Cargill is the latest global food manufacturer looking beyond cocoa to scale chocolate alternatives that help the company better navigate market volatility and offer new benefits like allergen-free profiles.
The food giant joins other global food manufacturers, including the world’s largest chocolate manufacturer Barry Callebaut, in the race to develop their cocoa-free chocolate portfolios. Barry Callebaut has already announced partnerships with cocoa-free chocolate makers NotCo AI and Planet A Foods.
Confectionery leader Nestlé announced its own partnership with Planet A Foods in April to develop a cocoa-free ingredient for its Nestlé Choco Crossies Snack Vibes.
Meanwhile, companies like WNWN Food Labs, Nukoko and Foreverland are growing their own foothold in the industry.
Cargill’s NextCoa
Cargill joined forces with Voyage Foods in May to begin offering NextCoa cocoa-free chocolate in North America.
The food company said the release of NextCoa is about expanding choice, rather than replacing chocolate.
Cargill works closely with the startup community to help new companies scale products, according to Kojo Amoo-Gottfried, vice president and managing director of cocoa and chocolate for Cargill Food North America.
“The technology Voyage Foods was able to unlock uses the grape seed – it’s an upcycling of grape seed to give that sensation of chocolate,” he said.
Cargill noted that NextCoa has a 67% lower carbon footprint relative to traditional chocolate. It is vegan and free of dairy, allergens, peanuts, tree nuts and soy. It is available in Mild and Dark Mild varieties.
The launch came one month after Cargill announced a partnership to be the exclusive B2B global distributor for Voyage Foods.
“These alternatives to cocoa-based products – or the cocoa-free confectionery range – will be used in the recipe formulation for categories such as bakery, ice cream and confectionery, complementing and diversifying Cargill’s traditional chocolate portfolio to provide a broader range of solutions that are vegan, label friendly and produced with no nut nor dairy allergens used in the recipe formulation,” Cargill said.
Cargill’s customer base ranges from name brand companies to private label players in bakery, snacks and confectionery. Amoo-Gottfried, however, was unable to disclose specific customers.
Confectionery trends: Balancing better-for-you trends and indulgence
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NotCo and Barry Callebaut
The Cargill announcement comes about six months after Swiss-Belgian chocolate leader Barry Callebaut announced partnerships with NotCo AI and Planet A Foods.
Barry Callebaut’s partnership with Planet A Foods – maker of ChoViva, a chocolate derived from sunflower seeds, grape seeds and oats – acts as a hedge against volatile cocoa prices, according to the company.
The food manufacturer’s partnership with NotCo AI ties Barry Callebaut’s vast database of chocolate knowledge with NotCo’s AI platform, Giuseppe, empowering the chocolate giant to speed up research and development.
Planet A Foods
While major players are entering the cocoa-free market over the last few months, Planet A Foods has been selling its proprietary ChoViva product in Europe since September 2023.
The company has rapidly expanded throughout the EU, and in March, the company announced a partnership with Nestlé, where ChoViva will serve as the key ingredient in the confection giant’s Choco Crossies Snack Vibes portfolio in Germany.
At the Sweets & Snacks Expo last week, Barry Callebaut debuted ChoViva to the US market.
The popular product lineup aims to attract Gen Z shoppers, Nestlé said in March.
“In our surveys, 25% of respondents were already familiar with ChoViva,” a Nestlé spokesperson said. “At the same time, we are confident that those who are not familiar with or have not tried ChoViva will also be convinced by the taste of the new Nestlé Choco Crossies Snack Vibes.”
