Cocoa-free chocolate arrives in Switzerland

These cocoa-free products, designed to replicate the taste and texture of traditional chocolate, address two major challenges: soaring cocoa prices and the environmental concerns associated with cocoa farming. Keystone / Christian Beutler

Several start-ups are developing cocoa alternatives using barley, beans or sunflower seeds. Swiss manufacturer Stella Bernrain has already launched a cocoa-free chocolate bar, and this type of product is likely to become increasingly common.

It may seem hard to imagine, but several companies are working on substitutes for cocoa in chocolate. These products, designed to replicate the taste and texture of traditional chocolate, address two major challenges: soaring cocoa prices and the environmental concerns associated with cocoa farming.

Fermented barley

In London, the start-up Win-Win, funded by the Geneva-based Edmond de Rothschild Group, tested more than 1,100 formulas before finding what it considered the ideal recipe based on fermented barley. “It’s really thanks to the fermentation of the barley that we achieve this taste, which is very similar to cocoa,” explained Ahrum Pak, managing director of Win-Win, in an interview with Swiss public television, RTS.

“Unfortunately, 80-90% of the rainforest in West Africa has disappeared, mainly because of deforestation linked to cocoa farming,” she said. “We want to continue to enjoy chocolate, but we can no longer damage the environment as we do now.”

The start-up is already selling its imitation chocolate to food companies such as Dr Oetker for use in biscuits, ice creams and cakes.

Beans

Another London-based company, NuKoKo, is focusing on faba beans. “There is a huge variety of beans, and some have a higher polyphenol content, which is very useful for making chocolate,” said Kit Tomlinson, founder of NuKoKo. The company has signed a partnership with Swiss retailer Coop and its Halba chocolate brand to develop this alternative for the Swiss market. While still in the testing phase, NuKoKo plans to begin production and sales this summer.

“We don’t use cocoa, so we can’t call our product chocolate,” says Tomlinson. “It’s not a huge problem. We could use the term ‘chocolaté’ or ‘choco’, as the chocolate industry has already done several times with products that have a very low cocoa content.”

Fermented sunflower seeds

In Kreuzlingen in canton Thurgau, Swiss company Stella Bernrain has opted for a cocoa substitute based on fermented sunflower seeds.

“You could very well make an Easter bunny out of this fake chocolate,” enthuses Robin Auer, marketing manager at Stella Bernrain. “That’s our aim. We want to launch it on the market next year or the year after”.

The company introduced Choviva, its first cocoa-free bar, in November 2024. “People who taste it without knowing it’s not real chocolate think it’s good and don’t even realise there’s no cocoa in it,” said Auer.

Beyond environmental concerns, the recent surge in cocoa prices is also pushing manufacturers towards alternatives.

“Historical cocoa prices fluctuated around $2,500 (CHF2,200) a tonne until 2022-2023,” explained Raphaël Felenbok, a consultant to the chocolate industry. “Since then, the price has really exploded, with very high volatility. It is currently around $10,000 a tonne.”

Translated from French using DeepL/amva/ts