INTERVIEW


WW Mark Golder, CEO & Ahrum Pak, Founder CSO Cocoa-free CONFECTIONS


As cocoa prices soar and sustainability concerns mount, Win-Win is fermenting a new future for chocolate, without using a single cocoa bean. Kiran Grewal reports.


W


ith cocoa prices soaring, deforestation concerns rising, and the confectionery sector under pressure, Win-Win is


introducing a solution we are seeing more and more of in today’s world: chocolate without the cocoa. We sat down with Mark Golder, CEO of Win-Win, to talk about the company’s groundbreaking cocoa-free chocolate alternative, how it works, and where it’s heading.


So, what inspired you to create a cocoa-free chocolate and how did


the idea for Win-Win come about? Mark Golder: I’ve been with Win-Win now


12 • KENNEDY’S CONFECTION • JULY 2025


since January, so six months. The original founders are Ahrum Pak and Johnny Drain. First of all they were passionate about sustainability and making a difference, and Johnny also was a fermentation expert. He started to notice through his work, originally with potato skins, that when he was boiling potatoes, he got this kind of chocolaty aroma. The key issue we’re tackling is flavour — which is actually made up of compounds detected through our nose and throat. Interestingly, the same flavour compounds can come from surprisingly different sources. That’s where the collaboration came from: Ahrum is deeply passionate about


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