- Nestlé has created a new chocolate using only the cacao plant fruit pulp for sweetness, omitting the need for added refined sugar, Food Ingredients First reported.
- The first product using this chocolate making method will be released in Japan later this year under the KitKat Chocolatory label before being rolled out to products in other countries.
- The company patented this technique and claims in its announcement it is the first company to use cacao fruit pulp to sweeten chocolate.
With looming predictions of reduced production on the horizon thanks to climate change, the chocolate industry is looking for ways to continue to provide products, especially as demand for the sweet treat continues to grow. Growth in the U.S. chocolate market — driven by demand for premium, sugar-free and dark chocolate products — is expected to surpass the $30 billion mark by 2021, according to a 2016 TechSci Research report.
Nestlé’s new approach to chocolate not only reduces the amount of refined sugar in the end product, but allows the company to use 31% of the pod. Currently, only 22% is used, a company spokesperson told Food Ingredients First. This means two things: the company gets more bang for its buck with the cacao pod and consumers get more sustainable products with less sugar.
For the company, using the pulp could be a potential way to offset increased cocoa prices, since it would allow it to add more fruit into its product without necessarily adding more beans. It could also potentially be Nestlé's first step into the upcycled food market, which has been popular with consumers. A study by Future Marketing Insights showed the upcycled food waste business is worth $46.7 billion in 2019 and expected to grow 5% during the next decade. Mattson found 74% of consumers saw food waste as an extremely big issue.
The demand is there and Nestlé is listening. Recently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Food Recovery Challenge asked businesses to pledge to reduce food waste by 50% by 2030. There are more than 1,100 participants, including Nestlé. But the food giant itself previously committed to being more sustainable. According to its 2016 summary report, which included long term goals, the company pledged to cut its food waste in half by 2030, in keeping with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Although there are many products that have benefited from upcycling ingredients — including Tyson's ¡Yappah! Chips, which are made from chicken breast odds and ends and Renewal Mill's okara flour — Nestlé is starting off with a beloved product that is likely to sell. People love chocolate, so persuading consumers to at least try this new iteration of the treat will not be difficult. Consumers are always looking to cut back on refined sugar. This product uses a novel way to take advantage of a precious resource, so consumers will be curious. Of course, the taste will be the determining factor as to whether this product sticks around.
Cacao is an interesting fruit, since only the seeds are commonly used in food. However, this push to use the pulp as an ingredient follows closely on the heels of research that shows that cacao shells could potentially reverse chronic inflammation and insulin resistance related to obesity. A startup called CaPao, which has launched on Kickstarter and is working with Mondelez's SnackFutures program, is also launching products that use parts of the fruit that are usually thrown away. There is potential for cacao pulp to be used not only as a sweetener but as an ingredient in cacao juice, cacao wine and cacao liquor, which are traditional products in growing regions.
Using pulp as a sweetener may have the most allure. If Nestlé can prove the formula is popular, there is a good chance that other manufacturers will try to do something similar. Confectioners should pay attention to consumer reactions to pulp-sweetened chocolate, particularly in the United States. After Nestlé sold its confectionery business to Ferrero last year for $2.8 billion, the U.S. market is wide open for chocolatiers to begin experimenting with pulp in chocolate with limited competition from the Swiss giant.
Regardless, with an intersection between the demand for sustainable, better-for-you products and various threats to the long-term viability of the chocolate industry, it would not be a bad idea for companies to begin upcycling cacao pod flesh to help save the industry — and their bottom lines — one tasty bite at a time.