The rising cost and growing scarcity of cocoa are pushing food manufacturers to rethink their formulations. Finding a way to reduce cocoa content without compromising on taste, color and consumer appeal is now a major priority. Yeast-based ingredients offer an innovative and natural solution, allowing brands to maintain the rich and indulgent chocolate experience that consumers expect—while also improving sustainability and reducing costs.
In this page, we will explore the current cocoa crisis, the challenges it creates for food manufacturers, and how yeast-based ingredients like Springer® Signature from Biospringer by Lesaffre provide an effective alternative for reducing cocoa content without sacrificing quality.
The cocoa crisis, an unpredecedent situation
The cocoa industry is experiencing one of its most significant crises in decades.
Over the past year, cocoa prices have surged by over 250%, reaching an all-time high of $10,000 per metric ton.
This dramatic increase is driven by a combination of factors, including climate change, aging cocoa plantations, plant diseases, and strict sustainability regulations. As a result, food manufacturers are facing mounting pressure to find cost-effective solutions while still meeting consumer expectations for indulgent, high-quality chocolate products.
Declining cocoa production
Aging trees, slow replanting rates, and diseases like swollen shoot disease have reduced global yields.
Climate change
Droughts in key cocoa-producing regions, including Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, have disrupted traditional growing cycles
Supply chain constraints
Many cocoa farmers face economic difficulties, preventing investment in more sustainable farming practices.
Regulatory challenges
Stricter deforestation-free sourcing laws in Europe and growing consumer demand for ethical ingredients.
Impact of the cocoa prices on consumers and the food industry
*Innova Database 2024
Despite soaring prices, consumer demand for cocoa-based products continues to rise. From 2020 to 2024, the number of cocoa product launches increased by 4.8% CAGR, underscoring that taste remains a priority.
Europe leads the market for cocoa-based products, accounting for nearly half of all new product launches in 2024. Meanwhile, regions like Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa are also showing strong growth.
These trends highlight the ongoing consumer demand for cocoa-based products, even as they face higher prices. However, this demand puts even more pressure on manufacturers to innovate and adapt to the changing market landscape.
Challenges faced by food manufacturers when it comes to cocoa reduction
Reducing cocoa content isn’t merely about cost-cutting; it’s about preserving the rich, indulgent experience that consumers cherish. Cocoa contributes significantly to flavor complexity, deep color and a smooth texture.
Lowering its content can adversely affect these sensory attributes, making reformulation a complex task. The key lies in finding an ingredient that preserves the authentic chocolate experience without compromise.
Find an alternative that allow to keep the original taste of cocoa that consumers love.
Keep the rich dark color of cocoa-based product to keep the visual appeal of products
Guarantee the functional
properties usually
delivered by cocoa
Choose a sustainable & ethical ingredient to align with consumers’ requirements
Springer® Signature, an innovative yeast-based ingredient for efficient cocoa reduction
Our Springer® Signature product is designed to offer food manufacturers an innovative and effective way to navigate the cocoa crisis. This yeast-derived ingredient is not only an ideal solution for reducing cocoa content, but it also improves flavor, ensures product consistency, and aligns with sustainability goals.
Ensure a great taste withour the off-notes
One of the biggest concerns whenreducing cocoa is maitaining depth and richness of flavor.
Our Springer® Signature product helps preserve the authentic cocoa experience ensuring the flavor remains consistent and high-quality.
Maintain the color and visual appeal
Consumers associate the deep brown color of cocoabased products with quality and indulgence.
Our Springer® Signature product helps maintain the desired cocoa-like color, eliminating the need for artificial colorants (e.g. caramel) to match the initial color. (final color depends on dosages and cocoa reduction rate)
Ensure functionality and versatility
When reformulating products, food manufacturers need an alternative ingredient that remains stable and performs reliably under diverse processing conditions. Our Springer® Signature product offers excellent functional properties as it is heat-resistant, has excellent solubility and good preservation and versatility.
A sustainable and ethical alternative
The growing demand for responsibly sourced ingredients has placed pressure on
manufacturers to find alternatives that align with environmental and ethical commitments. Our Springer® Signature product is derived from fermentation hence it helps manufacturers reduce their reliance on resource-intensive cocoa farming.
Biospringer by Lesaffre, your partner for cocoa reduction
The Biospringer Culinary Center network has been created to support our customers with formulation of food and beverage recipes using yeast-based ingredients. They are committed to providing customized solutions and recommendations based on their strong expertise in food formulations. Based in different regions of the world, our experts have a very good knowledge of both local tastes and global trends, and will be able to advise you in the development of your formulations using our yeast ingredients.
Ask for a sample to try it in your formulations