Dairy-free chocolate launched by Barry Callebaut

Barry Callebaut, the world’s leading manufacturer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products, has introduced a 100-per-cent, dairy-free “M_lk Chocolate” product.

The company says the new chocolate satisfies the growing demand for plant-based indulgence, particularly among millennials and centennials. It is part of a wider portfolio of “Plant Craft” products ranging from chocolate, cocoa, nuts and fillings to decorations.

Millennials and centennials earnestly want to live a happy, healthy life, in symbiosis with the world around them, the company states in a press release, and they want food and drinks that are tasty and good for them and also good for the planet and its people.

The launch comes at a time when sustainability-conscious consumers, especially millennials and centennials, are increasingly adopting a “flexitarian” or “freegan” lifestyle – navigating seamlessly between plant-based products one day and animal products the next, the company states.

In the U.K. alone, a 2019 YouGov study found that while only one per cent of consumers classify as vegan, 14 per cent of the population have adopted a plant-based diet one or more days a week.

The new chocolate is creamy, milky and has the typical milk chocolate flavour and texture. It is made with an ingredient of natural origin, exclusively available to Barry Callebaut.

It took a Barry Callebaut research and development team two years to develop the product.

“The next generation of consumers is looking for experiences that are tasty, good for them and good for the planet. With that in mind, we aim to accompany the industry in this plant-based revolution,” said Pablo Perversi, chief innovation, sustainability and quality officer and head of gourmet at Barry Callebaut.

“With more than 175 years of experience in mastering chocolate, creating indulgent experiences is at the heart of what we do. Through this innovation, we’re proud to offer chocolate creations with all of the creaminess consumers love, 100 per cent dairy free.”

The Plant Craft portfolio of products features a wide range of dairy-free and vegan ingredients: chocolates, cocoa powders, nut products from paste to fillings, as well as decorations.

To bring these plant-based products to market, Barry Callebaut has developed a unique European footprint of fully-segregated, dairy-free production facilities, including a state-of-the-art chocolate factory in Norderstedt, Germany. The new factory will be the manufacturer’s first facility capable of supplying dairy-free chocolate to the European market, with annual production capacity expected to reach tens of thousands of tons.

Zurich, Switzerland-based Barry Callebaut Group runs more than 60 production facilities worldwide and employs a workforce of more than 12,000 people.