Traditionally, chocolate always began with cocoa, but after years of climate disruption, crop disease and supply instability, some companies are beginning to ask a once-unthinkable question: What if chocolate didn’t need cocoa at all?
At the Sweets & Snacks Expo 2026, Barry Callebaut showcased ChoViva, a cocoa-free chocolate alternative designed to deliver a chocolate-like experience using sunflower seeds instead of cocoa beans.
After gaining traction across Europe and Asia, the ingredient platform is now being introduced to North American brands looking to experiment with new formulations, flavors and supply strategies.
Confectionery trends: Balancing better-for-you trends and indulgence
This story is part of a special edition focused on how the confectionery category is walking a fine line between indulgence and intention. Check out the full selection here . Or to receive special editions in your email inbox, register for the newsletter by clicking the yellow 'register' button in the top right corner of the homepage.
A deliberate diversification
The US launch of ChoViva comes after years of volatile cocoa pricing and supply as climate pressures and crop disease disrupted production in key growing regions.
“To grow cocoa and really gain the yields you want, you really have got to be in a nice sweet spot from an environment standpoint. So, that has been one challenge where we haven’t had optimal weather conditions,” and swollen shoot virus has harmed crops in West Africa, explained Laura Bergan, director of brand and customer marketing with Barry Callebaut
In response, she said, Barry Callebaut is preparing for a future where supply volatility may become the norm.
“No one probably has a crystal ball to know everything about the cocoa market in the next five to 10 years, but I am really proud” that Barry Callebaut is “ensuring that we are ready” to meet confection makers’ needs with a diverse portfolio of ingredients, she said.
This includes the US launch at the Sweets & Snacks Expo of ChoViva, which Bergan described as “our first non-cocoa chocolate experience” made possible through an exclusive partnership with creator Planet A Foods.
“ChoViva is a cocoa-free chocolate based on sunflower seeds instead of cocoa,” explained Planet A C-founder Maximilian Marquart.
“We looked into cacao beans – raw, fermented, roasted and chocolate, and traced the flavor pathways from the raw cocoa bean into the chocolate, and found that 80% of the chocolate flavors come from processing of the bean – not the bean itself,” he said.
“That is what brought us to inventing something based on sunflower seeds instead of cacao. It is a commodity that is available in vast amounts. It has no allergens in it. It has a positive connotation with the consumer and it is quite price stable. So, it is scalable,” he said.
Will consumers embrace ChoVive?
Unlike cocoa alternatives produced through cellular agriculture or fermentation, ChoVive’s sunflower seed base is easy for consumers to understand as a familiar, whole food – making it potentially more appealing or acceptable.
“We’re not really trying to tell a science story. It’s about, you know, natural food products that you love that deliver great taste. So, I think that’s easy for the consumer” to understand, said Thomas Mulvihill, VP marketing in North America.
Plus, he said, many consumers are interested in new experiences, tastes and storytelling, all of which ChoViva delivers.
He explained that ChoViva also has a proven track record and positive consumer adoption in Asia and Europe, where there are more than 100 products featuring it already available on shelf – including from big CPG players, like Nestle.
ChoViva is a ‘yes and’ moment, not a replacement for chocolate
For Barry Callebaut, ChoViva represents something much larger than a single product launch. It is a broader evolution in how the chocolate category could develop over the next decade.
“We are not leaving chocolate. We love our chocolate portfolio. We love our confectionery coating and inclusion portfolio. But now we are able to stretch it even further,” said Bergan.
“It is just another tool in the toolkit, if you will, where our customers can leverage that” if the market changes, and even if the cocoa market stabilizes, ChoViva offers “something exciting, something new, something novel” for consumers looking a for a “bolder taste,” she added.
A new era in chocolate experiences
As cocoa markets continue to face uncertainty, the industry’s next chapter may involve more experimentation with ingredients, sourcing strategies, and entirely new chocolate experiences.
Whether consumers embrace cocoa-free alternatives at scale remains to be seen.
But products like ChoViva suggest the future of chocolate could look very different from its past.
