Swiss chocolate giant Barry Callebaut has recently launched a brand new chocolate bar that it claims is the “second generation” of chocolate.
The company says that the new bar uses innovations in Cocoa processing to reduce the bitterness of the final product. The chocolatier said it had reduced the sugar content in the bars by 50% while increasing the Cocoa content by 60 to 80%.
Analysts have highlighted that this development is likely to have wide appeal as trends show that consumers are opting for more health-conscious choices:
Anything cutting sugar or using simpler, cleaner, recipes is going to be a positive given consumer and thus corporate demand for those products.
Jon Cox, Analyst at Kepler Cheuvreux
The independent global market research firm MMR is said to have tested the new chocolate with consumers in the United States, the United Kingdom and China and reported that it was very well received. The company is ambitious and hopes that this new product will change chocolate and the industry as a whole by putting much more focus on Cocoa as the main ingredient.
By applying the (new chocolate-making) principle, Barry Callebaut could redefine chocolate completely: ‘putting cocoa first, sugar last.
Barry Callebaut
The company’s chief executive, Peter Boone, told Reuters that the second generation of chocolate will reduce the ingredient list to the essentials, using only Cocoa and sugar to make dark chocolate and only milk, Cocoa and sugar to make milk chocolate.
The trend out there is for cleaner labels. Consumers don’t like over processed foods. This chocolate only has two ingredients for dark and three for milk.
Peter Boone, CEO, Barry Callebaut
If the product proves successful and is widely adopted, it could eventually lead to an increase in total global Cocoa consumption and prices
World Cocoa prices are currently four times that of sugar. Interestingly, industry experts have stated that the development is unlikely to have a negative impact on sugar, as sugar cane is an increasingly popular commodity used to produce ethanol.
For cocoa, it’s really positive for consumption and therefore the price outlook. However, I think we are talking about years not months,
A London-based consultant
Generally, it takes one to two years after the launch of a product until it is on the supermarket shelves
A Barry Callebaut spokesperson said that the new chocolate product is expected to have a slightly higher price tag than its traditional counterpart because it is more expensive to produce. However, they mentioned that the product is not specifically targeted at upscale consumers and could also be sold in smaller bars.
The approach by Barry Callebaut fits the way the food market is going.
Tedd George, Commodities Expert and Founder of Kleos Advisory
Sugar is definitely the new tobacco. The way chocolate is made will gradually move in this direction as legislation against sugar in food hardens.
Barry Callebaut processes almost one million tonnes of Cocoa every year, which is about one-fifth of the world’s total. Such innovations and developments, therefore, have the potential to impact the entire industry.
