Cocoa-free chocolate alternatives, also called cocoa alternatives or cacao-free alternatives, are chocolate alternatives that look, taste, and perform like chocolate but do not contain cocoa as an ingredient. Due to problems associated with the cocoa supply chain such as shortages or deforestation , chocolate alternatives without cocoa are a growing sector in the global chocolate industry.^[1][2]

Cocoa-free chocolate alternatives come in many varieties, including milk, vegan, white and dark chocolate. The first innovator that introduced cocoa-free chocolate into the market was German company Planet A Foods, followed by UK-based Win-Win, Finnish-player Fazer and US-based company Voyage Foods.^[3][4][5][6] Many producers, if not most, replace cocoa with the ingredient carob.^[7][8] A few producers develop cocoa-free chocolate alternatives without carob, and use for example sunflower and oat seeds as a basis.^[9] Cocoa-free chocolate alternatives are legally not allowed to be labeled as chocolate. To be labeled as chocolate, a minimum amount of cocoa mass must be used for development. The exact amount of cocoa mass required varies by country.^[10]

The cocoa alternatives possess slightly different production processes, but are all based on the traditional chocolate production process. ^[11] Oats and sunflower seeds undergo a similar treatment to cocoa beans and are then grounded in several steps to get an aromatic concentrate. Afterwards, the concentrate is mixed with other ingredients like sugar and plant-based fats.^[12]

In the past, cocoa-reduced products were developed after World War II due to a limited availability of cocoa and high prices.^[13] In recent years, the demand for cocoa-alternatives has started to grow as cocoa prices soar due to shortages in cocoa cultivation.^[14][15]