COCOA & CHOCOLATE INGREDIENTS
“Ethical purchasing is also driving the continued growth of plant- based chocolate development”
ingredients. “We work continually to tailor our products, develop concepts and fi nd solutions that deliver the specifi c benefi ts consumers are looking for, without compromising on taste,” explains Lesya. “A recent launch, for example, is a dutched dark cocoa powder that offers a 10-12% fat content but retains a rich cocoa fl avour with sweetness and low bitterness. This could make it versatile solution for a range of dark-coloured recipe applications,” she suggests. “We also recently conducted a trial to test which plant-based ingredients could work best as dairy alternatives in chocolate. Comparing key qualities of the various plant-based chocolate contenders – including hardness, sweetness, and melting time – with what we’d expect to see in dairy chocolate. We found that chocolate made with almond protein powder displayed the most similar qualities – outdoing rice powder, oat powder, coconut powder and almond paste. So, when looking to create a creamy, rich plant-based chocolate, we recommend including almond protein power, as the most effective way of replicating the real thing,” concludes Lesya. Ensuring that the chocolate they buy is sourced from a sustainable supply chain is also front of mind for many consumers today. To help chocolate producers meet this demand, ofi can offer detailed impact data about its supply chain via AtSource, its sustainability insights platform which provides 350+ metrics to help confectioners understand more about the ingredients they buy, enabling them to tell a clear and meaningful story to consumers.
effective way of adhering to the clean label trend. She pointed out that Ofi can help here, with what it believes to be the fi rst-ever natural, non-alkalised dark cocoa powder. “It can offer a punch of colour whilst delivering a strong and fruity cocoa fl avour profi le in chocolate,” says Lesya. “It can be used in many applications, such as bakery, biscuit, ice cream or confectionery and can be labelled simply as ‘cocoa’ on an ingredients list, rather than ‘cocoa processed with alkali’. Our red alkalised cocoa powders also have a dark appearance that can be used at lower percentages to also achieve a rich colour and balanced fl avour.” Crafting the perfect chocolate has always been a complex process – especially when developing products with new
KennedysConfection.com
Ethical sourcing According to the Health Focus International 2020 Global Healthy Indulgence report six- out-of-ten consumers globally say that health is the priority for them when selecting indulgent products. So, creating healthier choices must be a major focus for confectionery producers. As many consumers develop a strong desire to exert greater control over their personal health, this trend is sure to continue to infl uence and shape the types of functional ingredients used within chocolate recipe reformulations. Ethical purchasing is also driving the continued growth of
plant-based chocolate development. According to the BENEO Global plant-based survey 2021, 44% of Europeans say they are interested in plant-based nutrition and consumers are becoming increasingly more adventurous with their diets, as vegan sweets and plant-based chocolates are attracting a growing audience. “In fact, according BENEO’s 2021 plant-based survey, when
it comes to those who call themselves fl exitarians, almost one- in-three already buy plant-based sweets like chocolate, says Benoit Tavernier, Product Manager Speciality Rice Ingredients at BENEO. “However, there is still more room for more growth
Kennedy’s Confection October 2022 17
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