Cargill, Voyage Foods Launch Cocoa-Free Chocolate Alternative
NextCoa delivers chocolatey flavor without cocoa while offering allergen-friendly formulation and lower environmental impact
Cargill and Voyage Foods are bringing NextCoa, an award-winning confectionery alternative to chocolate, to North America, starting in the United States. The product delivers a chocolatey-like taste consumers expect without cocoa, using innovative ingredients and familiar chocolate-making processes.
“The NextCoa line is about expanding choice, not replacing chocolate but redefining what’s possible,” said Kojo Amoo-Gottfried, vice president and managing director of Cocoa and Chocolate for Cargill Food North America. “It unlocks a new way for manufacturers to create the flavors and indulgent experiences people love while building resilience into the food system.”
NextCoa confectionery alternatives to chocolate are crafted from plant-based ingredients like grape seeds, helping improve pricing stability and availability. The product also delivers measurable environmental benefits, including a 67% lower carbon footprint compared to conventional chocolate.*
The cocoa-free offering is formulated without major allergens, free from dairy, soy, peanuts and tree nuts,** expanding options for both food manufacturers and consumers. It is also vegan, Kosher pareve and Halal suitable.
NextCoa products combine Voyage Foods’ patented technology with Cargill’s supply chain scale to bring new food innovations to market.
“We built Voyage Foods to rethink how the world’s favorite foods are made,” said Adam Maxwell, CEO and Founder of Voyage Foods. “With Cargill, we can scale that vision, making our approach to chocolatey-like foods accessible to even more manufacturers.”
In the US, the NextCoa line is available in Mild (milk-chocolatey-style) and Dark Mild (a blend of dark and milk chocolatey-like flavors) varieties. Formats are suited for a wide range of applications from inclusions in bars, baked goods and ice cream to coatings for snacks and confectionery treats like truffles.
Through their commercial partnership, Cargill serves as the exclusive global business-to-business distributor for Voyage Foods. Cargill is working with regional partners Batory Foods, Blendtek and Gillco Ingredients, an Azelis Company to supply US customers and plans to expand to customers in Canada soon.
* Third-party verified Life Cycle Assessment, conducted in accordance with ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 standards.
**In unopened, original packaging only.
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