Elsewhere, Mars tries to get to the real root of the problem by improving the immunity of the all-important cocoa plant. The food giant is working with USDA and UC Davis to sequence the genome of pathogens that cause crop-wreaking diseases, including black pod disease. He hopes that by understanding the problems at a microscopic level, he will be able to select resistant cocoa trees and bypass the sector’s supply problems altogether.
Nag points to other areas of development that focus on improving the quality of recent solutions. In particular, it suggests that pascalization may hold promise.
“Pascalization [also referred to as high-pressure processing—HPP] involves applying high hydrostatic pressure to cocoa products to stabilize the cocoa particles and prevent the cocoa powder from separating,” he explains.
“This technique preserves flavor and nutrients, extends shelf life, modifies texture and ensures food safety in cocoa and chocolate products without relying on thermal or chemical preservatives. Although this method is still under research, it shows promise for improving the texture of chocolate products, especially in the case of alternative recipes.
Regardless of the growing competition, Mishra is confident of the pods’ full potential. However, his team is not the first to consider this, and both Nestle and Lindt & Sprüngli have made initial attempts to enter similar markets, with varying degrees of success.
After launching its all-cocoa product Incoa in 2019, Nestlé quietly withdrew it from the market in 2023 after disappointing reception in a few selected European markets. Chocolate did not use endocarp and bypassed the gel-forming step, but it provided farmers with similar positive results. Elsewhere, Lindt & Sprüngli appears to have seen a greater appetite following the launch of Cocoa Pure in 2021; continues to offer limited edition 100% cocoa bars, also in collaboration with Koa, but also using only the pulp.
So it seems that the spirit of the industry is open to new ideas, but will society embrace this new chocolate and will the unique chocolate production method used at ETH Zurich ever leave the laboratory?
“If I didn’t have a day job, I would probably start a company,” Mishra says. “But the real implementation milestone that needs to be achieved is for the chocolate company to take the risk of creating a product prototype – an actual product, not a product created by scientists. We scientists are usually really bad at preparing culinary delights. “I think as soon as a larger chocolatier recognizes that this is a viable route, changes will begin.”