Cargill and Voyage Foods Partner to Introduce NextCoa™ cocoa-free Confectionery Alternatives to North America

Cargill and Voyage Foods are introducing NextCoa™, an award-winning confectionary alternative to chocolate, to North America, beginning in the US. Using novel ingredients and classic chocolate-making procedures, the product provides consumers with the chocolaty taste they expect without the use of cocoa.

"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 at Cargill Food North America. "It unlocks a new way for manufacturers to create the flavours and indulgent experiences people love while building resilience into the food system."

NextCoa™ confectionary alternatives to chocolate are made from plant-based ingredients such as grape seeds, improving pricing stability and availability. The product also has measurable environmental benefits, including a 67% reduced carbon footprint than traditional chocolate.

The cocoa-free version is free of main allergens such as dairy, soy, peanuts, and tree nuts, giving food manufacturers and consumers more options. It is also vegan, Kosher pareve, and Halal approved.

NextCoa™ products leverage Voyage Foods' unique technology and Cargill's supply chain scale to bring new food innovations to market.

"We built Voyage Foods to rethink how the world's favourite foods are made," stated Adam Maxwell, Voyage Foods' CEO and Founder. "With Cargill, we can scale that vision, making our approach to chocolatey-like foods accessible to even more manufacturers."

The NextCoa™ range is offered in two variants in the U.S.: Mild (milk-chocolaty) and Dark Mild (a combination of dark and milk chocolatey flavours). Formats are suitable for a variety of applications, ranging from inclusions in bars, baked products, and ice cream to coatings for snacks and confectionary treats such as truffles.

Through their commercial partnership, Cargill is Voyage Foods' exclusive global business-to-business distributor. Cargill is supplying customers in the United States through regional partners Batory Foods, Blendtek, and Gillco Ingredients, an Azelis Company, with plans to expand into Canada soon.

Source: Cargill, Incorporated