With cocoa supply disruptions driving up costs, the confectionery sector is turning to alternative ingredients and smarter production techniques to meet consumer demands.
The global chocolate market finds itself in dynamic times, driven by disruptions in cocoa bean supply that have triggered a surge in prices. Despite these challenges, Kennedy’s Confection speaks with a number of companies demonstrating how innovation and strategic investments can offer resilience and flexibility to confectionery producers.
“We are in a position to help our bakery, ice cream, and chocolate confectionery customers navigate volatile market conditions,” says Michiel van der Bom, Cargill Product Line Director, Cocoa & Chocolate, Food Solutions EMEA. At the heart of this support lies Cargill’s significant 60% expansion of its coatings and fillings plant in Deventer, the Netherlands. This expansion aims to alleviate some of the pressure faced by confectioners, particularly those grappling with the sharp increase in cocoa costs.
One of the key strategies Cargill has embraced is the creation of coatings and fillings that offer indulgent, rich sensorial experiences using less cocoa.
“By optimising ingredients and introducing alternative solutions, we can help customers maintain high-quality standards while reducing their reliance on cocoa, which mitigates supply risks,” Michiel explains. These innovations enable confectioners to deliver indulgent products without compromising on taste, texture, or the sustainability values that consumers now demand.
Cocoa production faces a variety of market challenges. By creating coatings and fillings that offer a rich sensorial experience with less cocoa, Cargill can help its customers mitigate these risks by offering alternative ingredients, as a part of its wider portfolio, that maintain high quality and sensory appeal. This ensures that consumers can enjoy indulgent experiences without compromising on taste or sustainability.
Evolving need for specialised products
In addition to optimising cocoa usage, the Deventer facility has been enhanced to cater to specialty market needs. It features a fully segregated production line for products free from nuts, along with another line for those that contain hazelnuts, ensuring safety and precision in manufacturing. Furthermore, the plant has the capacity to produce coatings and fillings that are low in sugar or contain no palm oil—appealing to the growing demand for healthier, more sustainable confectionery options. This includes the surging interest in vegan and low-sugar chocolate products, an area where consumer expectations are rising rapidly.
Cargill is investing in a range of solutions at its Deventer facility to meet consumer’s evolving need for more specialised products, including coatings and fillings which are vegan, low-sugar or with no palm used in the recipe. Michiel comments: “Our partnership with Voyage Foods is another great example of how we are developing a range of future-proof products to meet pressing consumer demands. Using its breakthrough technology, Voyage is decoupling foods from traditional source material to create new alternatives to the food and drink we love in ways that are even more sustainable, scalable, cost effective and comparable in taste and industrial application to their traditional counterpart.” Cargill will be the exclusive B2B global distributor for Voyage Foods’ cocoa alternative confectionery and spreads, “this further expands our comprehensive portfolio for indulgence so that we can offer customers more flexibility and alternatives to cocoa- and nut- based products,” he adds.
Not only are coatings and fillings more flexible than chocolate when it comes to colour, flavour, and other sensorial characteristics, but they also provide a unique opportunity for food manufacturers to include positively perceived ingredients and features to labels which align with broader consumer trends. For example, Michiel says coatings can offer an opportunity to highlight the addition of beneficial substances, such as fibre, proteins or minerals to achieve nutritional targets. They also provide third party certification to satisfy a growing demand for sustainably produced products.
“By innovating with alternative ingredients, maintaining quality, and supporting emerging segments like vegan and reduced-sugar options, Cargill is not only helping customers weather market volatility but also ensuring they are well-positioned for future growth.
As Michiel notes, “Ultimately, it’s about enabling indulgence with a purpose, ensuring that even in challenging times, consumers can continue to enjoy the products they love. At Cargill, we are building our capabilities to ensure our customers can meet today and tomorrow’s market trends.”
Coatings provide a more flexible choice for customers in terms of colours, flavours, and other sensorial characteristics, and can help add positively perceived ingredients and features (such as added fibre or protein). Michiel highlights: “Our innovation team at Deventer works closely with Cargill’s House of Chocolate to tap into these trends and develop visually exciting and sensorial innovations for both new product development and product enhancement. Our customers rely on this knowhow to aid new product development and ensure that existing product enhancements come to life, by making use of our extensive and flexible facilities to create an abundance of recipes.”
As consumer demand increases for specialty segments such as products with no nuts, it’s becoming ever more important to put quality and safety at the forefront. Michiel says the introduction of a segregated no-nuts production line at Deventer is crucial in meeting this demand. “The segregated line ensures that products are produced separately to lines producing coatings and fillings containing hazelnuts, which not only enhances product safety but also broadens Cargill’s market reach by catering to a wider audience, including individuals with dietary restrictions.”
Cargill say they are committed to sourcing ingredients more responsibly, reducing its environmental footprint, and offering transparent, clean-label products that resonate with conscious consumers. Innovations will likely focus on including more plant-based ingredients and enhancing traceability throughout the supply chain. Cargill’s emphasis on collaboration with customers to co-create tailored solutions will also play a key role in adapting to these trends.
Special characteristics of vegan raw materials
WDS has also noted the demand for vegan products has risen sharply in recent years and the rise is expected to continue. Many consumers are reducing their consumption of foods of animal origin to prevent animal suffering and to live a more sustainable and healthier life. This trend has also made an impact on the chocolate industry. According to a report by Grand View Research, the global market for vegan chocolate is expected to reach USD 1.41 billion by 2027 with an annual growth rate of 14.8%. WDS explains some of the special demands placed on raw materials, recipes and confectionery machines.
The most obvious difference between vegan chocolate and conventional chocolate lies in the ingredients. With a cocoa content of over 60%, dark chocolate is typically vegan by nature. In conventional milk chocolate, milk powder is responsible for creating the delicate melting sensation when the chocolate is consumed. Vegan chocolate, on the other hand, is made exclusively from plant-based alternatives. Achieving comparable taste sensations requires not only a careful selection of raw materials, but also adjustments to the recipes and manufacturing processes. This is why flavour, the most important factor for a repeat purchase, is the focus of product development. Popular alternatives to milk powder include oat, almond, coconut or rice milk in powder form. Alternative sweeteners, such as agave syrup or coconut blossom sugar, are also seeing increasing use. While vegan chocolate is usually in no way inferior to its traditional counterpart in terms of flavour, manufacturers also cannot afford to make compromises when it comes to product diversity. Whether trendy flavours like seasalt caramel and cookie dough or classic additives like nuts and almonds – just as with conventional chocolates, the possibilities are almost endless.
Due to their lack of dairy products, vegan chocolates are lactose-free. And the available selection of gluten-free as well as nut- and soy-free varieties is also growing, making vegan chocolates attractive to consumers with intolerances and allergies. During processing, high-quality chocolates exhibit a certain particle size distribution and good contraction properties, while their sensory properties include a characteristic melting behaviour, snap and shine. These properties are also usually decisive for consumer acceptance of vegan chocolates. Consumers are also placing ever greater value on the origin of the ingredients and the conditions under which they are produced. Due to growing consumer awareness, therefore, fair trade certifications and transparency in the supply chain are key issues that have come to increase the appeal of vegan chocolate.
Chocolate recipes without animal ingredients
The cocoa bean forms the basis of any chocolate and is a critical factor for the quality of the final product. After the initial processing steps, i.e. fermentation, drying, roasting and grinding, other ingredients are added, such as sugar, cocoa butter and milk powder or milk alternatives. The mass is then rolled and conched. Conching, one of the most important steps in chocolate production, is what creates the unique melting and flavour of chocolate. By tempering or pre-crystallising the melted chocolate, the finished product can be easily removed from the moulds after depositing and cooling, giving it a shiny surface and its characteristic snap when broken. Although the production processes for vegan and conventional chocolate are largely identical, adjustments are necessary to make optimal use of the specific properties of plant-based ingredients. For example, plant-based milk alternatives may require different temperatures and processing times. Moreover, the viscosity and flow properties of vegan chocolates may differ, which is why the dosing technology needs to be adapted accordingly.
Plant technology for vegan chocolate
Winkler und Dünnebier Süßwarenmaschinen (WDS) provides support from the initial product idea through to implementation in production. Extensive trials are carried out to determine the necessary parameters. Those that are important for determining the quality of the products later on include, for example, the diameter of the pistons, the design of the nozzle plate and the necessary vibration and cooling times. During implementation on a large-scale plant, the product is configured with the help of confectionery technologists. WDS chocolate plants enable almost limitless combinations of shapes, fillings and colours.
“Our flexible and customised plant technology makes it possible to produce nearly any product, from simple tablets to complex pralines, products made with the One-Shot or Triple-Shot method, and products with or without fillings and ingredients.
“This allows you to respond swiftly to the demanding market at any time and offer the products demanded by retailers and end consumers. When manufacturing vegan chocolates, measures must be taken to avoid cross-contamination. Here, the strict separation of production lines and special cleaning procedures and checks are essential.”
Vegan chocolate has clearly developed from a niche product to an important segment in the chocolate industry. The increasing demand for sustainably produced food is driving innovation in production and plant technology. Despite the challenges involved, vegan chocolates offer growing potential for manufacturers and a sensible alternative for consumers who are unwilling to compromise on flavour.
The Cocoa Crisis: Rethinking chocolate ingredients
Both manufacturers and consumers face a difficult balancing act: ensuring high-quality products while keeping prices affordable. For many, chocolate is not just a treat, but a part of life, and maintaining access to it at a reasonable price is essential. But with cocoa becoming increasingly scarce and expensive, manufacturers must make some tough decisions.
On one hand, manufacturers need impeccable, sustainable sources of cocoa to maintain the integrity and flavour that consumers expect from their favorite indulgence. On the other hand, they must also contend with rising costs in the supply chain and ensure that the final product remains affordable to their customers. As a result, the chocolate industry is at a crossroads, with innovation and adaptability becoming crucial.
Creative Solutions in a Challenging Time
In the long run, we can only hope that more sustainable farming practices will become widespread in cocoa production. Practices like improved crop management, and fairtrade systems could help revitalise the industry and offer a more stable future. However, these long-term solutions will take time, and for now, manufacturers must find creative, short-term solutions to weather the current crisis. This is where research and development teams are tasked with thinking outside the box.
Here are some of the strategies manufacturers might consider to reduce reliance on pure cocoa without compromising taste or texture:
- Partially replacing cocoa with carob or chicory: Both carob and chicory are affordable alternatives that can mimic some of the flavour and texture of cocoa. Carob, in particular, has a naturally sweet taste and can reduce the need for added sugars in the final product. Chicory, though slightly more bitter, can be used in smaller quantities to complement the richness of chocolate.
- Using milk powder as a cocoa substitute: Adding milk powder can help stretch cocoa content while adding a creamy texture to the final product. This technique is especially useful in milk chocolate, where the balance between milk solids and cocoa is already an important factor. However, it does not cater for lactose intolerants or vegans.
- Increasing the sugar content: One quick fix is to add more sugar. While it may be tempting, this approach can lead to an overly sweet product and may alienate health-conscious consumers. It’s a delicate balance that manufacturers need to weigh carefully.
- Replacing cocoa butter with vegetable fats: Cocoa butter, a key component of chocolate, is expensive and in short supply. Some manufacturers are turning to cheaper vegetable fats like palm oil or shea butter, though these replacements often lead to a waxier texture, can impact the overall mouthfeel and is less sustainable.
- Utilising artificial flavours: In order to maintain the rich chocolate flavour while reducing actual cocoa content, some companies are using artificial flavours to replicate the taste of cocoa. While this can work in small amounts, many may reject the idea of artificial additives in their chocolate.
The Power of Innovation: A European Twist
While these approaches are commonly explored, crises often spur innovation, and the current cocoa shortage is no exception. At a time when plant-based diets are gaining popularity, manufacturers have a unique opportunity to rethink the core ingredients in chocolate.
One potential solution is to use European-grown ingredients like oat and millet powders as substitutes for milk powder. These grains are not only abundant and affordable, but they also align with the growing demand for plant-based and vegan products whilst keeping the sugar content low. By reducing both the cocoa and sugar content, and incorporating these natural, plant-based ingredients, manufacturers can create a product that offers great taste, appeals to health-conscious consumers, and remains environmentally friendly.
Such a product could help change consumer preferences while addressing the practical challenges of the cocoa crisis. In an industry where tradition meets innovation, it’s time to embrace new ideas, create unique flavour profiles, and take steps toward a more sustainable future.
Editorial contact:
Editor: Kiran Grewal kgrewal@kennedys.co.uk
