolio”. “By combining the depth, umami and kokumi of yeast extract with ModuMax’s advanced modulation capabilities, we can help customers push the boundaries of nutritional reformulation without compromising taste.” Esther de Graaf-Groenendijk, food business line director at Biospringer, said that taste remains “the biggest barrier to consumer acceptance in better-for-you products”. “With ModuMax, Biospringer now offers complete toolkits in the industry to help brands deliver healthier products that taste exceptional.”

Protein is no longer the domain of shakes and supplement aisles. Consumers are now actively choosing meals around protein and macro goals, and they're willing to pay for convenience that delivers nutritionally. James Laithwaite, co-founder and COO of FuelHub, explores what this shift means for the ready meal category and the next stage of the protein market. Protein has made one of the more significant category crossovers of the past decade. What was once largely associated with gym-goers, shakes and powders is now actively influencing how people think about breakfast, lunch and dinner, and the businesses paying closest attention are already repositioning accordingly. The direction of travel is clear. Consumers are increasingly approaching protein through the meal itself, treating it as a consideration when deciding what to eat rather than something to add afterwards. There is still a place for shakes, powders and specialist products, particularly around exercise and immediate convenience, but they're no longer the primary lens through which consumers think about their nutritional goals. People want the food in front of them to do more of the work. This is one of the most consequential developments in the category right now. It's showing up in what people order, what they're willing to pay and how they talk about their food choices. The protein conversation has moved out of the supplement aisle and into everyday eating. This is part of a broader shift towards greater awareness of what a meal actually provides. Protein is the obvious starting point because it's relatively easy to understand and quantify, but consumers are also becoming more conscious of calories, carbohydrates, fats and overall nutritional balance. The question is how to create food that makes nutritional sense as a complete eating occasion. How consumer expectations are changing There is an important distinction between adding protein to a product and delivering it through food, and it's one consumers are becoming increasingly attuned to. People are thinking about protein not as something to supplement a meal but as something a meal should already provide. That doesn't mean consumers have rejected processed or fortified products outright. Convenience remains one of the most powerful drivers of food choice, and there will always be occasions where a bar, drink or shake makes sense. What it does suggest is that the protein opportunity is becoming broader and, in some ways, more demanding. Consumers want the speed and simplicity of a prepared meal while still expecting it to resemble food they'd choose to eat on any other day. This is where the ready meal category has a genuinely interesting role to play. A meal can deliver protein alongside vegetables, carbohydrates and fats, while also providing the taste, texture and familiarity consumers expect from everyday food. The strongest propositions are unlikely to be the ones that simply maximise the gram count on the front of pack. They'll be the products that make protein one part of a more complete nutritional story. Convenience is being redefined Convenience food has traditionally been built around a single promise: it saves time. That remains important, but the definition of what counts as genuinely convenient is shifting. Consumers are increasingly looking for products that save time without creating a compromise elsewhere in their diet. For the everyday high performer managing work, training and family commitments, a meal that can be prepared quickly and provides a useful amount of protein carries a different kind of value from one that is simply quick. It removes several decisions at once: what to eat, how much to eat, whether the meal contains enough protein and whether it fits into broader nutritional goals for the day. That reduction in friction is, in itself, part of the product. This is one reason we've seen such a strong connection between meal preparation and macro awareness. Consumers who track their nutrition are often not looking for another product to fit into their routine. They're looking for food that makes the routine easier to sustain. For brands, that places greater pressure on product development, because protein can't be treated as an isolated formulation exercise. Increasing it affects taste, texture, satiety, cost and the overall balance of a meal. What the next stage of the protein market looks like The protein category will continue to expand, but the next stage is likely to look different from the one we've just been through. Significant innovation around putting protein into products that traditionally wouldn't have contained it has made protein more visible and accessible, but it has also made the market considerably more crowded. As protein becomes a more established part of everyday food, consumers will have less reason to choose a product simply because it leads with a "high protein" claim. The baseline expectation is shifting and food is increasingly expected to deliver nutritional value as well as convenience - a single front-of-pack number is not enough to differentiate. The brief for manufacturers is becoming more demanding as a result. Products need to taste good, work as a complete meal, deliver a nutritional profile consumers can understand and justify their price in a market where value remains a genuine consideration. The boundaries between traditional food, sports nutrition and convenience are already blurring. The appearance of meal-prep products in nutrition-focused retail environments is one clear indication of that convergence. Recent developments, including our partnership with Holland & Barrett, signal retailers are looking beyond the supplement aisle to meet consumers' broader nutritional expectations. For the ready meal sector, that represents a significant and still-developing opportunity. The protein boom has changed what consumers expect from their food. The industry's next task is to build meals that are actually worthy of those expectations.

Princes has expanded its canned ready meal portfolio with four new Asian-inspired curries, introducing Thai, Japanese and Korean flavours to the category. The new products comprise Thai Red Chicken Curry, Thai Green Chicken Curry, Chicken Katsu Curry and Korean Sweet Chilli Chicken Curry. All four are high in protein, with the nutritional information highlighted on the front of pack and no red traffic-light ratings. The launch aims to address consumer demand for greater flavour innovation in canned ready meals, as interest in global cuisines continues to grow. According to Princes, 80% of canned ready meal buyers want to see more modern cuisines in the category, while curry represents a £15.6 million segment that continues to outperform the wider market. The company reported that curry volumes grew by 2.6% and value increased by 2.1%, despite an overall decline in the canned ready meal category. Jeremy Gibson, marketing director at Princes Group, said: “We know consumers are increasingly seeking exciting, global flavours that are both convenient and tasty. Our brand new flavours will bring some of the nation’s favourite Asian-inspired dishes to the canned ready meal category, providing shoppers with affordable, quick meal solutions.” He added that the new products were intended to appeal to existing Princes customers and shoppers looking to explore new cuisines at accessible price points. Thai Green Chicken Curry, Chicken Katsu Curry and Korean Sweet Chilli Chicken Curry are available at Sainsbury’s, with Korean Sweet Chilli Chicken Curry also stocked by Iceland. All four varieties are scheduled to launch at Tesco from 26 October 2026, expanding their availability across major UK retailers. Princes said the additions build on its position in the canned ready meal curry category, combining convenience, protein content and flavour variety to support further category growth.