Redefining chocolate delight, from Asia for Asia

Home to 60% of the world’s population, weaving a vibrant tapestry of diverse cultures, colors and cuisines, with consumers who crave excitement and novelty in their foods, Asia is an undeniably exciting and unique market that cannot be ignored. 

This is none truer than in the space of Indulgence – a macro growth category for Cargill’s food solutions business in Asia comprising the three sub-categories of bakery, chocolate confectionery and ice-cream.  

Currently making up 25% of global chocolate consumption, Asia is a hugely lucrative growth market. It is the fastest-growing region in terms of volume and value and stands out especially for its immense innovation potential. Within the next 10 years, Asia is expected to overtake North America as the second largest chocolate market in the world, projected to reach an estimated value of close to USD37 billion by the end of 2030.  

Chocolate consumption in Asia is driven largely by rapid urbanization, a growing middle-class and the region’s expanding young population whose demand for chocolate is higher than that of other demographics, including more affluent groups.   

 

Wooing the Asian consumer  

So, what it comes to chocolate and indulgence, what would win the heart of the Asian consumer? Turns out Cargill knows a thing or two.   

“I love to indulge myself with good food because it boosts my mood.” 

“I look for treats that calm me down and give me comfort.” 

“Food is indulging to me when it is rich in taste and flavor.” 

“Tasty and healthy at the same time? I’m in. Give me the best of both worlds.” 

These are some headline sentiments expressed by consumers in Cargill’s latest 2024 Asia TrendTracker report. Even while people are becoming more health-conscious, they do not want to sacrifice the enjoyment of indulgent experiences. Increasingly, consumers are looking for innovative foods that can offer “healthy, guilt-free indulgence”. They also want their food to be rich in flavor, excite their senses and be “Insta-worthy”.  

At the same time, Asian consumers are becoming more mindful of the impact of their food choices – not just on their own health, but also on the environment and planet. Our TrendTracker revealed that 1 in 4 consumers want sustainability to be the biggest driver of new product development most and the top 3 issues they are most concerned about are Health of the Planet, Health of the Population, and Food Security and Nutrition. 

Nutritious, tasty, indulgent, sustainable – meeting these consumer demands requires food companies and brands to be on top of their game and at the forefront of innovation.  

And this is where Cargill is rising to the challenge.  

 

From Asia, for Asia  

Simply put, we know Asia and what it takes to serve this dynamic market. We have been operating here for more than 40 years, with market & consumer insights, sourcing, manufacturing, commercial and innovation capabilities spread across the region.  

We pride ourselves on our ability to offer uniquely tailored “Asia for Asia” cocoa & chocolate solutions – sourced, manufactured and innovated in the region, backed by proprietary Asian consumer and market insights.  

This means that customers can trust us for high-quality and reliable supply from Asia and in our expertise to co-create new and exciting products that Asian consumers want to enjoy. 

Accelerating sustainability for a thriving cocoa sector  

It all starts with the cocoa bean, and the farmers who grow it. Good quality chocolate can only come from cocoa beans which have been tenderly nurtured and processed, and support for farmers is key to ensuring a thriving cocoa sector to produce delicious chocolates for the world and for generations to come. 

Last year, Cargill marked 10 years of the Cargill Cocoa Promise in Indonesia, Asia’s largest cocoa producing country and the third largest in the world. Cargill Cocoa Promise is a sustainability program which we also run in four other cocoa origination markets of Ivory Coast, Ghana, Ecuador and Brazil to accelerate sustainable cocoa farming to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers.  

Over the past decade, the Cargill Cocoa Promise has provided more than 25,000 Indonesian cocoa farmers with training in good agricultural practices, access to markets to sell certified sustainable beans at a premium, fertilizers and seedlings for replanting, digital traceability tools to increase supply chain transparency, as well as child labor monitoring and remediation programs for over 9,000 farming households. 100% of cocoa farms under the Cargill Cocoa Promise are digitally mapped, verifying that there is no deforestation in our supply chain, and 30% of our beans sourced in Indonesia are certified sustainable.  

Ferdy, a beneficiary farmer shares, “Since joining the Cargill Cocoa Promise, I have been able to earn more money as the quality of my beans has improved because of the agricultural training I received. I am also able to do business more easily and faster using the digital systems which gives me more transparent and competitive prices for my bean, and digital proof of payments for every transaction.” 

Today, Cargill continues to support Indonesian cocoa farmers through the Cargill Cocoa Promise program and maintains an active sourcing network in Indonesia, supported by two cocoa warehouses in Palu and Nusantara.   

Delivering comprehensive solutions  

From the humble cocoa bean comes a wide range of cocoa & chocolate products which Cargill makes for food manufacturing, foodservice and retail customers.  

• Premium Gerkens® cocoa powders  
• Chocolate in various forms for industrial and artisanal applications, chocolate decorations and inclusions, and specialties like single origin chocolate 
• Gourmet chocolate brands – Pâtissier Chocolate, Veliche
• Decorations brands – Smet and Leman 
• Coatings for enrobing, molding, panning and decorating 
• Cocoa butter in classic and specialty forms  
• Cocoa liquor for application in chocolate confectionery, bakery and ice-cream
• Fillings – base and customer-specific taste and color options, including Asian flavors and colors such as white chocolate with red bean, green tea matcha, pandan coconut…etc. 

With a cocoa processing plant in Indonesia and our Aalst Chocolate factory in Singapore, Cargill is able to help Asian customers shorten their supply chains with high-quality solutions produced in the region, thus helping to reduce time, cost and risk.  

Our state-of-the art cocoa plant in Gresik processes cocoa beans sourced in Indonesia and from other origination countries into cocoa butter, cocoa powders and cocoa liquor for customers across Asia and around the world. The plant will soon launch a second manufacturing line which will enable faster, smaller batch production and allow for customization to meet sensory and color requirements, enabling us to provide more specialty solutions to customers to develop more premium and innovative chocolate products for consumers. 

As one of the industry’s most comprehensive food solutions providers, Cargill’s support to customers also extends beyond cocoa & chocolate to also include sweeteners, flavored syrups, starches, texturizers, pectin, plant-based proteins, edible oils, specialty fats, specialized nutrition, blended solutions...etc.    

Innovating to New Heights  

More than a trusted ingredients supplier, Cargill aims to be our customers’ go-to partner for innovation and growth.  

Within the Food Solutions space in Asia, we are pushing boundaries of innovation every day, driven by our eight innovation facilities across the region staffed by over 120 technical experts, scientists, analysts, baristas and chefs.  

• Four Innovation Centers in Singapore, Shanghai, Beijing and Gurgaon, which house the latest application technologies, laboratories, kitchens and foodservice spaces to co-create with customers and industry partners.    
• Foodservice innovation site in Pinghu, China to support beverage and menu innovation for tea and coffeeshops in China.  
• Aalst Chocolate Academy in Singapore as a creative, training and collaboration hub for chefs, customers and aspiring culinary professionals.  
• Cocoa Development Center in Gresik, Indonesia, the most advanced of its kind in Asia to facilitate the faster creation of cocoa products with unique and desired taste profiles. 
• Lipid R&D center in Port Klang, Malaysia with enhanced analytical capabilities in specialty fats.  

To cite an example, responding to Asian consumer demand for premium baked goods, some innovative chocolate solutions we developed to help our customers win in the market include bright bake-stable white chips that add a “pop” to cookies, soft flowy bake-stable fillings in Asian flavors and colors for filled biscuits, smooth heat-resistant coatings that give a smooth appearance over the product shelf-life, as well as fast-setting, heat-resistant drizzle applied on cookies, cakes and croissants. 
 
Contact us to learn more about how we can partner with you to help you grow your business with our “Asia for Asia” cocoa & chocolate solutions uniquely tailored for you, harnessing our sourcing, manufacturing and innovation strengths across Asia.