Cargill unveils latest vegan chocolate series amid key global category growth
The global Cargill Group has confirmed that it has developed a new vegan chocolate, ExtraVeganZa, and coverture chocolates, reflecting a period of considerable segment growth around the world, writes Neill Barston.
Its latest launch comes amid Veganuary, which has seen a significant uptake in product development across a number of food categories, with confectionery increasingly in the spotlight, with releases from major brands and smaller artisans within the sector.
As the business explained, its latest series is made with carefully selected plant-based “power” ingredients, the chocolates deliver an indulgent experience, bolstered by a rich, nuanced flavour and smooth, creamy texture.
“Vegan claims are popping up everywhere, as consumer preferences shift toward products they perceive as better for themselves and the planet. In response, many of our confectionery, bakery and dairy customers are exploring vegan formulations,” said Ilco Kwast, commercial director, Cargill. “As their long-standing partner, we wanted to make sure they’re equipped with great chocolate that satisfies consumers’ sweet expectations, while also living up to their desires for more plant-based choices.”
According to the company, its chocolate engineers identified key plant-based “power” ingredients – sunflower kernel powder, rice syrup and organic rice syrup. Sunflower kernel powder provides a creamy, smooth texture, with a balanced flavour profile of cereal and nutty notes, rice syrup produces chocolates with a pleasant sweetness, enhanced with notes of honey and cocoa, while adding a noticeable “snap” to the chocolate’s final texture. When pairing Cargill’s organic cocoa liquor with an organic rice syrup, an organic vegan chocolate with fine flavour notes and earthy and cereal hints can be produced as well.
“We are the first major supplier to incorporate sunflower kernel powder into a vegan chocolate, a patent-pending innovation,” said Vanessa Barey, Cargill’s chocolate product development manager. “These ingredients provide a distinctive taste and texture profile, enabling us to create vegan chocolate recipes that reimagine plant-based indulgence.”
Cargill tested its Chocolate ExtraVeganZa line with both consumer and trained sensory panels. Notably, the company found the vegan chocolate range consistently outperformed popular market references on key likability ratings. Equally important, the vegan chocolate range can be used in all applications, including bakery, confectionery and dairy, as a substitute for regular chocolate. Further differentiating the line, Chocolate ExtraVeganZa uses nut- and gluten-free ingredients.
While quality and high standards are evident across Cargill’s ingredient portfolio, the company takes extra care with the Chocolate ExtraVeganZa line. To ensure compliance with its defined vegan standards, Cargill applied new scrutiny to its ingredient selection and chocolate production processes, including dedicating chocolate production lines in Belgium and Germany to Chocolate ExtraVeganZa and dark chocolates.