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T. Hasegawa USA has introduced a new product aimed at addressing the ongoing global cocoa shortage that has significantly impacted food and beverage manufacturers across multiple categories, including confectionery, snacks and sports drinks.

The company’s Cocoa Powder Replacer is an alkalised, low-fat cocoa flavour designed to serve as a substitute for traditional cocoa powder. This innovation allows manufacturers to reduce their reliance on raw cocoa while maintaining the desired flavour profile in their products.

The introduction of this product comes in response to soaring cocoa prices, which recently peaked at nearly $10,000 per metric ton, driven by severe droughts in West Africa – home to the majority of the world’s cocoa production. These climatic conditions have led to an 11% reduction in global cocoa supply over the past year.

In March, I travelled to Côte d'Ivoire to explore the complexities of the cocoa supply chain, from bean to bar. Discover more about my journey here.

Toshifumi Nozawa, associate director of beverage technology at T. Hasegawa USA, says that the Cocoa Powder Replacer was developed as a "no-compromise" solution, enabling manufacturers to deliver the rich aroma and bold flavour of chocolate while reducing the quantity of raw cocoa required.

“We anticipate that climate change will continue to disrupt supply chains, and our innovation aims to help the industry adapt to these challenges,” Nozawa commented.

The cocoa shortage has far-reaching implications for the F&B sector. Cocoa is a key ingredient in over 17% of sports nutrition beverages and 11% of hot beverages launched in the last five years.

As manufacturers face rising ingredient costs, the Cocoa Powder Replacer presents an opportunity to stabilise production expenses without sacrificing product quality.

T. Hasegawa’s new ingredient is available in both liquid and powdered formats, catering to a variety of applications in the food and beverage industry. The company’s US R&D team developed the product over several years, anticipating the supply issues that have now materialised.

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