UPCYCLED INGREDIENTS
IN AUGUST 2025, THE NEW CHOCOLATE CHALLENGE OPENED A CALL FOR
SOLUTIONS – DRAWING OVER 50 SUBMISSIONS FROM START- UPS ACROSS THE GLOBE
industry, three submissions were selected as winners. The announcement of the winners took place at a tasting event in Chicago in November, with guests invited to sample chocolate creations made with the finalists’ alternative ingredients. The winners were Foreverland Technologies for its ingredients crafted from climate- resilient crops; Green Spot Technologies for its plant-based fermentation process that uses upcycled grape skins and fava bean fibres to create cocoa alternatives; and Kawa Project for its proprietary process that created cocoa alternatives from upcycled coffee grounds.
More about the winners Green Spot Technologies is a French start up specialising in innovative fermentation and upcycling of plant-based by-products. It’s Ferment’Up Cocoa Alt consists of a range of powders derived from upcycled fava beans and grapes that have been designed to replace cocoa ingredients while preserving chocolate indulgence. The company has recently secured funding to enable it to increase its production capacity to 1,000 tons per year of market-ready products and to diversify its portfolio of fermented ingredients with the launch of Milatea – a brand of powders, fillings and inclusions derived from the fermentation of fava beans and plant fibres
– aimed at the bakery and confectionery markets. Milatea’s Ferment’Up products are said to offer an aromatic palette – ranging from cocoa-like notes through to want gingerbread flavours, combined with natural fatty profiles reminiscent of olive oil or hazelnut. Foreverland Technologies is an Italian
company founded in 2022 with a mission to improve the sustainability, reliability and fairness of food systems. Its Choruba range of alternative chocolate ingredients has been crafted from climate-resilient crops – such as carob and chickpea. Using a patented process of fermentation and roasting it has identified a way to deliver the taste, snap and mouthfeel of chocolate without compromise. The range was designed to provide a drop-in solution for the modern food industry, and to offer a better choice for the planet as well as a cost competitive way to create indulgent products at scale. Kawa Project is a US-based company
created with the aim of replacing environmentally destructive agricultural products with low impact alternatives using biotechnology, and to do this at a price that is an alternative to the continually rising costs of cocoa. Its product range upcycles used coffee
grounds from the brewing process using a proprietary extraction and refining method
26 • KENNEDY’S CONFECTION • DECEMBER/JANUARY 2025/26
to produce a milled and ready to use cocoa powder substitute for baking products.
What’s next? The Innova Market Insights report pointed out that technology is set to play an important role in the future of chocolate and cocoa-free chocolate. It reported that the use of plant cell culture techniques are enabling cocoa plant cells to grow in controlled environments to produce chocolate ingredients that are the same as those from cocoa trees, but without needing the trees. By genetically modifying plant cells, researchers are even finding ways to improve other traits such as flavour and growth speed. Additionally, cocoa-free chocolate
alternatives are providing an opportunity for confectionery producers to meet consumer demand for more healthy indulgence. By utilising a variety of different high-protein, low-sugar, and fibre-rich ingredients, cocoa-free chocolate can meet these demands. More environmentally conscious consumers are also likely to be attracted to brands that upcycle food waste, vegetable seeds and grains, to create sustainable cocoa-free chocolate. This approach is likely to appeal to this sector of consumers as it helps lower carbon footprints, reduces water usage, and decreases land requirements.
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