Sweets in retail
By Marcus Schick I 6 minute read
05/12/2025
CFP Brands has been working closely with DACHSER for two decades—from warehousing to distribution. What makes this logistics partnership so stable has a lot to do with communication, expertise, and a special product: confectionery.
A new Ricola promotional display is set up in a supermarket, Mentos or Fisherman’s Friend products take up prominent positions at the checkout, and colorful Chupa Chups lollipops are bundled together for special promotions—there’s much more going on behind the scenes here than just a well-stocked warehouse. Each case is the result of finely tuned workflows, reliable processes, and a well-coordinated logistics partnership.
CFP Brands Süßwarenhandels GmbH & Co. KG, one of the leading confectionery distributors in German-speaking countries, has been working with DACHSER for over 20 years. The location in Langenau near Ulm, Germany, forms the heart of the collaboration. Products for retailers’ confectionery shelves are not only received, stored, and picked here, but they are also prepared, labeled, and shipped for promotions.
“CFP offers a versatile range with strong, clearly positioned brands, and responds flexibly to rapidly changing market cycles,” says Thomas Klann, Senior Key Account Manager Food Logistics at DACHSER. “To work with them as a logistics company, you need proven confectionery expertise, a high level of single-tier transportation—meaning delivery directly to the recipient without cargo handling if possible—and the ability to grow together with the customer. This is the combination that laid the foundation in 2005 for a trusting partnership that has lasted for over two decades.”
We deliberately chose a competent logistics partner who also wanted to grow along with us.
Food logistics in close partnership
An initial collaboration between CFP and DACHSER had already been launched in the 1990s. At that time, the focus was on the transport of chocolate surprise eggs for retail. However, the current structure was actually kicked off in 2005, when Chupa Chups, Lofthouse of Fleetwood, and Perfetti Van Melle founded the joint venture CFP Brands Süßwarenhandels GmbH & Co. KG. That’s also when CFP moved into the first distribution warehouse at the Langenau location. “We deliberately chose a competent logistics partner who also wanted to grow along with us,” says Hans-Jürgen Schunck, who is responsible for warehousing and distribution in supply chain management at CFP.
What began with around 3,000 pallets has now grown into one of the largest customer businesses at the DACHSER Food Logistics warehouse in Langenau. Today, the site acts as a central hub for the entire CFP range, including well-known brands such as Mentos, Chupa Chups, Fisherman’s Friend, and Ricola. The latter is a Swiss manufacturer of herbal cough drops, which joined CFP’s distribution joint venture as an equal partner in 2019.
CFP Brands Süßwarenhandels GmbH & Co. KG was formed in 2005 from the joint venture between confectionery manufacturers Chupa Chups, Lofthouse of Fleetwood, and Perfetti Van Melle. Chupa Chups was acquired by Perfetti Van Melle in 2006, and in 2019, Ricola took a stake in the joint venture, creating CFP’s current structure. Ricola, Perfetti van Melle, and Lofthouse are all owner-managed companies that have been successful worldwide for many years. In Germany, CFP is headquartered in Düsseldorf and employs around 110 people.
Thousands of items for the POS every day: Everyday logistics at DACHSER in Langenau
At the warehouse in Langenau, situated right next to the major A7 and A8 highways, thousands of confectionary items cross the loading bay every day. Sounds like a great temptation for those with a sweet tooth, but the day-to-day operations there call for a high degree of precision. “You need a strong forwarding network, expertise in warehousing, and competitive prices,” is how Schunck sums up CFP’s requirements for its logistics provider. What’s particularly important in confectionery is expertise in storage, finishing, and distribution. That’s because these products are not only subject to food regulations, but they’re also susceptible to temperature fluctuations or mechanical stress as well as inaccuracy during transport. Storage that is too warm can impair quality, while transport delays quickly lead to gaps on the shelf.
Added to this is the diversity of the product range: CFP stocks several hundred items at the same time, and in a variety of packaging, flavors, and formats. “You need systems that can respond quickly to new product batches, seasonal changes, or short-term shifts in demand,” says Martin Hoene, Sales Manager Food Logistics at DACHSER’s Ulm logistics center. Retail campaigns or special seasonal promotions in particular require precise timing. “Missing quantities mean lost sales, while early delivery can disrupt the timing on the shelf,” Hoene says. “There’s little room for maneuver when it comes to campaign launches. Processes and communication have to mesh—and they have done so very reliably in our partnership for many years.” CFP and DACHSER made sure to focus on innovation in process design—for example, in labeling, notifications, inventory management, and proactive error prevention—at an early stage, especially with regard to the specific shipping requirements of certain retailers.
There’s little room for maneuver when it comes to campaign launches. Processes and communication have to mesh—and they have done so very reliably in our partnership for many years.
A shared understanding of the confectionery supply chain
“Everyone at DACHSER who works with us in the supply chain has a clear understanding of what’s important to us. Regardless of whether I’m in order picking, in scheduling, in service, or wherever, I can feel this active partnership,” Schunck says. “And if something doesn’t run smoothly, we don’t make it someone else’s problem, but instead analyze it together.”
A good partnership really proves its worth when things get challenging: The Covid-19 pandemic brought with it raw material bottlenecks, scarce transport capacity, and unforeseen market fluctuations, forcing many supply chains to be restructured or completely redesigned at short notice. “At times like that, you can go one of two ways,” Schunck says. “You can dial up the pressure, make demands, and say: ‘I don’t care how you do it—just get the goods to the customer!’ Or you can sit down together, listen, and ask: ‘What can I do to help you sort this out?’ And that’s exactly what we do.”
Direct interfaces for better processes
Recently, the demands placed on confectionery logistics have become increasingly complex and dynamic; shorter delivery times, greater transparency, and more flexibility are at the top of supply chain managers’ agendas. “We’ve responded to this with tailored solutions, digital transformation, and continuous dialogue with CFP,” Hoene says. The successful integration of new IT interfaces, which enabled the two companies’ systems to be even more closely interlinked, was a decisive factor. He continues: “Whether digital track-&-trace solutions, automated processes, or sustainable logistics—together with CFP, we’ve repeatedly broken new ground to improve efficiency and quality.”
For Schunck, this trusting collaboration, which has grown over two decades, is connected to a clear mission: “If we manage to maintain this shared understanding of integrated confectionery logistics in the future, even as structures expand and sales grow on both sides, then I’m very confident that the partnership will continue to bear fruit.”
