By: Ema Kosova, 19-05-25

With rising cocoa prices, disrupted supply chains, and growing awareness of the environmental and ethical dilemmas associated with the production of cocoa and chocolate, the food industry is beginning to question: What if chocolate taste and functionality could come from elsewhere?

Against this backdrop, the surge in innovation around cocoa alternatives comes as no surprise. And like many others in the food industry, we’ve found the ‘cocoa dilemma’ impossible to ignore. Yet our solution is less conventional than some.

At Agrain, we're convinced that upcycled ingredients may hold one of the most promising answers. Here's why.

The Cocoa Dilemma

Cacao (the plant from which cocoa is derived) is under immense pressure, tied to some of the most complex sustainability issues in our food system:

• Environmental impact: Cocoa farming is a major driver of biodiversity loss and deforestation, especially in West Africa. In Côte d’Ivoire, cocoa production has been linked to over 70% of illegal deforestation (WWF).
• Labour issues: The cocoa industry continues to face serious ethical challenges, including over 2 million children in hazardous labour across Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. (WWF, Swiss Platform For Sustainable Cocoa)
• Climate vulnerability: Cocoa is highly sensitive to temperature and rainfall changes, yet a stark majority of cocoa imports come from climate-vulnerable countries.
• These environmental and ethical concerns are now converging with economic volatility, resulting in dramatic price surges that reached an all-time high in 2024-2025.

Consumer Demand for Ethical and Healthy Alternatives

At the same time, consumer demands are evolving fast. Consumers are increasingly seeking out products that are plant-based, sustainably sourced, and health-forward (Innova Market Insights). These trends are also reflected in the areas of chocolate and confectionary, where consumers are becoming more conscious of the labour and environmental implications of conventional cocoa production.

Despite this, demand for the indulgence that chocolate offers remains widespread. In fact, global chocolate consumption continues to rise - even as its core ingredient becomes more controversial. How can the food industry continue to meet this demand in a sustainable way?

Upcycled Ingredients: A Promising Answer?

Across the food industry, companies are racing to find smart cocoa alternatives. With alt-chocolate innovation experimenting with ingredients from sunflower seeds, to grape skins, to fava beans, there’s a shared recognition that we need new ways to deliver the taste and function of cocoa - without the impact.

For us, at Agrain by Circular Food Technology, developing a cocoa alternative was a no-brainer, having worked with ingredients carrying chocolate aromas from the beginning. Upcycled ingredients bring a distinct advantage in terms of sustainability by utilizing undervalued resources that already exist. They reduce dependence on vulnerable, resource-intensive supply chains, while offering functional, flavourful, and nutrient-rich alternatives at low environmental cost.

Cutting the Cocoa with Agrain® 05

Agrain® 05 is our answer to the cocoa dilemma: a 100% upcycled cocoa replacement made from carefully curated, premium ingredients. Agrain® 05 takes advantage of the sophisticated aroma profile of spent grain in combination with upcycled cocoa bean shells to deliver delicious and authentic tasting notes of dark chocolate in baked goods.

Why these ingredients?

🌾 Spent grain, a co-product of beer brewing, is one of the most abundant food industry sidestreams with an impressive nutritional profile that is rich in fiber, high in protein, and low in sugar. For Agrain® 05, we selected a unique specialty malt with a deep, chocolatey aroma profile that is highly complementary to cocoa husks.

🌰 Cocoa husks - the outer shells of the cacao bean - are typically discarded during chocolate processing, despite making up nearly 70% of the cacao fruit. Packed with antioxidants, fibre, and recognisable chocolate notes, they help to create authentic flavour in our cocoa replacement without added pressure on cocoa production. By upcycling husks, we help reduce waste in a supply chain under strain by valorising that which has already been harvested.

Combined, these two sidestreams form a clean-label, functional cocoa ingredient that can replace up to 50% of cocoa powder in a range of baked applications such as cookies, cakes, and snack bars.

The Future of Cocoa Starts Now

With pressure on the cocoa supply chain near excess, the future of cocoa isn’t just about finding a replacement - it’s about rethinking the entire supply chain model and where our ingredients come from.

Upcycled alternatives like Agrain® 05 are uniquely positioned in this regard, making it possible to cut your cocoa footprint without compromising in quality or authenticity.

Want to explore how Agrain® 05 can work in your application? Get in touch.

🍫 View or Download: Agrain® 05 Product Description here.