Exclusive: Caobisco president Can Buharali set for the 2024 World Confectionery Conference
Can Buharali, of Mondelez, who was recently named as president of Caobisco. Pic: Mondelez
As Confectionery Production marks its 90th anniversary this year, we return to Brussels for our 4th edition of the World Confectionery Conference. Neill Barston quizzes keynote speaker Can Buharali of Mondelez, on becoming president of Caobisco
Returning to Brussels after a two-year absence, this year’s World Confectionery Conference is gearing up to be something rather special.
With contributions right across the finished product, equipment, systems and ingredients segments of the market, we have once again endeavoured to place a spotlight on our complete industry value chain. Registration for our must-attend event in Belgium on 12 September remains open via the following direct link.
This year’s keynotes include the likes of Cargill, Ferrero and Tony’s Chocolonely, which have each continued to demonstrate market resilience and a clear passion for delivering a range of products and industry solutions to for an ever-demanding public.
Among our roll call of experienced speakers for our event on 12 September at the Brussels NHow Hotel, we have machinery specialists including Krüger & Salecker confectionery moulding lines, DT&G Ltd coating systems, as well as ingredients firms such as Palsgaard, Gelita and California Cultured adding to the overall industry mix.
In addition, the vegan sector is catered for courtesy of the UK’s Plamil Foods, which has been working extremely hard with its own product innovation.
Moreover, there’s a strong educational element to this year’s show in the form of industry insights from the international Mintel insights group, and FMCG Gurus, which will shine a light on latest trends influencing our wide-ranging sector.
Another important topic of inspiring the next generation of industry talent will also come to the fore with a return for Germany’s ZDS central confectionery school. It is set to offer a view on how its work is making a difference on the broader industry.
Certainly, the first half of 2024 has offered plenty of notable moments for the industry, as the world continues to grapple with the impact of higher ingredients prices, and lingering supply chain tests.
There have also been plenty of regulatory matters bubbling to the surface including due diligence legislation going through the European parliament, as well as the much- anticipated EUDR deforestation laws.
So it’s perhaps only fitting that the World Confectionery Conference makes its return to Brussels as a centre of policy formulation,
and being globally renowned quality of its Belgian fine chocolate and snacks.
As we have previously featured, the capital city remains most famous for having created pralines – with pharmacist Jean Neuhaus using chocolate to mask the taste of medicine in the 1850’s.
But it was his grandson who in 1912 who first hit upon the idea of just keeping the ‘good stuff’ to form the sweetest of treats.
Anyone who takes a stroll through the centre of Brussels today, including its striking Grand Place, will soon find themselves eye to eye with the latest iterations of praline excellence which continues to be regarded as a major confectionery jewel for the city.
Caobisco industry support
Notably, as well as its fine array of confections, the country’s capital also plays host to Caobisco, the key European association of chocolate, biscuits and confectionery, which once again plays a pivotal role in our annual event.
For our 2024 edition, its newly-elected president, Can Buharali is set to kick-start our conference speaking on the many shared challenges facing our combined industries.
The experienced sector professional serves as the senior director of global public affairs for Mondelez International. He has previously served as regional director corporate and government affairs for the Asia Pacific Middle East and Africa (AMEA) region in Singapore, and also held commercial roles with the business.
He has also formerly worked within foreign affairs as a diplomat serving in Brussels and Tehran. Commenting on joining the World Confectionery Conference, he said: “I had the pleasure of being present two years ago at the event, and I enjoyed the quality of the conference, the quality of the speakers and the balanced content for it, so I feel privileged to be speaking there,” he enthused, stating that he was especially honoured to take up his leading role within Caobisco this summer.
These days, the organisation 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.
“I am thankful to being elected as president at Caobisco and for the trust that they have placed in me, and it’s a very valuable organisation in Brussels and for the confectionery industry within Europe. It’s at a point in time where there’s a lot to accomplish,” noted Turkish-born Can, who lives with his family in Belgium, who added that he has found his policy role especially rewarding in having the chance to drive positive change.
As we’ve recently reported, the organisation has taken a key stand on pledging support for continuing sugar exports from Ukraine amid European-wide shortages, as well as the much discussed EUDR deforestation laws compelling companies to prove they are deforestation free in their complete supply chains.
“I’ve been with Mondelez for around ten years now, and I’m now leading public affairs for the company. My role is from a global perspective, but Europe has a very important part in what we do internationally – it’s our biggest region for revenues we’re generating.
“More importantly, it’s the region where we see traction for regulations towards the industry being the highest and most advanced. We believe most of these rules are for good reason in creating harmonisation across the EU, and then they’re also a good source of inspiration for other countries and regions,” he added, noting that there had been a ‘proliferation’ of regulations that had exploded onto the international scene, including ESG due diligence, health and wellbeing, as well as sustainability that he says has kept himself, and the wider industry extremely occupied.
“As a company, we have a solid vision for 2030 and this goes through four main pillars – growth, execution, culture and sustainability, and we’ve extended work on all these areas to enable sustainable growth for the business.
“I must say, Mondelez is a fantastic company to work for, with plenty of fantastic brands in chocolate and baked snacks, as well as processed cheese. Everyone raises a smile when you talk of Oreos, Cadbury and Milka, as well as Cote d’Or here in Belgium. Also, another reason that makes the company special is the very talented colleagues that we are surrounded by in every single function. There’s fantastic team spirit,” he concluded about life with one of the world’s largest confectionery businesses that is continuing its forward momentum.
