Alt cocoa momentum amid chocolate industry upheaval
- Cocoa alternatives resurface amid cocoa crisis and record price hikes
- Barry Callebaut partners with Planet A Foods to distribute cocoa free ChoViva
- Mondelēz and Celleste Bio create first cell-cultivated chocolate bars
- Nestlé launches permanent cocoa-free chocolate product targeting Gen Z consumers
- Regulation scale affordability remain key barriers to mainstream alt cocoa adoption
It would be unfair to say cocoa alternatives have only just taken the confectionery sector by storm. After all, carob – the caffeine‑free, low‑fat chocolate alternative – enjoyed a boom in the 1980s and 1990s.
What is fair to say, is that a new generation of alternative cocoa is firmly here. Carob still has a role to play, but it’s being reworked – fermented to deliver deeper, more complex flavours. Elsewhere, it’s being set aside altogether, with food scientists turning to cell‑based cocoa ingredients they say are bio‑identical to conventionally grown cocoa.
And amid a deepening cocoa crisis – marked by record prices and market volatility – there’s an added financial reason it’s alt cocoa’s time to shine.
Here are four industry signals that cocoa alternatives are gaining real momentum.
The world’s biggest chocolate supplier is betting on alt cocoa
One of the first, and biggest signs, that alt cocoa is moving mainstream comes from Barry Callebaut.
Considered the world’s leading supplier of conventional chocolate, the Swiss-Belgian producer recently signed a distribution agreement with German food tech start-up Planet A Foods.
The deal hands over the rights to sell the start-up’s alt cocoa ingredient, ChoViva, outside of Western Europe. The completely cocoa-free ingredient is made from sunflower seeds.
Although wary not to give customers the impression it’s scaling back focus on conventional cocoa, the move offers Barry Callebaut a way of de-risking a portfolio plagued by supply and price volatility.
Cocoa has experienced record-breaking prices that have squeezed chocolate makers’ margins. Barry Callebaut itself is far from immune, with operating profits being negatively hit by volume decreases and supply disruption.
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.
Industry first: Cell-based chocolate bars developed with Mondelēz
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.
In breaking news, the first-ever milk chocolate bars have been produced with cell-cultivated cocoa butter by Mondelēz International and Celleste Bio.
Although it was the big name in the duo, Mondelēz, 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.
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, “snappiness”, shine, and “feeling on the palate”.
Celleste Bio hopes to have its ingredient market ready by 2027, but whether Mondelēz – am investor in the start-up – will be the first to incorporate the ingredient in finished products is anyone’s guess.
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.
Nestlé adds cocoa-free chocolate to supermarket shelves
But perhaps the biggest news of the past 12 months comes from, incidentally, the biggest food company in the world.
Last month, Nestlé 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.
Like Barry Callebaut, Nestlé’s 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 Nestlé for at least a couple of years prior to the Choco Crossies Snack Vibes launch.
Nestlé’s alt chocolate bet won’t be for everyone, and the food giant knows it. That’s why its launch is specifically looking to attract Gen Z consumers. Proprietary research suggests Gen Z consumers are “largely positive” towards chocolate alternatives.
Both Nestlé 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’s a lot riding on the launch – and it’s been argued it’s make-or-break for cocoa-free.
Big Chocolate puts its money where its mouth is
The final signal that alternative cocoa is gaining real momentum comes from investments and partnerships with Big Chocolate – even at the research stage.
These early‑stage agreements can be just as significant as commercial deals that bring next‑generation ingredients into finished products. They signal confidence from some of the industry’s biggest players and help innovators scale to the point where alternative cocoa can function as a true drop‑in ingredient.
Examples include Lindt & Sprüngli’s investment in Swiss cell-based cocoa maker Food Brewer, Barry Callebaut’s work on cultivated cocoa with the Zurich University of Applied Sciences, and Cargill’s funding of Voyage Foods – a start-up developing cocoa-free chocolate with sunflower kernels and grape seed paste.
Where to next for chocolate alternatives?
So where does all this attention from Big Chocolate leave alternative cocoa innovation? With momentum building around “world‑first” prototypes and industry‑first bets on new product development, alternative chocolate is clearly on an upward trajectory.
Still, significant hurdles remain. Regulation is a major one –particularly for novel ingredients and production methods such as cell‑cultivated cocoa. To date, no cell‑based cocoa ingredient has received pre‑market approval anywhere in the world, making this a critical barrier innovators must overcome.
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.
Consumer appetite is still largely unproven: cell‑based cocoa has yet to reach the market, and the performance of Nestlé’s cocoa‑free chocolate remains to be seen.
What’s 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.
