Editor’s note: Chocolate may be sweet, but rising cocoa prices are having a significant cost impact for all processors that incorporate chocolate as an ingredient. About supplier perspectives and potential industry solutionscooked food We interviewed Muriel Acat, President and CEO of PROVA, and Marie Le Beller, Senior Product Manager.
Prepared Foods: What are some of the products you showcased at IFT 2024 that can help scientists (and raw material buyers) reduce cocoa costs and usage?
Marie Le Bellaire: The main application we introduced is Ugandan vanilla madeleine with chocolate shell. This application is a Uganda Vanilla Madeleine with PROVA’s Uganda Vanilla Extract, half soaked in a white mixture containing PROVA’s Cocoa Flavor Solution.
This compound adds color to make it look like milk chocolate, but this application contains no cocoa. So your formulators can focus on the notes of our cocoa flavor solutions.
PF: In what other ways does PROVA help customers offset rising prices?
Le Bellaire: We offer additional cocoa-enriched flavoring solutions that either do not contain cocoa extract or contain small amounts of cocoa extract. Historically, it has been used to reduce cocoa powder in formulations for functional reasons. These flavors work in combination with cocoa powder, which can reduce the amount of cocoa powder in the original formulation, while at the same time enhancing the cocoa or chocolate taste.
Our flavors can also target specific cocoa profiles to match flavor gaps left by reduced cocoa powders or provide an improved, distinctive taste. This characteristic taste can, for example, enhance the dark, dark cocoa taste of the product or give it a more caramel-like, indulgent, confectionery-like profile thanks to its flavor.
PF: How would you describe Prova’s approach to new product development and collaboration with customers in this area?
Le Bellaire: Our flavorist team responds extremely quickly to develop custom, application-centric solutions that can be customized to your formulation. These solutions are designed to replace an average of 30% cocoa powder. The specific challenge is maintaining the same flavor profile and user experience. Every customer’s formulation is unique, and formulation changes can impact the overall flavor profile depending on the quality, type, and amount of cocoa powder used in the product.
Every cocoa powder has its own fingerprint. It can impart roasted, bitter, milky, earthy, fruity, and even smoky notes. This is why we recommend creating custom solutions for our customers.
PF: In food applications, where can food formulators struggle with alternative cocoa ingredients? How do your ingredients address these issues?
Le Bellaire: In food applications, alternative cocoa ingredients may lack the taste of real, authentic cocoa or chocolate that is sought after as a luxury taste. Consumers are not willing to sacrifice the tastes they are accustomed to. Our flavors allow you to maintain the same flavor intensity and authenticity in these applications. Other examples include features related to heat resistance. In fact, baked goods and UHT products are heat treated, which can cause alternative materials to burn or become less efficient. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution, so it’s important to choose flavors with the right heat resistance and solubility.
PF: As a follow-up, where do beverage formulators struggle the most with alternative cocoa ingredients in beverage applications?
Le Bellaire: The main problem in beverages is solubility. Cocoa does not completely dissolve in water or milk, which can cause the cocoa powder to settle or become opaque. We provide solutions that enable the industry to deliver clear, sediment-free, cocoa-flavored products. This is thanks to our expertise in cocoa extraction, which allows us to produce extracts with optimal solubility for all types of beverages (including alcohol).
Of course, against the backdrop of this crisis, we have also developed solutions without cocoa extracts and with tailored solubility and taste profiles. Beverages usually contain fewer ingredients, so changes in taste are easier to notice rather than hidden. The need for tailor-made flavor solutions for your products is essential.
PF: You mentioned the cocoa shortage. Do you think there will be an end to high cocoa prices, or do you expect the issue to remain volatile due to price fluctuations?
Le Bellaire: Growers were optimistic about the October season (fruits were harvested in larger quantities, efforts to combat diseases were launched, weather conditions were more favorable). However, cocoa prices are now soaring again, increasing by nearly 10 percent from mid-to-late August. This summer’s dry weather resulted in below-normal soil moisture, limiting crop growth. Therefore, the number of berries may be large, but the berries may be small. Additionally, many are concerned that the efforts being implemented to ensure crop health may not be sustainable in the long term.
PF: I’ve written before about Prova’s support for vanilla bean farmers and sustainability in Madagascar. Can you tell us something about similar source investments in your cocoa supply chain?
Akat: After the successful launch of the Care&Act Madagascar Vanilla program, PROVA is now working towards more sustainable cocoa and has set a goal for a fully sustainable cocoa supply chain by 2030. We are already taking concrete steps in that direction in 2024, increasing our share of cocoa. Buy up to 25% sustainable cocoa.
Switching to sustainable cocoa was a natural decision for PROVA. Choosing sustainability means respecting and protecting the environment, improving living conditions for producers and their families, and ending child labor. I believe that sustainable cocoa should be the benchmark of the future. Choosing sustainable cocoa is also beneficial for PROVA. Cocoa accounts for around 30% of our carbon emissions, so this initiative will help us significantly reduce our CO2 emissions.
