2025 event

Aldo Cristiano

Caobisco

The World Confectionery Conference will see Aldo Cristiano, vice president of Caobisco, the key European industry trade association deliver an opening address.

His organisation has continued to represent the interests of companies of all sizes across the sector.

Aldo, who serves as the  made a memorable appearance opening our 2024 event in Brussels, with the show set to return to the Belgian capital on 11 September at the Marriott Hotel, Grand Place, placing latest sustainability, new product and equipment innovation and supply chain developments under the spotlight once again.

Furthermore, the fifth edition of our conference will also feature our popular World Confectionery Awards, which will be returning across six core categories to celebrate the endeavours of companies from the full spectrum of our combined industries.

Aldo, who serves as the Head of Institutional Affairs and sustainability for Ferrero in Germany,  has continued to play a central role in globally significant policy matters. This includes the new EUDR and wider sustainability legislation impacting all segments of industry.

Aldo has decades of experience in the confectionery industry,  and has formerly served as the president of Caobisco.

The trade body offers a major platform of support for more than 14,000 businesses across Europe, including representatives from major chocolate and cocoa brands, as well as a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises.

Honorata Jarocka

Mintel

Insights and industry education will form a key element of this year’s conference, and we’ll be welcoming back Mintel’s principal analyst Honorata Jarocka to shed some valuable light on key developments across the sector.

With nearly twenty years of experience in market research and a strong interest in health and wellbeing, she has been part of the leading research and insights group for over a decade.

The group has remained one of the most respected organisations operating across the food and drink sector, and Honorata’s contribution last year offered plenty of discussion points for attendees.

She will be joining our event on 11 September in the Belgian capital offering some significant reflections on the evolution of this ever-vibrant sector that has shown notable movement in hard candy confectionery, chocolate and snacking markets.

In her current role as a Principal Analyst, Honorata shares invaluable insights into how consumer needs and expectations are evolving, and what’s trending in the food and drink industry. Frequently working with the media, she has become renowned for her specialism within the sector.

Honorata’s previous experience prior to joining Mintel includes working within the Euromonitor International insights group, as well as Polish clothing giant LPP. She holds a Master’s degree in Management and Marketing from the Poznań University of Economics and Business in Poland.

Şeyma Özonuk

Palsgaard

Having continued to have a notable positive impact on the confectionery sector, leading Danish ingredients business will again be participating in this year’s event with application manager Şeyma Özonuk due to represent the business.

As previously noted, the company has previously used our event for a significant launch of its key PGPR 4190 emulsifier series, with its latest variant reportedly 15% more efficient at controlling viscosity than its predecessor. Significantly, it can be used at a dose 30-40% lower than other PGPRs, designed to make it highly cost-effective as a use within confectionery ranges.

For her part, Şeyma Özonuk, a Turkish-based application manager and team leader who has over seven years’ experience with the business, expressed her enthusiasm for making a return to the event in 2025.

As the company explained, she is specialised with her extensive knowledge and production experience, both technically and practically, in business development and technical support such as problem solving in lines, optimum recipe development, directing the right product to the right process.

Seyma has strived to work closely with the company’s industry partners by considering the most appropriate technical solution from a commercial perspective, and has thrived in encouraging collaboration within her own team.

The Istanbul-based application specialist graduated from Ege University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Food Engineering. She has also a Master’s Degree in Food Engineering which is based on ‘Chocolate Rheology’.

Tristan Hover

Euromonitor

Major insights from across the confectionery sector will be presented by Euromonitor at this year’s World Confectionery Conference, as the organisation becomes the latest to join our 2025 event.

As previously, sustainability right across the confectionery sector, as well as innovation within new products, ingredients, systems and technology developments will form the core of our event on 11 September at the Marriott Hotel, Grand Place, in Brussels, Belgium.

For his part, Tristan Hover is responsible for analysing the latest trends and developments influencing the food and nutrition industries, with a focus on the Western European market. He contributes directly to the quality of Euromonitor’s global research.

His analysis has appeared in business publications like Handelsblatt or Bloomberg and he has been a speaker at several renowned webinars and trade fairs such as ISM and Anuga.

He has completed an apprenticeship as an associate engineer as well as a degree in Business Psychology, focusing on understanding consumer behaviour.
As a group, Euromonitor remains hugely respected within the sector, and stands as an award-winning organisation with its headquarters in London, UK.

It has worked directly with a number of leading businesses across the confectionery and snacking sector, and makes a welcome return to our event after being part of our debut show.

Julia Ocampo

Luker Chocolate

Colombia’s Luker Chocolate becomes the latest business to join our World Confectionery Conference, with Julia Ocampo, company’s vice president of cacao sourcing and sustainability set to speak at our Brussels event this autumn.

As an experienced industry expert, she has represented the company around the globe, as it continues its operations working with a broad array of B2B enterprises supplying its premium grade, ethically farmed chocolate for a number of key brands.

Julia will be joining our next World Confectionery Conference on 11 September in Brussels alongside a strong line-up that includes Caobisco, Ferrero, Fairtrade, ingredients groups Palsgaard, Alland & Robert and Corbion, as well as insights from our knowledge partners, Mintel and Euromonitor International.

Julia’s background  is as an Industrial Engineer from the National University of Colombia, Master in Sustainable Development with an Environmental emphasis from the University of Versailles – France. She is VP of Cacao Sourcing and Sustainability at Luker Chocolate, a Colombian B4B chocolate manufacturer specialising in helping brands and companies create purpose-driven products.

She has 20 years of international experience in business and sustainability; she specialises in the sustainability of agribusiness based on the development of producer communities in Colombia. Julia is passionate about managing and implementing projects that value the work of small producers and take care of the environment.

Willy van Arkel

Corbion

Global ingredients group, Corbion will be at this year’s conference, with analyst Willy van Arkel, director, product management and development presenting for the company.

As an experienced sector practitioner, she has spent more than two decades working with her present company across range of innovation  and product development roles.

The business, which is headquartered in Amsterdam, has delivered a broad array of applications for the wider food and drink sector, including for confectionery and snacks.

Willy van Arkel’s presentation this year at our event on September 11 at the Brussels, comes at a period when the sector is especially focused on delivery of alternative flavour, taste and texture options.

As Corbion  has previously noted to our title,  there have been some continued prominent trends in the past couple of years that it has responded to, including  the fact that sour sugar confectionery products in gummies and jellies are expanding rapidly.

Also, according to additional market research, the medicated confectionery market has grown at a rate of 11.4% for the most part of the last five years, which has also seen notable category growth.

Consequently, Corbion has produced categories of functional ingredients for confectionery manufacturers, Mineral fortification, in the form of Ca, Mg, Zn, Na, K lactates and Acerola and Natural Vitamin C. Among its recent offerings has been a Zn lactate in chewing gum, and acid sanding (malic acid, malate) of CBD candies.

Jason Archie-Acheampong

Fairtrade Foundation

The Fairtrade Foundation has confirmed sustainable cocoa sourcing lead, Jason Archie-Acheampong, will participate in the 2025 edition of the World Confectionery Conference in Brussels, Belgium.

With a strong background operating within the industry, the senior specialist will join our special Q&A session for our event, exploring sustainability and the future of the wider sector as it faces up to a series of supply chain, economic and environmental challenges.

As previously, sustainability right across the confectionery sector, as well as innovation within new products, ingredients and technology development are set to form part of this year’s event.

Our conference also sees the return of our the World Confectionery Awards, which will be presented across six categories this year, reflecting the endeavours and hard work that companies have put into driving the industry forward, from small and medium-sized enterprises, through to major international businesses.

For his part, Jason Archie-Acheampong’s career spans commercial roles across agricultural value chains in the private and development sectors, where he has successfully driven international trade and spearheaded innovative supply chain initiatives.

Holding a PhD from Alliance Manchester Business School, his research on sustainability and labour standards in SMEs has been published in leading international journals. Jason’s expertise lies in commercial trade, sustainable sourcing, and fostering partnerships that create value for both producers and global markets.

Thierry Touchais

Rainforest Alliance

Plans for our World Confectionery Conference 2025 edition are continuing at pace, with Thierry Touchais of the Rainforest Alliance becoming the latest to engage with our event as part of our major Q&A on sustainability within the industry.

Our latest iteration of our sector gathering is now in its fifth edition, with this autumn’s show taking place in Brussels once again on 11 September, at the Marriott Grand Place, gaining broad industry backing including contributions from Ferrero, Luker Chocolate, Caobisco European industry trade body, as well as insights from Euromonitor and Mintel, amid a wider supporting programme representing the full value chain of the industry.

As an experienced industry operator, Thierry Touchais has served Fairtrade Foundation’s country representative for Southern Europe, working with stakeholders, collaborating on a broad agenda supporting the topic of sustainability.

Holding degrees from Ecole Centrale de Lyon, UC Berkeley, and the Chicago Booth School of Business, Thierry brings a wealth of international experience from Europe, North America, and Latin America, having held diverse roles in multinational corporations, start-ups, and foundations throughout his career. In addition to his work at the Rainforest Alliance, he acts as an ambassador for the GoodPlanet Foundation, a member of the Strategic Committee of ESG Lab & Society, and serves as an administrator of CMMA, a mutual insurance regional company, and Enactus France.

Sabine Schommer

Director, ISM Cologne

Sabine Schommer, director of ISM Cologne, has been confirmed as joining our World Confectionery Conference Q&A session on sustainability across the confectionery sector and its supply chains.
For the past decade, she has taken on the role at the helm of what remains the largest confectionery event of its kind in the world, and has overseen a period of key growth for the event.
Prior to her key involvement with ISM, she had previously directed the event’s sister show, ProSweets, focused on equipment, systems and ingredients for the confectionery and snacks sectors.

As she explained previously in an exclusive interview with Confectionery Production, she believed that the value of holding events such as ISM, and indeed our own conference was particularly high.

She noted: “I think events such as ours are something that you cannot do without – this was a learning from the pandemic in that we found digital platforms as a solution, but before this, we had underestimated the importance of the casual meeting, those accidental meetings in the aisle which you’d miss out on,” explained the director, who had begun the early part of her career focused on international sales, and organising fashion events in Dusseldorf, Germany, before graduating into the food and drink sector.
Having been among guests at our 2024 event in Brussels, she is welcoming the chance to return to our latest event in the Belgian capital this autumn.

Francesco Tramontin

Vice President of Public Policy, Ferrero

Ferrero will be returning once again to play a notable role at this year’s World Confectionery Conference, including an appearance from Francesco Tramontin, the company’s vice president of policy, who will be participating in our major Q&A on sustainability.
The Italian-founded firm’s vice president of EU institutional
relations and group public policy, reflected on our 2024 show, and looked ahead to our
plans for later this year.
“I’ve enjoyed being part of the conference with its diversity of stakeholders, and what
we did for the most recent event, where we featured our global president for Nutella
speaking about its 60th anniversary and the new vegan variety, which felt fresh.
“The World Confectionery Conference was a great event for 2024. It covered various angles, from the more technical to areas that are more general, as well as covering issues and policy, so it is good that
it has been held in Brussels, where there has been so much happening,” said the senior
Ferrero executive, who confirmed that the business is continuing to make strides in
terms of its wider engagement with the industry. He observed that the company has
keenly valued delivering on key sustainability topics within its supply chains, which will be discussed at this year’s event.

Sebastiano Collino

global head of nutrition, Ferrero

Plans are progressing strongly for our World Confectionery Conference, with Sebastiano Collino, becoming the second member of Ferrero to be joining our must-attend event this September as a keynote speaker.

As already confirmed, he will be playing his part alongside Francesco Tramontin, the company’s vice president EU institutions and group public policy, who will be participating in our Q&A session.

As Ferrero noted, Sebastiano Collino has over twenty years of professional experience in Nutrition and Human Health. He is currently the global head of Nutrition at Ferrero, where he translates commercial innovation strategies into nutritional readouts for all Ferrero product categories and brands.

Throughout his career, Sebastiano has combined his solid scientific background with extensive and diverse R&D experience in Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) companies.

He has consistently worked in international settings, including Europe, Asia, and North America. His ability to adapt to different cultural and professional environments is evident in his fluency in multiple languages and his experience living on three different continents. Sebastiano has also led cross-functional teams, showcasing his leadership and collaborative skills.

HRM Oba Dokun Thompson

cocoa expert

As plans for our 2025 edition of fifth World Confectionery Conference fast take shape, our centrepiece Q&A session on sustainability within the sector and its supply chains is complete with the addition of HRM Oba Dokun Thompson, a traditional Nigerian ruler and cocoa sector expert.

The session will form a significant showpiece to our event being held on 11 September, at the Brussels Marriott Hotel, Grand Place, and will place the overall topic of how the industry can be more efficient, environmentally mindful and deliver transformative change for the benefit of the wider industry and all involved, in its production and delivery.

There will be a special emphasis on the cocoa segment – which remains vital for many chocolate, snacks and bakery markets, and has continued to experience renewed pressures with delays to crucial EUDR and corporate due diligence legislation designed to bring about greater human rights protections and supply chain transparency.

For his part, HRM Oba Dokun Thompson, makes a welcome appearance at the event, after last year being represented by his wife, the Queen of the Eti-Oni region. Together, they have helped establish a cocoa festival in his native land, as well as a key role with non-profit organisation International Cocoa Diplomacy seeking to drive improvements in the industry, as it faces ongoing challenges over yields, environmental issues and crop pricing.

The Nigerian-based regional ruler will be joined for our QandA by policy expert Francesco Tramontin, of Ferrero, Sabine Schommer, director of the ISM confectionery event in Cologne, Germany, Thierry Touchais of the Rainforest Alliance,  Jason Archie-Acheampong, of the Fairtrade Foundation, for what should prove to be another engaging moment for this year’s show.

Dr Isabelle Jaouen

R&D director, Alland & Robert

French-based ingredients specialists Alland & Robert will be lending key expertise to this year’s World Confectionery Conference, as Dr. Isabelle Jaouen is added to the diverse programme for our key event in Brussels, Belgium.

Notably, Dr. Isabelle Jaouen has been in post since 1992, playing a major role for the business.

In her directing capacity, she provides leadership and guidance for improving and advancing innovation and NPD at Alland & Robert. She oversees laboratory quality controls, and manages applied and fundamental research, and holds a PhD about food chemistry and an engineer in food science.

She leads a team of 10 specialists working in the Alland & Robert physicochemical and microbiological laboratories, and on R&D topics as part of the technological platform for customer training. She also manages the research & development partnerships with internationally recognized universities, including an ambitious collaborative program about acacia gum with the University of Montpellier, France. This programme, launched by Alland & Robert, aims at developing scientific projects and fundamental research about natural gums and includes a team of 15 to 20 scientists.

Dr Isabelle Jaouen also provides her technical leadership and strong experience in the food and ingredient industry to Alland & Robert’s customers. She is considered an industry expert in the area of hydrocolloids, and has extensive technical knowledge of natural gums production and applications. Prior to her work at Alland & Robert, Dr. Isabelle Jaouen has served for 5 years in flavor and ingredient industries in innovation and research and in quality control.

Tjalling van der Zee

Area manager, Netherlands, BE & Scandinavia, Cama Group

The Cama Group has confirmed area manager Tjalling van der Zee will be speaking at this year’s World Confectionery Conference,.

Having gained a diverse range of experience during the past five years at the business, he has built a strong working knowledge of the Italian-headquartered packaging machinery company.

Tjalling, who manages the combined Netherlands, Belgium and Scandinavian activities for the firm, will be offering an overview of the company’s areas of focus within the region.

As a former graduate of NHL Stenden university in the Netherlands, he has previously gained a decade of sales experience, including achieving a specialism working on business development.

The Cama Group, which has devised a wide range of equipment and systems for the confectionery, snacks and bakery sectors, is also among exhibitors at this year’s event.

It has been a strong supporter of the World Confectionery Conference, having played its part in our first live event in Brussels, Belgium, where we will be returning for our next edition on 11 September at the Marriott Hotel, Grand Place.

Tjalling will be joining a dynamic range of presentations for this year’s event, including keynotes from Caobisco European confectionery trade association, Ferrero, Luker Chocolate, and the globally recognised Mintel research group offering key sector insights.

Angeline Camus

Government Affairs manager, Europe

For her part, Angéline Camus is an experienced European public affairs professional with a background in EU policy, stakeholder engagement, and strategic advocacy.

Starting with roles at the Council of Europe and the European Committee of the Regions, she developed a strong foundation in institutional cooperation. Working at the European Food Safety Authority deepened her experience in stakeholder relations and strategic partnerships, especially in food policy. She later joined a Public Affairs Consultancy, advising clients on regulatory strategy and navigating the complexities of EU decision-making.

She currently serves as Government Affairs Manager (Europe) at the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), where she leads the organisation’s engagement with European institutions to shape policies that support sustainable palm oil.

Angéline will be joining a diverse line-up for this year’s World Confectionery Conference, including keynotes from Ferrero, Luker Chocolate, Mintel and Caobisco European confectionery association, alongside a dynamic range of speakers throughout the day.

Thomas Steinbrecher

Eastman

Thomas Steinbrecher serves as Group Leader of Technical Services EMEA at Eastman Chemical GmbH, where he has served in leadership roles for 18 years. A chemical engineer based in Germany, Thomas combines deep technical expertise with sales and market experience. He is deeply customer-focused, demonstrating a thoughtful approach to understanding client needs and a strong commitment to supporting their success. Passionate about sustainable and circular solutions, Thomas brings a comprehensive perspective to his work.

Milad Moshfeghian

Bartek

Canadian-headquartered Bartek Ingredients is set to join this year’s World Confectionery Conference as a speaker, with Milad Moshfeghian, vice president of applications and innovation joining our line-up.

The sector expert has spent over a decade in chemical manufacturing, and has progressed his way through his present company to rise to become part of its senior leadership team.

He joins a dynamic array of speakers for our 2025 World Confectionery Conference, which takes place on 11 September at the Marriott Hotel, Brussels, Belgium. This includes keynotes from Ferrero, Luker Chocolate, Caobisco European confectionery trade association, and major industry insights from the Mintel group.

For his part, Milad began as a research and development specialist in 2012 and progressed through many roles to become Plant Manager in 2015 the Vice President of Operations in 2016.

He then became the Vice President of New Product Development where he explored a variety of derivative products that could be produced from the company’s base products.