Cocoa-free chocolate: the industry already has a substitute

Cocoa-free chocolate: the industry already has a substitute

Cocoa prices are at historic highs and the chocolate industry is not sitting still. While consumers still associate chocolate with the tropical bean, giants such as Barry Callebaut, Mondelez and Lindt have already signed contracts to produce plant-based alternatives to cocoa butter on a large scale. The paradox is served: the product we call chocolate may not contain a trace of cocoa.

Cocoa prices: the engine of change

Cocoa prices have soared due to supply problems in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, the world's two largest producers. Droughts, pests and trade tensions have driven up the cost of the raw material to levels that make the traditional model unsustainable. The industry's response has not been to pay more, but to look for alternative ingredients: refined vegetable oils, modified trans fats and artificial colourings that mimic the colour and texture of conventional chocolate.

Plant-based alternatives: industrial-scale production

Industry sources confirm that Barry Callebaut, the world's largest supplier of industrial chocolate, has already begun mass-producing these substitutes to supply European brands. Mondelez (owner of Milka, Toblerone) and Lindt are also working on cocoa-free versions, some based on carob, others on lab-grown cell cultures. The contracts are signed; all that remains is for the products to reach the shelves.

Sceptical reactions: from carob to 'austerity chocolate'

The announcement has sparked widespread scepticism. Critics' main arguments focus on nutritional quality (trans fats and refined oils) and perceptual deception. Cocoa-free chocolate is seen as a con, another step in the drift towards substitutes that already affected coffee with chicory. The irony of calling something chocolate when it contains none is reminiscent of water without hydrogen.

As the corporations fine-tune their formulas, the question left hanging is whether consumers, once warned, will take the bait or boycott these products en masse. The commercial battle is on; cocoa, meanwhile, is in short supply.