Pecan Deluxe Candy UK has reformulated the company’s recipes, making the whole range vegan, to avoid new British export regulations, which impose hefty taxes on animal-derived products.
Pecan Delux Candy is a family-owned manufacturer based in Dallas, Texas, with international sites in the UK and Thailand. The company is a custom wholesale supplier with a portfolio ranging from toppings, baking inclusions, fudges, cookie dough, and popping candy.
Tapping into current trends
The company reformulated recipes, replacing butter and eggs for plant-based alternatives that don’t require the same EU border checks, after European exports dropped to 55% of total UK sales compared with 84% before Brexit.
The bosses state that the products are now cheaper to produce and also tap into the current zeitgeist: “A plant-based range which has had some other benefits to offer, which are reduced pricing, and also hitting a number of trends that are in play at the moment, not least veganism,” Kingston told AFP.
Vegan range = reduced costs
After Brexit, the new export regulations force exporters of animal-based foodstuffs to submit veterinary certifications and other paperwork, further straining supply chains. Kingston told AFP that depending on the interpretation of the rules, border controls officials stop deliveries that must be returned and sometimes have to be destroyed.
“We don’t have to get a vet come and sign those off anymore and that allows us to have a very slick supply chain into our customers in Europe.”
Last October, the company’s board of directors decided to prescind dairy products at their facility in the northern English village of Sherburn-in-Elmet in order to reduce export costs for the European market.
“Extra red tape has cost the group more than £100,000 over the past couple of years,” Kingston told AFP. “The new range has significantly reduced those costs.”
“We’re aware that plant-based innovation in food continues to be important for consumers interested in healthy lifestyles and cleaner living. Our vegan-diet friendly products are perfect for ice cream, yogurt, baked goods, frozen desserts, and countless other applications. Pecan Deluxe makes it possible to indulge within the boundaries of nutritional regimens,” says Pecan Deluxe Candy on its website.
The brand’s shift towards vegan products mirrors the story of Hancocks, the leading confectionery wholesaler in the UK, which stated in 2021 that the vegan confectionery market was growing at an “exponential rate”, and there was increasing demand for products free of animal ingredients such as gelatine and dairy. Since then, Hancocks has increased its vegan offering every Veganuary. Similarly, heritage brand Swizzels launched six vegan sweets last November, in time for Veganuary 2023.
