The cocoa alt market in summary:
- Hershey backlash highlights risks of replacing chocolate without clear communication
- Cocoa shortages are pushing manufacturers to explore alternative ingredients
- New alt-choc players focus on fermentation and processing to mimic taste
- Big brands like Mondelēz and Nestlé are investing in cocoa-free innovation
- Taste and consumer trust remain the biggest barriers to mainstream adoption
For any chocoholic, the words ‘chocolate flavoured’ on a candy wrapper are a big turn-off. If a ‘chocolate bar’ doesn’t contain chocolate, what’s the point?
Confectionery giant The Hershey Company learnt this to its cost earlier when one of its own called them out on it.
Brad Reese, grandson of the creator of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, wrote to Hershey alleging the company had replaced what he described as milk chocolate with compound coatings and peanut butter with peanut crème – without publicising the fact, apart from putting it in the small print on the wrapper.
While consumers may have been in the dark, one thing is certain: none were – and likely still aren’t – saying: “Mmmm, compound coating.”
Back to Brad Reese, and his accusation via LinkedIn garnered serious media attention in the US, across Good Morning America, the Late Show and NBC News, to name just a few.
Fast forward to April 1, 2026, and Hershey’s issued a statement on the matter that said Hershey is committed to making products consumers love and that means continually reviewing recipes to meet evolving tastes and preferences.
It went on to say that a “series of enhancements” would take effect in 2027 including “bringing a small portion of remaining Hershey’s and Reese’s products in line with their classic milk and dark chocolate recipes”. It added that the core recipes for Hershey’s chocolate bars and Reese’s peanut butter cups have not changed. And with regards to cocoa, the company said it is focused on supporting cocoa resiliency with farmers.
There’s no disputing the issues surrounding cocoa supplies, with climate change affecting crops and then prices. Volatility is rife in the market so it makes sense for manufacturers to look for alternatives but with a product as well-loved as chocolate, they have to get it right.
Remember carob, the cocoa alternative from the 1970s and ‘80s that was marketed as a healthier choice to chocolate, but tasted nothing like it? Since, food technologists have moved on and developed a range of more sophisticated alternatives. And interestingly, they’re saying that much of chocolate’s appeal comes not from the ingredients but from the manufacturing process.
Ahrum Pak, founder of UK-based cocoa alt company Win-Win, says chocolate’s distinctive depth of flavour comes from a unique combination of natural fermentation and roasting processes.
“While we’re inspired by how chocolate is made, we don’t rely on a single alternative ingredient. Instead, we take a holistic formulation approach, combining ingredients such as cereals, carob, sunflower, fats and sugars to carefully balance flavour, texture, melt and performance across different applications.
“A key part of why our product tastes so chocolate-y is our proprietary solid-state fermentation process. This allows us to unlock chocolate-like flavour compounds from sustainable crops like cereals.”
Thousands of cocoa alt R&D iterations
However, it took thousands of R&D iterations for Win-Win to get its product right. “We tested countless ingredient combinations, fermentation techniques and processing methods to achieve the right flavour, texture and functionality that manufacturers and consumers expect from chocolate. It required persistence, creativity and an enormous amount of tasting along the way.”
Pak admits that to start with, Win-Win’s product simply wasn’t good enough: “Creating a convincing chocolate alternative is incredibly difficult. What helped us succeed was having investors and early customers who believed in the vision and gave us the time and support to keep improving.
“A big part of our approach has been our laser focus on taste. And, because we utilise our unique fermentation and other processing techniques, we’re able to bring a chocolatey sensory experience to life.”
Today, Win-Win is producing at industrial scale and working with major food manufacturers and distributors. It has a portfolio of SKUs ranging from dark, milk, vegan milk and white choc alternatives that perform and taste like chocolate when used in cookies, cakes, ice creams and other sweet treats.
“We don’t see alternatives as fully replacing traditional chocolate but helping to reduce pressure on an increasingly strained cocoa supply chain. And we believe that we’ll see more alt-choc products in the mainstream going forwards,” says Pak.
One of chocolate’s biggest names, Mondelēz, has long been investing in cocoa alts. Israeli start-up Celleste Bio recently produced a dozen chocolate bars using its cell-cultured cocoa butter as part of Mondelēz’s early-stage R&D partnership.
Mondelēz says this development is just one element of its “broad enterprise strategy to help strengthen and modernise the global supply of cocoa – through increasing geographic origin flexibility, engaging in large-scale farming, and partnering with multiple food technology start-ups”.
According to Celleste Bio, this milestone with Mondelēz demonstrates that its cell cultured ingredients are bio-identical to conventionally grown cocoa – meaning they deliver the same texture, melt profile and sensory experience. The company says this sets the stage for scaling production to market-ready quantities within the next two years.
Celleste believes it is also poised to change the dynamic of the chocolate market. Its model is designed to leverage AI computational modelling to customise cocoa butter to customer specifications – such as higher melting points and taste experiences – that can allow manufacturers to increase their innovation and competitive advantage.
Celleste’s chief technical and scientific officer Hanne Volpin, PhD, says: “Building a resilient supply chain means being able to produce at commercial volumes while offsetting disruptions caused by climate change, deforestation and resource scarcity.”
The business is on track to produce one ton of cocoa butter annually in its 1,000l bioreactor and all from a single bean, which would otherwise require about a hectare of cocoa trees.
“To that end, we’ve curated a very robust bank of multiple cocoa bean varietals we can use to grow, test and scale material without ever having to cut down a single tree in the rainforest,” says Volpin.
Another big hitter in the chocolate arena – Nestlé – has recently launched a new product in Germany featuring ChoViva from Planet A Foods. Called Choco Crossies Snack Vibes and launched on a trial basis, its target audience is younger consumers. “We support brands to directly engage with younger generations and build lasting relevance with the consumers of tomorrow,” explains Dr. Maximilian Marquart, CEO of Planet A Foods.
Big foods’ cocoa alts on the market
The partnership with Nestlé Germany is part of ChoViva’s rapid international expansion which itself relies on a commercial partnership with Barry Callebaut. To date, ChoViva is featured in over 120 products across 10 countries, including private labels and brands such as Griesson-de Beukelaer, Treets and Jokolade.
Last year, ChoViva launched into the Japanese market via retail giant Aeon. In summer 2025, Aeon introduced three Topvalu Choco ka chocolate substitute bars. Choco ka in English means “Is this Chocolate?” The three block bars followed the successful launch of Choco ka Biscuit earlier last year.
On announcing the launch of the plain, hazelnut and cereal puff blocks, Aeon says it received very positive feedback on the biscuit variety with consumers claiming: “It tastes like milk chocolate even though it doesn’t use cocoa”, “The taste and melt-in-your-mouth texture are just like chocolate,” and “It’s delicious”.
Aeon says ChoViva’s sustainable credentials were the reason for using it as its sunflower raw material content is grown on existing farmland and it contributes to a lower environmental impact compared to cocoa-based chocolate.
Dr. Marquart says Japan marks ChoViva’s very first market entry outside of Europe. “The launch with Aeon is a strategically important milestone to establish our cocoa-free chocolate internationally and to further raise awareness of sustainable alternatives in Asia.”
ChoViva is made with 20% ground sunflower seeds, sustainable plant-based fats, sugar and either milk powder or sunflower seed powder (for the vegan version).
According to the company – and just like Win-Win – the chocolate alt is “not about the cocoa” but instead more about the manufacturing process with “80% of the typical chocolatey aromas developed during fermentation and roasting”.
There’s no doubting that with today’s technology – and sadly the often fluctuating cocoa market – the future looks bright for cocoa alts. Win-Win’s Pak says with consumers becoming much more aware of the environmental, ethical and supply-chain pressures facing cocoa, there’s growing awareness and appetite for alternatives that can deliver the same indulgent experience with a lower impact.
She says for her company, innovation doesn’t stop once the products are in the market. “We continue to refine both our formulations and fermentation processes, not only to improve taste and performance, but also to further reduce environmental impact.
“Our long-term vision at Win-Win is to create commercially viable cocoa-free alternatives in a truly sustainable and ethical way. By leveraging fermentation and low-carbon raw materials, we aim to help ease pressure on increasingly fragile global supply chains while delivering products that can scale with global demand.”
Win-Win’s partnership with Martin Braun-Gruppe sees its products distributed in the European bakery and patisserie sectors. And earlier this year, Win-Win entered into an exclusive partnership in the UK with wholesaler Keylink, giving bakers and chocolatiers access to the cocoa alt.
So, can cocoa alts ever be sexy? Well, it’s impossible to say. But at the rate the technology is moving, the category is easier on the eye now than ever before.