Alt cocoa momentum amid chocolate industry upheavalCocoa alternatives resurface amid cocoa crisis and record price hikesBarry Callebaut partners with Planet A Foods to distribute cocoa free ChoVivaMondel\u0113z and Celleste Bio create first cell-cultivated chocolate barsNestl\u00e9 launches permanent cocoa-free chocolate product targeting Gen Z consumersRegulation scale affordability remain key barriers to mainstream alt cocoa adoption<\/p>\n
It would be unfair to say cocoa alternatives have only just taken the confectionery sector by storm. After all, carob \u2013 the caffeine\u2011free, low\u2011fat chocolate alternative \u2013 enjoyed a boom in the 1980s and 1990s.<\/p>\n
What is fair to say, is that a new generation of alternative cocoa is firmly here. Carob still has a role to play<\/a>, but it\u2019s being reworked \u2013 fermented to deliver deeper, more complex flavours. Elsewhere, it\u2019s being set aside altogether, with food scientists turning to cell\u2011based cocoa ingredients they say are bio\u2011identical to conventionally grown cocoa<\/a>.<\/p>\n And amid a deepening cocoa crisis<\/a> \u2013 marked by record prices and market volatility \u2013 there\u2019s an added financial reason it\u2019s alt cocoa\u2019s time to shine.<\/p>\n Here are four industry signals that cocoa alternatives are gaining real momentum.<\/p>\n The world\u2019s biggest chocolate supplier is betting on alt cocoa<\/p>\n One of the first, and biggest signs, that alt cocoa is moving mainstream comes from Barry Callebaut. <\/p>\n Considered the world\u2019s leading supplier of conventional chocolate, the Swiss-Belgian producer recently signed a distribution agreement<\/a> with German food tech start-up Planet A Foods. <\/p>\n The deal hands over the rights to sell the start-up\u2019s alt cocoa ingredient, ChoViva, outside of Western Europe. The completely cocoa-free ingredient is made from sunflower seeds.<\/p>\n Although wary not to give customers the impression it\u2019s scaling back focus on conventional cocoa, the move offers Barry Callebaut a way of de-risking a portfolio plagued by supply and price volatility.<\/p>\n Cocoa has experienced record-breaking prices that have squeezed chocolate makers\u2019 margins. Barry Callebaut itself is far from immune<\/a>, with operating profits being negatively hit by volume decreases and supply disruption.<\/p>\n The legacy food company is also exploring the potential of cocoa cell culture technology, and if it meets its standards, could add cell-based cocoa to its ingredients portfolio<\/a>.<\/p>\n Industry first: Cell-based chocolate bars developed with Mondel\u0113z<\/p>\n On the topic of cell-based cocoa, it would be a huge oversight not to mention a major, industry-first development to come out of another partnership between a chocolate giant and food tech start-up. <\/p>\n In breaking news<\/a>, the first-ever milk chocolate bars have been produced with cell-cultivated cocoa butter by Mondel\u0113z International and Celleste Bio. <\/p>\n Although it was the big name in the duo, Mondel\u0113z, that used the cell-based ingredient in its chocolate bars, Celleste Bio takes responsibility for production of the ingredient causing the most intrigue: cell-based cocoa butter.<\/p>\n Also read \u2192 World first cell-based chocolate developed with Mondel\u0113z<\/a><\/p>\n Hailing from Israel, the start-up claims its cocoa-butter is bio-identical to the real thing. And just like in conventional chocolate, says it offers the unique melt profile, \u201csnappiness\u201d, shine, and \u201cfeeling on the palate\u201d. <\/p>\n Celleste Bio hopes to have its ingredient market ready by 2027, but whether Mondel\u0113z \u2013 am investor in the start-up \u2013 will be the first to incorporate the ingredient in finished products is anyone\u2019s guess. <\/p>\n What is clear, is that pre-market approval need to be secured first, and Celleste Bio is looking at the US, EU, Israel and UK markets<\/a>.<\/p>\n Nestl\u00e9 adds cocoa-free chocolate to supermarket shelves<\/p>\n But perhaps the biggest news of the past 12 months comes from, incidentally, the biggest food company in the world. <\/p>\n Last month, Nestl\u00e9 announced it was betting big on cocoa-free chocolate with a new line of Choco Crossies Snack Vibes in Germany. The move marks the first time any food giant has launched a permanent cocoa-free chocolate.<\/p>\n Like Barry Callebaut, Nestl\u00e9\u2019s cocoa-free ingredient also comes from Planet A Foods. But interestingly, Barry Callebaut did not play a role in connecting the start-up and food major. In fact, Planet A Foods had been in discussions with Nestl\u00e9 for at least a couple of years prior to the Choco Crossies Snack Vibes launch.<\/p>\n Also read \u2192 Nestl\u00e9 bets big on cocoa-free chocolate: Inside the launch<\/a><\/p>\n Nestl\u00e9\u2019s alt chocolate bet won\u2019t be for everyone, and the food giant knows it. That\u2019s why its launch is specifically looking to attract Gen Z consumers. Proprietary research suggests Gen Z consumers are \u201clargely positive\u201d towards chocolate alternatives.<\/p>\n Both Nestl\u00e9 and Planet A Foods, as well as the alt cocoa sector more generally, will be hoping that statistic rings true in practice, and not just in theory. There\u2019s a lot riding on the launch \u2013 and it\u2019s been argued it\u2019s make-or-break for cocoa-free<\/a>.<\/p>\n Big Chocolate puts its money where its mouth is<\/p>\n The final signal that alternative cocoa is gaining real momentum comes from investments and partnerships with Big Chocolate \u2013 even at the research stage.<\/p>\n These early\u2011stage agreements can be just as significant as commercial deals that bring next\u2011generation ingredients into finished products. They signal confidence from some of the industry\u2019s biggest players and help innovators scale to the point where alternative cocoa can function as a true drop\u2011in ingredient.<\/p>\n Examples include Lindt & Spr\u00fcngli\u2019s investment in Swiss cell-based cocoa maker Food Brewer<\/a>, Barry Callebaut\u2019s work on cultivated cocoa with the Zurich University of Applied Sciences<\/a>, and Cargill\u2019s funding of Voyage Foods<\/a> \u2013 a start-up developing cocoa-free chocolate with sunflower kernels and grape seed paste.<\/p>\n Where to next for chocolate alternatives?<\/p>\n So where does all this attention from Big Chocolate leave alternative cocoa innovation? With momentum building around \u201cworld\u2011first\u201d prototypes and industry\u2011first bets on new product development, alternative chocolate is clearly on an upward trajectory.<\/p>\n Still, significant hurdles remain. Regulation is a major one \u2013particularly for novel ingredients and production methods such as cell\u2011cultivated cocoa. To date, no cell\u2011based cocoa ingredient has received pre\u2011market approval anywhere in the world, making this a critical barrier innovators must overcome.<\/p>\n Demand and affordability are the other big tests. If innovators can scale successfully, economies of scale could help bring alternative cocoa closer to price parity with conventional chocolate. <\/p>\n Consumer appetite is still largely unproven: cell\u2011based cocoa has yet to reach the market, and the performance of Nestl\u00e9\u2019s cocoa\u2011free chocolate remains to be seen. <\/p>\n What\u2019s clear is that future chocolate alternatives will need to appeal to more than just Gen Z to have mainstream impact. A few more launches will be needed to gauge how other demographics respond.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Alt cocoa momentum amid chocolate industry upheavalCocoa alternatives resurface amid cocoa crisis and record price hikesBarry Callebaut partners…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":56867,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[126],"tags":[12524,31758,199,1140],"class_list":{"0":"post-56866","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nestle","8":"tag-bar","9":"tag-enjoy","10":"tag-nestle","11":"tag-taste"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ch\/116481652586923846","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56866","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56866"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56866\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}