Can there be chocolate without… chocolate? It may seem like sacrilege to fans of the genre, but it already exists and is growing rapidly. The trend is not new. The production of chocolates and confectionery with alternative raw materials by the world’s largest industries began a long time ago, along with the rise in cocoa prices.
Now, however, it’s becoming mainstream, with industry giants turning to cocoa butter substitutes in droves. The price of cocoa butter is now close to $28,000 per ton and, as Bloomberg points out, has “equaled” the price of a budget sedan.
Alternatives are about 40 percent cheaper, says Aaron Bettner, president of food solutions at Bunge Global, which explains the shift to substitutes.
“Chocolate is often an impulse buy,” says Niall Sands, head of business development and innovation at alternative products company AAK, adding: “It’s in everyone’s interest in the industry not to allow chocolate to become a high-priced luxury item.” To prevent this from happening and to avoid losing revenue, chocolatiers are increasingly using alternative raw materials.
Increased sales
AAK’s chocolate and fat confectionery division – a unit that produces ingredients designed to complement or completely replace cocoa butter – saw its sales volume increase by 14% in the last quarter.
Agribusiness retailer Bunge also launched two new cocoa butter variants last year — one that’s a shea butter equivalent and another that mimics the texture and taste of 61 percent dark chocolate. Both were launched in Asian and Middle Eastern markets but could eventually go global, according to the company’s latest announcements.
Chicago-based Blommer Chocolate last month launched a new line of cocoa butter equivalents that it claims offer “a great chocolate-like flavor experience.” It uses sunflower and palm oil, which can reduce the retail price by 20 percent or more, said Jenna Deramer, the company’s research and development manager.