By: Snigdha Chakravarti
Have you noticed what’s been missing in some of your favorite chocolate bars? This might seem counterintuitive, but it’s actually chocolate! Almond joys, for instance, are now called “coconut and almond chocolate candy bars” from having the explicit “milk chocolate” label. Based on what the FDA constitutes as milk chocolate, almond joys no longer fall under the category; for this reason, they are referred to as chocolate candy instead. Almond joys aren’t the only affected chocolate bars; others include Butterfingers, Mr. Goodbar, Rolo, and Baby Ruth.
Due to skyrocketing cocoa prices, companies have been looking for alternatives that minimize usage of cocoa and cocoa butter while also maximizing flavor. One such alternative is vegetable fat compound in coatings instead of cocoa butter: following a thin milk chocolate layer, a layer of compound is slipped into the coating. Other alternatives include mixtures of both real and artificial chocolate chips, adding more sugar, and of course, a whole lot of artificial ingredients. Several chocolates have omitted chocolate altogether, like Hershey’s Halloween Assortment of light-green Kit Kats and Cookies ‘n’ Cream Fangs. These recipe changes are referred to as reformulations and have, furthermore, proven beneficial for chocolate companies. Nestle, for example, has saved nearly $500 million through reformulations in some of their most famous sweet treats, like Toffee Crisp and Blue Riband.
Cocoa prices have shot up to $10,000, four times the price it was in 2022. The reason behind these exponentially increasing prices is climate change, but specifically, climate change in cocoa producing regions of the world, like West Africa. West Africa has seen longer droughts, more extreme heat, and sporadic rainfall patterns. Adding on to this is the spread of mealybug infection, internal financial issues, tariffs, and labor issues. As a result, cocoa yield has dramatically gone down, causing prices to rise. Since cacao plants are extremely sensitive to environmental change, they are unable to produce good beans. Even if new cacao trees are planted, it takes at least 3 years for them to start producing beans. Judy Ganes, a food industry consultant, explained how such a situation leaves two options for chocolate companies: to “find something else”, or “reformulate.”
Companies like Nestle and Hershey have begun reformulating, yet they have not explicitly declared what changes they are making to their chocolates. Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Hershey Steve Voskuil, for example, stated how, “It’s a place we look at, we test, and in some parts of our portfolio, over time, we’ve made some changes,” adding that “there’s been no consumer impact whatsoever.”
“Chocolate candy” isn’t the only name for chocolates that are no longer classified as real chocolate. Other examples of ‘fake chocolate’ names include compound chocolate and chocolate flavor, implying something mimicking chocolate. In this way, fake chocolate has the minimum amount of cocoa needed for the chocolate flavor and replaces the cocoa butter with vegetable oils to taste as close as possible to authentic chocolate. On the other hand, real chocolate has between 10% and 100% cocoa along with cocoa butter and milk. Moreover, texture and flavor is different in real chocolate and fake chocolate: while real chocolate is creamier from cocoa butter, fake chocolate butter is waxier and greasier.
Increasing demand for chocolate along with the long production process, climate change, and limitations for new plantings of cacao crops have fated reformulations to stay for a while. Companies that produce low-quality chocolate, especially, will continue to look for ways to minimize cocoa in chocolates to keep prices affordable for consumers.