KANSAS CITY — The desire to find cost-effective cocoa alternatives sounds understandable. On Jan. 31, ICE cocoa futures for March were trading at $10,987 per tonne, which compared with $5,009 per tonne in January 2024 and $2,569 per tonne in January 2023. Cocoa powder at 10% to 12% natural on East Coast points cost between $3.80 and $4 per lb on Jan. 31, which compared with $1.50 a year ago.

Barley malt extracts and pomegranate ingredients are two options in replacing cocoa, while cocoa butter may reduce the need for cocoa powder.

Malt Products Corp., Saddle Brook, NJ, offers MaltRite Cocoa, a whole grain malted barley in powder form, to replace up to 50% of cocoa powder in formulations such as brownies, chocolate cake, chocolate cookies and chocolate fillings.

Malted barley extract in its powdered form has been shown to mimic or complement cocoa across three attributes: appearance, flavor and aroma, and usage rate, said Joe Savelli, director of culinary innovation. Malt Products has developed a new variant of its dried malt extract, called MaltRite DME (dried malted barley extract) that optimizes the extract in all three attributes.

“Malted barley extract has a long history of use in chocolate formulations, thanks to its ability to complement and amplify the inherent flavor of cocoa,” Savelli said. “Other cocoa substitutes either impose their own flavor profile, which compounds the challenges of reformulation, or — as in the case of roasted flours — they have a flat, neutral flavor, which reduces overall cocoa flavor in the finished product.

“As a malt extract, MaltRite DME Cocoa has a mild sweetness and roasted aroma, which enhances the sensory characteristics of cocoa, allowing reformulators more freedom in adjusting their cocoa inclusion rates. This nuanced ability to elevate cocoa flavor while acting as a replacer underscores its exceptional value in product development.”

Other cocoa alternatives may need formula adjustments that are more radical, such as adding bulking agents like flour or maltodextrin or modifying bake and mix times, he said.

“MaltRite DME Cocoa integrates seamlessly into existing formulations,” Savelli said. “This eliminates the operational complexities typically associated with cocoa powder substitution, offering manufacturers a streamlined, efficient solution.”

Cakes, brownies, cookies, cupcakes, muffins, pastries, bread, fudges and crusts are potential applications. For denser doughs and batters, such as brownies, cookies and baked fudges, up to 50% of the cocoa powder typically may be replaced without compromising the quality of the final product.

“Put simply, if a product can be baked with cocoa powder, it can be baked with MaltRite DME Cocoa,” Savelli said. “Its adaptability, combined with its ability to maintain the desired visual, flavor and textural attributes, makes it an ideal solution for both traditional and innovative baking applications.”

Los Angeles-based Pom Wonderful offers a pomegranate extract that may be used to reduce cocoa levels in applications.

“Cocoa is more than just flavor,” said Jason Horvath, sales manager for Pom Wonderful Specialty Ingredients. “It also imparts color and texture to products. Pomegranate extract has a natural light brown coloration, allowing products to maintain the desired hue when cocoa is reduced. It also has an acidic profile that helps to affect the texture to a similar result of a higher cocoa concentration.”

Pomegranate’s flavor profile and polyphenols complement cocoa.

“Our liquid pomegranate extract, POMxL, is a versatile ingredient that is savory, umami-like and acidic, which can be a flavor-boosting attribute,” Horvath said. “Cocoa powder tends to be savory and astringent, so when reduced, the umami and acidic flavors are often diminished. This is where POMxL can help, by replacing some of the missing flavors and reinforcing the flavors that are present.”

Pom Wonderful has tested POMxL in baked foods such as cookies and brownies, as well as in chocolate sauce, ice cream and chocolate milk.

“We’ve consistently found that POMxL is a reliable cocoa extender across all applications.”

Butter Buds Inc., Racine, Wis., offers Cocoa Butter Buds, a concentrated powder made with cocoa fat that provides formulators with a cost-effective alternative to cocoa powder, according to the company.

“Cocoa Butter Buds uses our proprietary enzyme modification and real cocoa fats from the cocoa bean to create a concentrated ingredient solution that helps manufacturers improve chocolate flavor in their formulations at a fraction of the cost of chocolate,” said Michael Ivey, national sales director. “Rich chocolate flavor is based on an ideal ratio of cocoa fat to cocoa solids, and chocolate flavorings with imbalanced ratios make it challenging for formulators to add enough cocoa fat to balance flavors without adversely affecting texture and nutritional profiles while also keeping costs affordable. Using Cocoa Butter Buds, formulators can cost-effectively achieve the elusive real-chocolate flavor consumers are sure to love without breaking the bank.”

Cocoa powder in chocolate frosting may be reduced 30% to 40% by combining Cocoa Butter Buds with Buttermilk Buds and Butter Buds Ghee, according to the company. Using Cocoa Butter Buds in instant hot chocolate powder reduced cocoa powder use from 8% to 10%.