Enhancing depth and complexity with cocoa alternatives

Cocoa continues to be in short supply, and with demand remaining high, prices haven’t dropped from their 2024 peak. Manufacturers are therefore turning to cocoa alternatives to help them reduce the cocoa in their formulations whilst still ensuring that their products have the same depth of flavour.

Read on to find out the important role that cocoa alternatives play and how you can use them effectively in your products.

The importance of cocoa perception in alternatives to cocoa powders

Reducing the amount of cocoa in a formulation is not just a matter of cutting down the quantity used: successful reformulation relies on ensuring that the chocolatey taste is retained. Consumers who know and love an existing product formulation will be quick to notice a change if the flavour has not been maintained and rebalanced with a suitable cocoa alternative.

Cocoa delivers key flavour notes in chocolate applications, from bitter, dark chocolate and roasted notes to lighter, fruity flavours. Cocoa alternatives must help to highlight these characteristics to preserve flavour depth and complexity in reduced cocoa recipes. Manufacturers should seek cocoa powder alternative solutions that help retain the flavours their consumers know and love in reduced cocoa applications. 

Yeast-based solutions help to keep the sensory profile of cocoa

When choosing alternatives to cocoa powder, manufacturers must also prioritise solutions that won’t impact mouthfeel or produce off-notes. Yeast-based solutions are the perfect cocoa alternative, able to improve richness, creaminess and flavour depth in chocolatey applications where a cocoa reduction is necessary. 

Cocoa powder alternative benefits

Yeast-based ingredients provide a way to maintain indulgent chocolate flavour while reducing cocoa content. They enhance richness, creaminess, and mouthfeel, while supporting deeper, more rounded cocoa notes. Yeast extracts can also help balance bitterness, improve overall flavour perception, and maintain a premium sensory profile even when cocoa levels are lowered.

How to use yeast-based alternatives to cocoa in real-world applications

Yeast-based cocoa alternatives can be used in a wide range of chocolate applications: from hot chocolate to baked goods and chocolate sauces or spreads. 

Yeast-based solutions are particularly effective in formulations where manufacturers need to cut cocoa content whilst maintaining their flavour profile. For example, in drinking chocolate mixtures, these yeast-based solutions allow manufacturers to save costs by reducing the cocoa content without compromising the consumer experience.

Yeast-based alternatives to cocoa from Ohly

Ohly KTD and Ohly KTDD are powerful cocoa-reduction solutions that help manufacturers maintain and elevate chocolate flavours whilst reducing cocoa in their formulations. They work by bringing out key sensory characteristics in the cocoa so that smaller quantities are required to keep the same rich taste, colour and smooth mouthfeel including:

• Roasted cocoa notes for deeper, more authentic chocolate flavour
• Subtle dried-fruit nuances that add complexity
• Rounded-off bitter notes
• Smooth and creamy mouthfeel for a more satisfying and indulgent experience

When used effectively, these products allow manufacturers to effectively cut cocoa usage while maintaining premium chocolate taste. 

Reduce dependence on volatile cocoa market by rethinking cocoa usage with Ohly solutions

Yeast-based cocoa-reduction solutions offer manufacturers an essential advantage amid ongoing global cocoa market volatility with regards to supply and prices. By reducing reliance on volatile cocoa supply chains, manufacturers can potentially lower ingredient costs depending on reformulation strategy and mitigate sourcing issues without impacting the flavour complexity in their formulations. Our expertise in yeast-based flavour solutions supports manufacturers by allowing them to develop flavourful reduced-cocoa products across a wide variety of applications.