Confectionery Product Innovation

Course Quick Facts

Course Number/Dates
March 16 - 20, 2026

CHE 0326 - 01

Time
9:00am - 5:00pm

Cost
$2,950: On Campus

The Confectionery Product Innovation Course is a foundational and future focused experiential program in candy product innovation, design, development and production. To ensure all students have ample time to engage with our faculty, this class is limited to 16 participants.

This program offers comprehensive theoretical and hands-on instruction in chocolate and sugar confectionery recipes and technology, delivered by experienced industry professionals. It addresses contemporary challenges in modern industries, including the integration of digital and data technologies, sustainable practices, and environmental protection. Additionally, the program explores key aspects of product development strategy, design, and innovation management.

This one-of-a-kind course is divided in both Bean-to-Bar chocolate making training and technical instruction on nearly every sugar format. Those who are starting a new start-up venture, on-boarding to a confectionery company and those seeking new tools and insights to be more impactful in product and process development will find this course valuable.

This course is designed for professionals eager to deepen their understanding of confectionery science, production techniques, and industry best practices. Research & Development personnel in the confectionery industry, including Product Developers, Process Developers, and Projects and Programs Managers will find this course to be beneficial in their roles.

The course blends traditional confectionery expertise with cutting-edge topics the industry is embracing, such as:

Data science for better decision-making
Sustainability in production and sourcing
Consumer-centric product design to meet evolving preferences

NOTE: This course includes a hands-on lab component

What You Will Learn:

Confectionery Product Innovation covers a number of topic areas, including:

Day 1: Product Innovation and Design

The state of the industry
Confectionery products review and evaluation
Innovation strategy considerations
Technology roadmapping and product line architecture diagram
Design centric / emotional design development
Future trends in confectionery products

Day 2: Cocoa Tree to Liquor

History of Chocolate
Tree to Bean, Tasting
Bean to Liquor
Cocoa Derivatives
Demo, Tasting
Cocoa Sustainability

Day 3: Chocolate & Application

Chocolate Batching to Storage
Demo and Tasting
Tempering to Application
Process/Ingredient/Recipe & Quality
Quality Measures
Demo & Hands-On

Day 4: Sugar Products Manufacturing: Science and Technology

Review of carbohydrates, lipids and fats properties
Emulsifiers, colorants and flavors
Phase transition of sugars
Water activity, moisture migration and browning reactions
Application of scientific understanding in the manufacturing of fondant, hard candy, toffee, caramel, fudge, jelly products, marshmallow and nougat
Soft and hard Panning

Day 5: The Future of the Industry

Data Science (DOE, modeling and simulations, optimization and AI)
Sustainable production
Process/product development (stage gate approach)
DVF Model and Cost analysis - Techno-Economic Analysis
Sugar products preparation in the lab: Fondant, hard candies, caramel and fudge, marshmallow and nougat

What you will gain:

Upon completion of this course, you will walk away with the following skills:

Outline the production processes for major sugar confectionery and chocolate products.
Discuss the impact of chemical reactions and physical transformations on product properties and shelf life.
Understand process development in an R&D environment and apply leading approaches to innovation to navigate regulatory, market and supply chain challenges.
Apply consumer-centric product design principles to align with evolving market preferences.
Identify and apply appropriate data science tools used in product development across various applications.
Evaluate sustainability considerations in ingredient sourcing and production processes.
Apply learned concepts through the hands-on lab component of the course

Location:

On-Campus: Course is held in state-of-the-art facilities on the University of Southern California campus, located in downtown Los Angeles. Participants attending on-campus will have the option to commute to the course or stay at one of the many hotels located in the area.

A list of nearby hotels can be found here: https://viterbiexeced.usc.edu/visiting/accommodations/

Overview of on-campus option:

The ability to interact with faculty and peers in person.
A hands-on lab component.
Access to digital copies of course materials.
Parking, refreshments and lunch are provided for on-campus participants – unless otherwise specified.

Course Instructors

Dr. Eyal Ben-Yoseph is a recognized expert in process development engineering with extensive global experience in confectionery research. He holds degrees in Food Engineering and Biotechnology from the Technion (B.Sc. and M.Sc.) and a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin. Dr. Ben-Yoseph spent 24 years with Mars-Wrigley and has also provided consultancy services to numerous companies. Throughout his industry career, he has led a wide range of projects, spanning basic research to the rapid implementation of production lines. His work has resulted in multiple patents and publications in the field of confectionery production.

As the leader of Breakthrough Technology team in R&D, Dr. Ben-Yoseph engaged with cutting-edge industry innovations and emerging trends. In his role as a Science and Technology Fellow at Mars Wrigley, he ensured the quality of scientific research and mentored new hires within the company. Passionate about teaching and mentoring, he developed the course Confectionery Technology, which he already taught at the California Institute of Technology, the Technion University, and at USC.

John M. Kaiser iis a confectionery technical expert who after earning his BS and MSChE from Purdue and Iowa State University, respectively spent a career in the food industry in several research and development roles. After a brief stint at Kraft Foods, John discovered the perfect fit at Mars Wrigley Confectionery researching chocolate. John has tackled issues of product shelf life, new raw material and product and process scale-up with a highly skilled multi-cultural global team. In his last role, Kaiser served as global technology fellow for Mars Chocolate, the leading branded chocolate manufacturer in the world. Kaiser has influenced how chocolate is made around the globe, managing teams in five countries and operations in more than 13 countries and 20 facilities.
John pivoted from Industry to Academia, joining the Iowa State Univ. Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering in Fall of 2018 after retiring from a 29+ year career at Mars. Kaiser has served as a Professor of Practice for the last 6+ years teaching undergraduates Process Safety, Mass and Energy Balances, Unit Operations and Applied Industry Research, a course he created engaging startups and leading global companies with students on real industry challenges on a timeline. Students have worked with gelatin, natural color, sugar replacement, ice cream, high intensity flavor enhancers, peanuts, CBD, and much more. John is driven to continue on his path of education, mentoring, teaching and learning all he can about candy making.

Neil A. Willcocks is a highly experienced food industry Research & Development leader. He was formerly Vice President of Global Research and Development for Mars Wrigley Confectionery and was a member of the company’s executive leadership team.With more than 30 years of experience at Mars, Neil held numerous R&D roles in various Mars subsidiaries during his tenure. He began his career at Mars in 1990 as a research technologist for the company’s Confectionery business in the United Kingdom, and has invented more than 40 patents, spanning fields as diverse as chocolate technology, packaging, business models and e-commerce.

He is also the founder of a consulting practice focused on R&D Strategy, Food Technology and Innovation Management, and advises a broad range of clients from leading-edge food and ag startups to large global multinationals across the food and nutrition space. He holds an honors degree in chemistry from Loughborough University in Great Britain. When he’s not leading the creation of new products, Neil enjoys reading, running, and hiking.

Continuing Education Units (CEUs)

CEUs: 3.5

Course participants will complete a knowledge assessment outlined by the instructional team. When the knowledge assessment has been successfully completed, participants will receive USC Continuing Education Units.