Local ingredients could reshape Europe’s confectionery industry.
MUNICH, Germany | June 2026
A Bavarian food technology company is producing a cocoa-free chocolate alternative made primarily from fermented and roasted sunflower seeds. Planet A Foods developed ChoViva to reduce the confectionery industry’s dependence on cocoa supplies concentrated in climate-vulnerable regions. The product is designed to reproduce the flavor, texture, shine and characteristic snap associated with conventional chocolate. Its expansion across European factories suggests that cocoa alternatives are moving from experimental laboratories into mainstream food production.
Planet A Foods was founded in 2021 by siblings Sara and Maximilian Marquart. The Munich-based start-up employs researchers and food industry professionals from 18 countries and operates a production facility in Plzeň, Czechia. Its team combines food science, recipe development and industrial manufacturing to create an ingredient that existing confectionery companies can incorporate into familiar products. The company supplies ChoViva to manufacturers rather than focusing only on selling its own finished chocolate bars.
The central idea behind ChoViva is that much of what consumers recognize as chocolate flavor comes from processing rather than exclusively from the cocoa bean. Sara Marquart explains that fermentation, roasting and conching create most of the aromatic compounds associated with chocolate. Planet A Foods applies those same principles to sunflower seeds, transforming a regional agricultural ingredient into a cocoa-like base. This approach allows the company to reproduce a familiar sensory experience without using cocoa.
The production process begins with sunflower seeds that are fermented and roasted to develop deeper flavors. The resulting concentrate is combined with sugar and vegetable oil before being ground and rolled repeatedly. The mixture then enters a slowly moving conching machine, where it becomes smooth, homogeneous and fluid. Precise tempering organizes the fat crystals so the finished product develops gloss, firmness and a clean break after cooling.
Taste remains the decisive test because sustainability alone is unlikely to persuade consumers to abandon conventional chocolate. In blind comparisons, ChoViva has been described as difficult to distinguish from a standard milk chocolate product. The texture melts in the mouth while retaining the firmness expected from a molded bar. That similarity gives manufacturers the possibility of changing ingredients without requiring customers to accept a completely unfamiliar product.
The company’s environmental argument is built around shorter supply chains and lower emissions. Sunflower seeds can be sourced regionally in Europe, reducing dependence on cocoa transported over long distances from tropical producing countries. Planet A Foods says ChoViva can cut carbon emissions by between 70 and 80 percent compared with conventional cocoa-based chocolate. Its milk-based recipe has an estimated climate footprint of 2.8 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent per kilogram, compared with 10.6 kilograms for a comparable chocolate product.
The start-up was created in response to growing concern about the future availability of cocoa. A large share of global production comes from Ghana and Ivory Coast, where plantations face rising temperatures, irregular rainfall, drought, pests and soil degradation. Cocoa cultivation has also been associated with deforestation and the expansion of monocultures into vulnerable tropical ecosystems. Planet A Foods argues that climate change could sharply reduce future supply if the industry remains dependent on the same regions and agricultural model.
The cocoa crises of recent years have strengthened the commercial case for alternatives. Prices rose dramatically during 2023, 2024 and 2025 as poor harvests and supply constraints affected the international market. What initially appeared to some manufacturers as an eccentric attempt to create chocolate without cocoa became more credible as costs multiplied. ChoViva offers companies not only an environmental benefit but also a potentially cheaper and more predictable ingredient.
Planet A Foods now produces approximately 10,000 tonnes of ChoViva annually. The ingredient is used in bars, biscuits and other confectionery products manufactured by medium-sized companies and major groups across Europe. Partnerships have expanded into countries with strong chocolate traditions, including Switzerland, Belgium and France. This growth indicates that established producers increasingly view cocoa alternatives as a complement to traditional recipes rather than a temporary novelty.
One example is Abtey Chocolaterie, an 80-year-old family company in France’s Alsace region. The manufacturer spent nine months adapting ChoViva’s viscosity and technical behavior to machinery originally designed exclusively for conventional chocolate. The decision allowed the company to enter new markets and operate more consistently throughout the year instead of depending mainly on Christmas and Easter sales. Its annual revenue later rose to approximately 21 million euros, while exports reached 47 countries.
The partnership also illustrates how innovation can be incorporated without eliminating culinary heritage. Abtey continues producing chocolate based on the founder’s traditional recipes while adding ChoViva products to its portfolio. The company views alternatives as a way to respond to cocoa scarcity while preserving employment, production capacity and family continuity. This mixed model may become more common as manufacturers seek resilience without abandoning established brands.
ChoViva does not claim that cocoa will disappear or that traditional chocolate should be replaced completely. Its role is to reduce pressure on fragile supply chains and provide an additional ingredient for products where consumers prioritize flavor, price and environmental performance. Conventional chocolate will likely remain culturally and commercially important, particularly in premium markets. The emerging competition will instead determine how much of the mass confectionery sector can operate with less cocoa.
The wider significance of the project lies in its treatment of raw materials as adaptable rather than fixed. Food technology can use fermentation, roasting and controlled processing to unlock flavors that consumers normally associate with other ingredients. This principle could help industries respond to climate disruption without requiring people to abandon familiar eating habits. The challenge is to preserve pleasure while changing the environmental structure behind it.
Planet A Foods wants cocoa-free chocolate to become a permanent part of Europe’s confectionery market. Its founders argue that regional production can make the industry more affordable, resilient and sustainable for future generations. The company’s progress suggests that the future of chocolate may involve several agricultural foundations rather than one vulnerable crop. A sunflower seed, once processed with sufficient precision, could become part of the answer to preserving one of the world’s most popular foods.
Information that anticipates futures. / Información que anticipa futuros.