Page 38 - Food&Drink Magazine Aug-Sep 2021

SNACKS & CONFECTIONERY
Scorched peanuts, not earth
Cooks Confectionery was looking to solve the high energy bills that come with sweets and chocolate manufacturing. Solar panels were just the ticket.
the southern hemisphere, at more than 80 metres in length once completed. The company manufactures and robotically packs its famous Toffee Brittles and the infamous Scorched Peanut Bar product range, which complements its in-house chocolate manufacturing.
Lezcano says, “We will triple our production with this new bespoke line. It’s due to be fully operational at the end of the year.”
Lezcano says solar was a “no brainer”. “We wanted to put as many solar panels on the roof as possible, and Energus had the best price and strongest track record,” he says.
Energus sales director Thomas Bell said the installation was straight forward and the energy savings allowed the company to double its shifts.
“Even with the introduction of the second shift the company’s energy bill stayed the same, saving them around $10,000 a quarter, effectively doubling production without increasing energy costs,” Bell says.
For Lezcano the savings have enabled the business to double its productivity, invest in better quality machines and increase output.
For consumers that means moresweettreatstoenjoy. ✷
SCORCHED Peanut Bar reviver, and contract chocolate and confectionery manufacturer Cooks Confectionery wanted to do something about its growing power bill. Supplying premium quality chocolate,
toffee and nut products to wholesalers, supermarkets, and other retailers across Australia comes at a cost, particularly in termsofpower.
Managing director Daniel Lezcano was keen to reduce the power bill, no mean feat for a company operating 16 hours a day with heating running 24/7.
“Our power bills were sitting around $12,000 a
quarter before we
installed solar,” Lezcano says.
Based in Albion Park on the New South Wales South Coast, Cooks Confectionery has been
operating for 35 years. Whilethecompany
manufactures private label customisable sugar and chocolate products, it is best known for bringing the iconic Scorched Peanut Bar back into production in 2019. In 2020 it was lauded as one of the most successful chocolate bar launches of the year. This year saw the bar expand into tubs and bites, and a seasonal Easter range is set to launch in 2022.
Cooks’ 1200 square metre factory is set to have the largest automated toffee brittle bar production/packaginglinein
New block on the shelf
Australia’s iconic confectionery company Darrell Lea has launched its first ever white chocolate block, two years since launching its block range.
CHOCOLATE blocks joined Darrell Lea’s line-up in 2019. Since then, the range has expanded and the chocolate declared 100 per cent palm oil free, but the White Raspberry Bullet Block is the confectioner’s first white chocolate block addition.
The bar draws inspiration from its popular White Raspberry Bullets, with the white chocolate bar encasing raspberry liquorice and crunchy raspberry candies.
Stay tuned for more white chocofferingsdownthetrack.
Another addition to its block range is the Peanut Brittle Milk Chocolate Block, with Darrell Lea’s classic peanut brittle of roasted peanuts and crunchy caramel in a milk chocolate block.
There are also three new flavours in its Rocklea Road block range.
Rocklea Lea Road Caramel Milk Chocolate is loaded with salted caramel chips; Rocklea Lea Road Traditional Dark Chocolate is filled with marshmallow, coconut, and peanuts all smothered in Darrell Lea’sdarkchocolate;and
Rocklea Lea Road Honeycomb Milk Chocolate with a generous helping of chunky pieces of golden honeycomb.
From the first Rocklea Road invented in 1935 to today, Darrell Lea still uses the original recipe created by Darrell Lea’s father, Harry Lea. Marshmallows, blended with a mix of coconut and peanuts and then smothered in Darrell Lea chocolate.
It’s been a long Rocklea Road, around 6000 kilometres in fact, if you laid out all the Rocklea Road slabsthathavebeenmade. ✷
38 | Food&Drink business | August/September 2021 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au