Onome Amuge
Nestlé has unveiled a patented technology that it says could transform global cocoa production by boosting yields by as much as 30 per cent, offering a potential lifeline to farmers and manufacturers facing record price increases and tightening supply chains.
The Swiss food giant’s new method, developed at its confectionery research centre in York, UK, maximises use of the entire cocoa fruit, including pulp, placenta and pod husks (parts of the crop typically discarded in traditional processing). By fermenting the whole fruit as a wet mass before roasting, grinding and drying it into flakes suitable for chocolate-making, Nestlé claims it can both raise extraction efficiency and ease pressures on a strained supply chain.
“This groundbreaking technique utilises more of the fruit while enabling us to provide delicious chocolate to our consumers. “We are exploring solutions that could help cocoa farmers maximise the potential of their harvests,” said Louise Barrett, head of Nestlé’s R&D centre for confectionery.
The breakthrough arrives at a precarious moment for the $140 billion chocolate industry. Global cocoa prices have more than quadrupled over the past two years, driven by poor harvests in West Africa (the source of about 70 per cent of global supply), where disease, erratic rainfall and extreme heat have devastated output.
On the London exchange, a tonne of cocoa that traded at $2,560 in January 2023 had risen to $4,430 by the start of 2024. By December 2024, futures had risen beyond $10,494, fuelling fears of long-term supply scarcity and squeezing margins for chocolate makers worldwide.
Nestlé stated that its innovation is designed to tackle both supply-side and sustainability challenges. By enabling farmers to derive greater value from each harvest, the company argues the method could reduce pressure to expand cultivation into fragile ecosystems, while simultaneously improving farmer incomes. The process also frees up time for agricultural practices such as pruning and disease management, which themselves support higher yields.
The company has not disclosed a timeline for scaling the technology commercially but confirmed pilot trials are under way in West Africa. If successful, industry experts believe the technique could become a model for sustainable production at a time when climate change is threatening one of the world’s most important agricultural commodities.
With demand for chocolate products continuing to rise in emerging markets, pressure on the supply chain shows little sign of easing. The International Cocoa Organization has warned that without structural improvements in farming practices and supply efficiency, deficits could persist for years.
For Nestlé, whose brands include KitKat and Smarties, the innovation underscores its strategy of investing in science-led sustainability initiatives while protecting profitability in volatile commodity markets. “This is not just about chocolate. It’s about ensuring cocoa has a viable, resilient future,” Barrett said.
