Ucycled cacaofruit to satisfy the need of millennials and Gen Z

Two years after the introduction of the upcycled next-gen cacao fruit category, consumer and artisan brands in North America, the UK, Europe, and Asia-Pacific are introducing the fruit in all various types of beverages, such as cocktails, mocktails, beers, energy drinks, and health drinks..

With National Mocktail Week taking place the second week of January, Cabosse Naturals released an inspiring recipe booklet with the delicious, refreshing, zesty cacao fruit included.

Over the past five years, Cabosse Naturals has mastered the process of cultivating and preserving the fruit to create a high-quality range of 100% pure cacaofruit ingredients.

The range has been designed to unleash the full power of the cacaofruit by making use of its beans, its nutrient-dense peel and its fresh and fruity pulp and juice. Offering food manufacturers and artisanal brands to include a new taste to their current offering.

The global cacaofruit expert Cabosse Naturals is a brand by Barry Callebaut, which is the world’s leading chocolate manufacturer – is targeting food and drinks for the next generation as millennials and centennials “earnestly want to live a healthy, happy life, in symbiosis with the world around them”.

They want food and drinks that are tasty and nutritious for them and also good for the planet and its people. The next-gen cacaofruit category responds to this need: They have a fresh and fruity taste and are rich in nutrients such as fibres, protein and magnesium. At the same time, they are good for the planet and its people because the entire cacaofruit is utilised/upcycled.

Annually about 14 million tons of cacaofruit are harvested around the world. Whereas previously 70% of the cacaofruit was thrown away (as much as 10 million tons), since only the seeds (beans) could be used to craft chocolate and cocoa creations. Now also the dried peel, and the fresh and juicy pulp are crafted into ingredients.

The Upcycled Food Association, whose mission is to prevent food waste, calculates that if all harvested cacaofruit was used to its fullest, it would reduce the same amount of CO₂ as planting 3.5 billion trees per year. An area bigger than France and Germany combined. According to Project Drawdown, the global leader in ranking climate solutions, preventing food waste is the single most effective solution to prevent global warming. Cacaofruit is the most impactful fruit to fully upcycle since 70% can be saved.

Three years after the introduction of the next-gen fruit category, consumer and artisan brands in North America, the UK, Europe, and Asia-Pacific are introducing cacaofruit in beverages such as cocktails, mocktails, beers, energy drinks, health drinks, but also in ice-cream, snacks and chocolate.

In the US, one of the first brands to introduce the fruit in a consumer-facing product was Capao with cacaofruit snacks. Blue Stripes introduced a range of cacaofruit waters in Whole Foods Market, amongst others. BevCacao introduced a range of functional cacaofruit waters and Xoca, a cacaofruit probiotics drink.

Japan, known for its innovative taste culture, has cacaofruit ice cream from Minimal and Dandelion. and Godiva recently launched WholeFruit chocolate, along with their 100% pure cacaofruit juice.

In Europe and the UK cacaofruit waters are popping up such as Kokojoo and Pacha de Cacao. The brand Kayu takes it to the next level with an energy drink that includes the cacaofruit pulp. In Germany and the UK, a non-alcoholic cocktail base Kiukiu is on the market.

Last year, Ritter Sport and Lindt launched a 100% pure cacaofruit bar. In Belgium, land of the craft beers, Acan introduced a fresh, sweet-sour and fruity beer consisting of 80% beer and 20% cocoafruit juice, all available to purchase across borders.

The cacaofruit ingredients of the global cacaofruit expert, Cabosse Naturals, received the “Sustainable Ingredient Award” at the 2021 Sustainable Food Awards for making a sustainable difference in terms of its environmental and/or social impact. They were also a finalist during the World Innovation Awards 2021 in the category ‘Most Innovative Ingredient’.

In 2022, the new type of chocolate WholeFruit, made possible by Cabosse Naturals, was introduced across the globe, by the pioneer in fine flavour cacao and chocolate since 1842, Cacao Barry.

This year they received the World Food Innovation Award for ‘Best Artisan Product’ for its strong proposition: tasty, good for the planet and its people. WholeFruit Chocolate also won Silver in the category New Sustainable Product Award at the Sustainable Food Awards.

Another innovation made possible with the cacaofruit is the first nutraceutical fruit drink Elix, made from 100% pure cacaofruit. Due to the high amount of preserved cacaofruit flavanols, the fruit drink has an EFSA health claim. Promoting circulatory health. Elix was a finalist at the 2022 World Food Innovation Awards in the category ‘Best health or wellness drink’.

The Belgian Chocolatier Vandenbulcke won the golden award in 2022 at the ISM, the world’s leading trade fair for sweets and snacks. The jury reviewed hundreds of products, but awarded Vandenblucke for its unique taste and upcycled character.

The praline called ‘Cabosse’ has a filling of upcycled cacaofruit pulp, the white flesh, that surrounds the cacaofruit seeds.

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