Will the future of chocolate be cocoa-free?

A few months back we wrote about the journey towards sustainable cocoa – and the obstacles that stand in the way of a chocolate industry that does no harm. Today, we’re looking at a different route to achieving exactly that: the development of cocoa-free chocolate. 

According to UNCTAD commodities price monitoring, the cost of cocoa surged by 136% between July 2022 and February 2024; and in March, the price-per-tonne on the future market topped USD $10,000 for the first time ever. This rise is driven by a number of factors, including intense heat and heavy rainfall, both of which are affecting crop yields in key growing regions. 

So the demand for alternative ingredients for cocoa-based products is growing. And a new wave of market-savvy startups are stepping up to the challenge. 

Cocoa-free chocolate could offer a long-term solution

While forecasters expect cocoa prices to fall, chocolate manufacturers that rely on cocoa are searching for a long-term solution to its volatility. 

Crunchbase reported that some startups are pioneering an alternative to cocoa, and investors are getting on board. At least four companies working on cocoa-free chocolate have secured funding over the last year – raising a total of $110 million. 

Those startups are: 

• Voyage Foods. A food tech company focused on sustainable and accessible foods that are ‘better for people and the planet’. It creates cocoa-free chocolate chips and meltable wafers, and also uses proprietary tech to produce nut-free spreads and bean-free coffee.
  
  
• Planet A Foods. A B2B ingredients company specialising in cocoa-free chocolate. Using its own technology, it ferments plant-based ingredients to create products that can be blended into cocoa-free chocolate.
  
  
• California Cultured. A startup developing lab-grown cocoa that’s less bitter than the naturally occurring plant product, and requires less sugar to make it taste good. Like Voyage Foods, California Cultured also makes bean-free coffee products. It extracts cells from cacao and coffee beans, then grows them in large tanks – with the first commercially available product expected to be cocoa powder.
  
  
• Nukoko. Creating cocoa-free chocolate from beans – but not cocoa beans. This UK-based startup replicates the fermentation process that turns cocoa beans into chocolate; but instead of cocoa beans, it leverages UK-native bean species. 

Innovative product developers are enabling cocoa-free chocolate segment 

As manufacturers work to improve the taste, production scalability and affordability of cocoa-free chocolate products, they’re creating a new segment within the lucrative chocolate industry. 

And that segment could solve some of the most important problems faced in this space: providing sustainable (yet just as tasty) alternatives to traditional chocolate, which is known for leaving a trail of negative impact throughout its supply chain. 

In particular, cocoa-free chocolate could take up more space in the affordable chocolate segment, including sweet milk chocolate products – while cocoa might be reserved for high-end, high-cocoa content chocolate products. 

Chocolate will remain popular. But as cocoa prices spike, brands are noticing a drop-off in sales; so they’re seeking solutions to protect their price positioning (and their customer base) in the years to come.