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A Healthy outlook for Vegan Chocolate Growth: Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate launches ExtraVeganZa

January 28, 2022

This month, millions of European consumers are celebrating “Veganuary”, going vegan for the month of January. In early November, Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate introduced a new range of innovative plant-based power ingredients to create ExtraVeganZa – a vegan chocolate sensorial experience with outstanding taste and texture profiles. This new product line reaffirms our commitment to delivering products which are not only delicious, but in demand, providing our customers and their consumers with vegan alternatives to traditional chocolate recipes – just in time for Veganuary.

Outside of this month, consumer demand for vegan and plant-based options continues to grow as focus on health increases alongside a growing sense of personal responsibility towards the environment and climate change. A recent Cargill study found that chocolate products with a verifiable vegan claim are more popular with these mindful consumers, even at a premium.   

Where did it start?

Our customers needed more choice and better solutions for vegan chocolate and couverture chocolates than those currently industrially available. Our Chocolate Engineers originally designed three varieties of products using Cargill’s ExtraVeganZa plant-based power ingredients: sunflower kernel powder, rice syrup and organic rice syrup – each providing a unique taste profile and sensory experience.

Sunflower kernel powder and rice syrup can be used beyond vegan chocolate. Suitable for coatings and fillings, these plant-based power ingredients allow us to create products meeting the demands of even the strictest of vegan consumers. To further extend the offerings to the more healthy-minded consumers, organic rice syrup can be coupled with Cargill's organic cocoa liquor to make an organic vegan chocolate solution.

The new vegan line is made with the same high standards and rigor Cargill applies to all its products but requires an extra level of scrutiny to ensure compliance with our clearly defined vegan standards. Facilities and lines are being prepared to begin production of ExtraVeganZa. In the meantime, we continue to offer dark chocolates that do not contain dairy ingredients in their recipe. The launch of this exciting new line places Cargill Cocoa and Chocolate at the forefront of the vegan chocolate movement. The ExtraVeganZa product range is ready to go and with such delicious vegan chocolates and couvertures available there is no limit to the potential recipes that consumers will love.