Published Articles
One Million Tree Initiative - World Environment Day
Fuji Oil Holdings Inc. and Blommer Chocolate, June 5, 2021
Today marks World Environment Day and is therefore a perfect opportunity to have a close look at one of the initiatives that Fuji Oil is taking on reforestation: One Million Tree Initiative.
Cocoa trees thrive in hotter tropical climates. In Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana, the world leading cocoa producing countries, the expansion of cocoa has been one of the drivers of the loss of a significant portion of the tropical rainforest. The Fuji Oil Group is committed to achieving sustainable cocoa supply chains, and to this end, it is necessary we contribute to addressing the most significant social and environmental issues, including deforestation.
Fuji Oil releases “Sustainability Report 2020”
Fuji Oil Holdings Inc., September, 2020
The Fuji Oil Group released today the “Sustainability Report 2020”, for the first time based on the core of the “GRI standards”. It also announces the publication of the “ESG data book”, the “GRI standards comparison table” and the expected release of the “Integrated Report” later this month.
Link directly to the online report here.
Meeting the Coronavirus
Challenge for Healthier &
Sustainable Foods
Fuji
Oil & Blommer Chocolate Global R&D
Center in collaboration with Hank Cardello,
director of Food Policy at Hudson Institute., July, 2020
The arrival of the novel coronavirus has further exacerbated public health and regulatory pressures on food suppliers and processors by uncovering the tight linkage between poor food nutrition and obesity, susceptibility to serious illness and adverse environmental impacts.
This paper presents evidence that “better-for-you” and sustainable products are driving growth and that sweets & snacks must answer the call to deliver more of these versions, especially as these categories have been identified as the #1 public health target to make nutritional improvements.
How to Host a Virtual Chocolate Tasting
Kettle Talk by RCI, Special Edition Summer 2020
HOW can we go about hosting a virtual
chocolate tasting?
Use all your resources to get the word out that you are hosting
a virtual tasting. Share how your customers can participate
and how to receive their tasting kit. Social media, such as your
Facebook page, is a great way to spark interest in addition
to advertising in your store or in the windows. Partner with a
local organization like a nearby high school music booster or a
local charity and let them advertise within their network for a
percentage of the proceeds.
Transparency's Impact on Market Share
Candy & Snack Today, May/June 2020
Blommer Chocolate Co.’s Kip Walk shares his views on how consumer demand and government regulations are making it critical for companies to develop and implement transparency initiatives.
Winter 2019-20 Flavor Trends
Blommer Chocolate's R&D Team, March, 2020
In order to find the most current flavor trends, we conduct our own primary research by analyzing desserts from buzz-worthy restaurants with seasonal menus around the country.
Diane Trout Recognized with RCI's 2019 Henry J. Bornhofft Award
Retail Confectioners International (RCI), June 12, 2019, Hartford, CT
Retail Confectioners International (RCI), a trade association serving the chocolate and confectionery industry, recently awarded the 2019 Henry J. Bornhofft Memorial Award at their Annual Convention & Industry Expo. Diane Trout, account manager and business development for The Blommer Chocolate Company, was this year’s honored recipient.
“Diane Trout embodies the values and culture of what makes RCI and this industry so special: camaraderie; loyalty to family, colleagues and customers; and passion for chocolate and everything related to it,” stated Steve Blommer, former VP of Business Development for The Blommer Chocolate Company. “I cannot think of anyone more deserving of this recognition than my dear friend, Diane.”
Carly Meck Named PMCA’s 2018 Marie Kelso Award Recipient
PMCA, June 18, 2018, Bethlehem, PA
PMCA’s Production Conference Program Committee has named Carly Meck, R&D Scientist, Blommer Chocolate Company, as the twenty-second recipient of the Marie Kelso Memorial Award. Ms. Meck presented a paper titled Mysteries of Conching Revealed as part of the Developing Flavor in Chocolate seminar on Wednesday, April 18, 2018 during the 72nd Annual Production Conference.
Is Epogee the fat substitute we've been waiting for?
USAToday.com, December 2016
The dream of a fat substitute that delivers taste with no nasty side effects has long haunted food scientists. Now, an Indianapolis man thinks he has found the answer: Epogee, a new product that could revolutionize foods from peanut butter to baked goods to fries.
Blommer Chocolate Company, the largest chocolate ingredient supplier in the U.S., recently unveiled its Wonder Line of confectionery coatings made with Epogee. It comes in flavors such as milk and dark chocolate and yogurt. Wonder Line coatings have about one-third fewer calories than standard coatings and almost two-thirds fewer calories from fat.
Take a Spin on the Flavor Wheel
Take the wheel when it comes to communicating the flavors in your confections with customers and staff.
Kettle Talk by RCI, January/ February / March 2016
Chocolate is one of the most craved flavors in the world and
most of our customers have very strong feelings about their
favorite pieces of chocolate. However, if you ask them to
describe what their favorite chocolate tastes like, they may
have trouble articulating it.
Alkalizing Cocoa and
Chocolate
Matching the proper alkalized cocoa or liquor to the proper application is the key to a successful product.
By Arlen Moser, Blommer Chocolate Co., published by The Manufacturing Confectioner, June 2015
Throughout history no time period has
had a greater impact than the 19th century
on shaping the chocolate products of
today. Rudolph Lindt developed the first
conche in 1879, which led to flavor improvement
of chocolate. Daniel Peter was the first
person to successfully incorporate milk into
chocolate in 1876 after many others had
tried and failed. In 1847, Joseph Fry added
additional cocoa butter into chocolate, giving
us the ability to form the chocolate bars
of today.
Blommer’s Marlene Baxter Stauffer garners Stroud Jordan award
candyindustry.com, October 7, 2015
During the American Association of Candy Technologists’ (AACT) National Technical Conference being held at the Marriott Lincolnshire Resort in Lincolnshire, Ill., the organization presented Marlene Baxter Stauffer, director of quality assurance and regulatory compliance at the Blommer Chocolate Co., the 2015 Stroud Jordan award.
A Collegial Coupling:
By Bernard Pacyniak, Editor-In-Chief, Candy Industry Magazine
Blommer chocolates and Beringer wines
provide several interesting pairings, intertwining
and enhancing flavor notes in some instances
while expanding palates in others.
A Guide to Energy
Efficiency:
Reduce energy consumption in your manufacturing operation
with simple and practical ideas.
By Eric Bliss and Luke Caughey,
Blommer Chocolate Company
Companies continue to search for ways
to combat the high price of utilities,
which, for most in the food-processing
industry, is the second-largest direct conversion
cost behind only the cost of labor.
Becoming more energy efficient is possible
for every organization, and doing so can
save money in more areas than just your
utility bill.
Blommer Chocolate Company Finds Sweet
Savings with Energy Intelligence Software:
Company Optimizes Operations Through Unprecedented Visibility
A Case Study by Enernoc, Inc.
In 2011, Blommer Chocolate initiated a comprehensive energy conservation program
as part of its efforts to reduce waste throughout its manufacturing operations. Reducing
energy consumption is a priority for the company, but energy savings isn’t the only
objective for instituting such a comprehensive program.
Chocolate Fat Bloom
by Melissa Tisoncik
Blommer Chocolate Company
Fat bloom is inevitable, but once you understand the fundamentals you can prevent it from occurring prior to the end of shelf life. It is a physical defect that appears during
storage of chocolate and is characterized as
a whitish layer on the outer surface.
Illinois Business this Week on PBS at Sweets and Snacks Expo
www.ILBizthisWeek.com, Originally aired, June 2014
Watch Blommer’s interview at the Sweets and Snacks Expo in Chicago.
Blommer Chocolate Company on Illinois Business this Week
Cocoa, channeled
by Phil Rosenthal, The Chicago Tribune, May 2014
Inside the Blommer Chocolate Co. factory you’ve smelled but
never seen — and the family that’s run it for all of its 75 years.
At Montco plant, feeding a huge chocolate craving
Philly.com, April 2014
That chocolate Easter bunny you're buying - or, if that isn't your thing, that artisanal dark chocolate, that chocolate milk, or that chocolate chip cookie - chances are that, no matter what it is, no matter whose name is on it, Blommer Chocolate Co. was involved.
How chocolate kept the Blommer family together
Philly.com, April 2014
Peter W. Blommer's grandfather, the founder of Blommer Chocolate Co., had just died when the family received a phone call.
"We got a call from the chairman of another company saying they owned 50 percent of our shares," said Blommer, 50, now president and chief operating officer of the nation's largest cocoa-bean processing company.
"It kind of upped the emotional ante," he said.
Passport to Pleasure
CANDY INDUSTRY September 2012
Blommer Chocolate Co. pairs its fine-flavor
chocolates with a range of wines, demonstrating how
the interplay of flavors enhances the tastings of both.
Chocolate Quality Testing
by Neil H. Mermelstein
Fellow of IFT, and Editor Emeritus of Food
Technology
The December issue of Food Technology contains an
overview of the chocolate confectionery market. This
article focuses on the production and quality testing
of chocolate.
A Collaborative Approach to Cocoa
Sustainability
by Peter Blommer
President and Chief Operating Officer, Blommer
Chocolate Company
The supply threat is real. Aggregation of farmers
remains the single biggest challenge to overcome.
PMCA 2010 Presentation
by Rose Potts
Corporate Manager Sensory and Product Guidance,
East Greenville, PA
Sensory Evaluation for the Small to Mid-Size
Confectioner
Protect Your Flavor to Protect Your Brand
Sensory Evaluation of Chocolate Products
by Rose Potts
Corporate Manager Sensory and Product Guidance,
East Greenville, PA
Small to mid-size companies can maintain the quality
of their signature products by defining their attributes
and tasting daily.
Conquering Shelf-life Issues of Chocolate
by Marlene Stauffer
Director, Quality Assurance & New Product
Development, East Greenville, PA
My Cool Job - I’m a Chocolate Taster
by Rose Potts
Corporate Manager Sensory and Product Guidance,
East Greenville, PA
Printed in Time For Kids magazine
Back to Basics: Selection of Coating for
Moulding Application
by Marlene Stauffer
Director, Quality Assurance & New Product
Development, East Greenville, PA
PMCA Production Conference
by Bill Dyer
Director, Technical Sales and Service, Chicago, IL
Alkalized Cocoa Powders
The Flavor of Milk Chocolate Changes Caused
by Processing
by Marlene Stauffer
Director, Quality Assurance & New Product
Development, East Greenville, PA
Milk Chocolate Applications—Maintaining
Quality and Solving Problems
by Bill Dyer
Director, Technical Sales and Service, Chicago, IL
Chocolate Behavior—What Influences Your
Selection?
by Marlene Stauffer
Director, Quality Assurance & New Product
Development, East Greenville, PA
Chocolate Processing Overview
by Marlene Stauffer
Director, Quality Assurance & New Product
Development, East Greenville, PA