Barry Callebaut, the world’s largest chocolate manufacturer, is building a multi-tier defense system against historic cocoa volatility and tightening health regulations in Europe, recently announcing partnerships with NotCo AI and Planet A Foods to reformulate not just its products, but the company itself.
Both relationships aim to help Barry Callebaut better navigate climate pressure, ingredient shortages and rising cocoa costs that have led to supply chain disruptions for the chocolate industry, the company said.
“By combining Barry Callebaut’s category expertise with NotCo’s AI technology, both companies are proactively building a resilient future for chocolate innovation that maintains taste and quality regardless of volatile agricultural conditions,” Barry Callebaut said in an email.
The partnerships come at a tumultuous time for Barry Callebaut, which released its full-year earnings report in November, showing declines in overall group sales by 6.8%, global chocolate by 5.3% and global cocoa by 12.8%.
Formulation and execution
On Nov. 5, the Swiss-Belgian B2B chocolate giant announced the new partnership with the Germany-based Planet A Foods, creator of cocoa-free chocolate alternative ChoViva, which is made of locally available crops like sunflower seeds, grape seeds and oats.
Planet A Foods, launched in 2021, has scaled rapidly in the private-label market, listing nearly 80 products on its website in a wide range of applications – everything from cookies to liqueurs to Dubai chocolate bars – for major European retailers like Kaufland, REWE, Penny, ALDI and Lidl.
“Through this partnership with Planet A Foods, Barry Callebaut is embracing technology to open further avenues for growth while enhancing our resiliency to today’s cocoa-market volatility,” said Christian Hansen, Barry Callebaut’s head of global strategy.
The new partnership enables Barry Callebaut to incorporate chocolate alternatives at a fraction of the cost and dovetails with the manufacturer’s new partnership with Santiago, Chile-based NotCo AI.
NotCo has spent the last decade building an AI-powered product formulation platform capable of dramatically cutting R&D time for CPG companies.
Barry Callebaut’s relationship with NotCo involves installing a version of its AI platform, Giuseppe, into the chocolate manufacturer’s data cloud, which will empower the company to more effectively navigate the chaotic cocoa market.
“This partnership gives Barry Callebaut a unique opportunity to scale our deep chocolate knowledge, accelerate innovation and customer experience, and strengthen our leadership in chocolate solutions,” Barry Callebaut said.
Combining over 100 years of chocolate expertise with NotCo’s AI research platform enables Barry Callebaut to “explore faster recipe development, greater precision and unlock new possibilities in taste, texture, and sustainability to meet evolving consumer expectations,” the chocolate manufacturer said.
Evolution of NotCo
The partnership with Barry Callebaut marks a new milestone in the evolution of NotCo AI, which is already sending shockwaves through the industry with Giuseppe.
Over the last decade, the AI company has launched a range of products under its own “Not” product line, including NotMilk, NotBurger and NotChicken, rapidly scaling their adoption across the foodservice industry at restaurant chains like Starbucks Coffee, Shake Shack and Burger King.
The company has also expanded with co-branded partnerships with some of the biggest CPG companies in the industry, such as Kraft-Heinz, Unilever, Ferrero, Mondelēz and Grupo Bimbo, according to Matías Muchnick, NotCo CEO and founder.
The company pivoted in early 2025 with the launch of its B2B turnkey portal, Concept Quant, which opens Giuseppe to brands looking to develop products faster and keep up with market trends and volatility.
Muchnick says the tech solves a “multi-dimensional problem in a constantly changing world” where the old system of trial and error is not as easily scalable.
“It’s important to understand that every SKU is its own little universe. It has a unique sensorial profile, cost targets, process constraints, ingredient availability, shelf life, target melting point, label claims, regional regulations and so on,” he said.
The release of Concept Quant is a substantial change for NotCo, because it enables manufacturers to develop products independently of NotCo’s consultancy.
“The consumer goods industry doesn’t want us to catch the fish for them all the time – some of them really want to learn how to fish,” Muchnick said. “So this is the point at which NotCo fully became an AI company, from the business model, onwards.
“We became an enterprise AI business, because now companies are embedding or installing a version of Giuseppe into their own cloud, and actually ingesting their own data into the platform, so they have a personalized version of Giuseppe.”
Giuseppe, named after 16th Century Mannerist painter Giuseppe Arcimboldo, not only identifies potential pitfalls in formulation, it also helps brands proactively navigate regulations like the UK government’s HFSS restrictions, which sets rules for merchandising products deemed high in fat, sugar and salt.
For instance, chocolate bars with an HFSS score of 24, would not be allowed in the checkout aisles of a grocery store. NotCo’s Giuseppe can identify that hurdle at the beginning of the formulation process, Muchnick said.
“It’s not only to do things faster, but also to understand that there are domains of knowledge that have been unexplored by humans, because there’s no knowledge created around it, or bibliography or research papers that might be out there,” he said. “If you have a supercomputer that’s trained to do that, then it’s easier to find the solutions.”
This checks one of the boxes in Barry Callebaut’s transformation plan, which aims to “unlock speed for breakthrough recipe solutions – from health forward formulations to functional ingredients and Nutri-Score-friendly options,” the company said.
Barry Callebaut’s vision
While Barry Callebaut is entering the brave new world of AI in a hedge against volatility and regulation, it’s not the only tool in the company’s toolbox.
The chocolate giant said the new partnerships align with its multi-year digitalization agenda that positions Barry Callebaut to adapt quickly and deliver solutions in a rapidly evolving market.
“Our BC Next Level plan is about bringing the company closer to markets and customers by simplifying and digitalizing the company,” Barry Callebaut said.
That vision includes the exploration of cell-cultured cocoa with the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW). A Barry Callebaut spokesperson said in July that the company believes customers are “open to innovative and sustainable solutions.”
“By offering an additional, sustainable cocoa source, we aim to empower our customers with more choice and flexibility, while continuing to support traditional cocoa farming communities,” the chocolate company said.
