Cargill is targeting Europe’s growing flexitarian appetite with a new range of vegan chocolate and couverture chocolates. Chocolate ExtraVeganZa is positioned to deliver a “truly indulgent sensorial experience,” using the plant-based “power ingredients” sunflower kernel powder, rice syrup and organic rice syrup. 

“Sunflower kernel powder is a sensorial winner. It brings a delightful creaminess and smooth melt-in-mouth experience to chocolate recipes – something that is hard to achieve with the ingredients commonly used in vegan chocolates,” Vanessa Barey, chocolate product developer at Cargill, tells FoodIngredientsFirst.

Cargill says it is the first major supplier to incorporate sunflower kernel powder into vegan chocolate, yielding a product with a nuanced flavor of mild cereal notes and nuttiness. 

It has also filed a patent application related to sunflower kernel powder for use in chocolate products, following its rigorous screening of plant-based ingredients’ sensorial and production attributes. 

Taste reigns 
Cargill tested its Chocolate ExtraVeganZa line with both consumer and trained sensory panels and found the vegan chocolate range consistently outperformed popular market references on key likability ratings.

The vegan chocolate range can be used in all applications, including bakery, confectionery and dairy, as a substitute for regular chocolate.A consumer study with 90 participants from the UK, Germany and France found that 86% of consumers chose the ExtraVeganZa chocolates over a leading market reference, as their favorite.

The vegan chocolate range can be used in all applications, including bakery, confectionery and dairy, as a substitute for regular chocolate. The line also uses nut- and gluten-free ingredients.

Vegan chocolate picks up pace
While the reasons for this desire are varied and stem from a diverse range of motivations – from ecological to health-driven aspects – the trend [for vegan chocolate] continues to pick up steam, Cathrin Simon, commercial marketing manager chocolate at Cargill, tells FoodIngredientsFirst. 

Both the appeal and willingness-to-pay-more for chocolate products with a vegan claim have grown significantly in 2021, found Cargill in a proprietary study.

“Many of our confectionery, bakery and dairy customers are exploring vegan formulations,” Ilco Kwast, commercial director at Cargill, chimes in.

Finding the flexitarians 
Simon continues that despite strict vegan diets remaining niche among consumers, the desire for consumers to integrate more plant-based alternatives into their diet is growing, resulting in a large group of flexitarian consumers. 

“Considering this definitive consumer trend, Cargill’s customers need more choice and better solutions than those that are currently industrially available,” underscores Simon. 

“In this way, they can better meet consumers’ sensorial preferences within the vegan chocolate space, and thus participate in the growth of this dynamic market segment.” 

Getting the right bite
Cargill’s Chocolate Engineers tested a long list of potential plant-based power ingredients in the process of identifying the final selecion, explains Barey. 

Rice syrup adds a noticeable “snap” to the chocolate’s final texture.The initial list of options included a variety of plants that the Chocolate Engineers knew resonated well with vegan-friendly consumers. These were then analyzed against a variety of parameters that are relevant for production processes, quality, food security, processability and the final sensorial profile. 

“only when the Chocolate Engineers were fully convinced across all these aspects was a plant-based power ingredient /confirm/ied.” 

While sunflower kernel powder provides a creamy, smooth texture, 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 organic rice syrup, an organic vegan chocolate with fine flavor notes and earthy and cereal hints can be produced as well, the company notes. 

“These ingredients provide a distinctive taste and texture profile, enabling us to create vegan chocolate recipes that reimagine plant-based indulgence,” adds Barey. 

Transparency and traceability 
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. The current scope for the vegan line is Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

The company also offers its customers the option to create their vegan chocolate with sustainably sourced cocoa, either with third-party certification or as Promise Cocoa, from known and trusted farmers and farmer organizations benefiting from the Cargill Cocoa Promise. 

Promise Cocoa certifies the product is made with 100% sustainable cocoa, sourced entirely through Cargill’s direct sourcing network in West Africa. The ingredient’s sustainability is calculated using the Mass Balance sourcing model as defined by the ISEAL alliance.