Cargill has added an intense dark red cocoa powder to its Gerkens range of cocoa powders.
The new ingredient has ‘unique colour attributes’ that sets it apart from existing products, Cargill said.
The result of an R&D breakthrough by Gerkens’ technical specialists at the Gresik cocoa processing facility in Indonesia, and exemplifying Gerkens’ end-to-end innovation capabilities, the new cocoa powder is the latest development to drive innovation in food ingredients and applications.
The dark intense red cocoa powder is ideally positioned for chocolate ice cream, drink and dessert applications that reflect the premium trend towards intense rich colours and flavours, as well as the use of contrasting colours and multiple chocolate shades, Cargill added. The innovation is backed by a dedicated R&D centre for cocoa at Wormer in the Netherlands, with over 100 varieties of cocoa powder produced as a result of its work.
Dick Brinkman, manager technical service for Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate, explained: “This next-generation cocoa powder has an exceptional red colour. Looking at the market and consumer insights we have gathered, we note that across all categories there are clear consumer needs regarding further sophistication and choice in chocolate flavoured products. This new powder is an example of effective innovation which will broaden the offering across dessert, ice cream and chocolate milk products and invite consumers to try new products.”
And Emiel van Dijk, strategy and innovation leader for Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate, added: “All this research comes together to create ‘joined-up expertise’ via our T-model approach. This combines knowledge across multiple food-related industries matched with our deep cocoa and chocolate expertise, allowing customers to develop the latest and greatest innovations. Gerkens dark intense red powder is the perfect example of how innovative R&D can result in a unique ingredient which creates the potential for a broadened range of chocolate-flavoured products.”
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