According to Bloomberg, chocolate maker Nestle (OTCPK:NSRGY) has found a new way to make chocolate—without sugar. Shares are down (albeit slightly) on the news, 0.14% in the red and selling for $103.56 USD ($102.28 CHF).
Nestle Chocolate Without Sugar
The Swiss company has found a way to create chocolate without adding any sugar in what will be a first for the sugary-goods company. It has patented a new recipe that sees it using the leftover material from cocoa plants for sweetening. Nestle will turn the white pulp that covers cocoa beans into a powder that naturally contains sugar. This left-over material is usually thrown out, but now it will be put to use and in doing so, will offer consumers a much healthier option.
The new recipe is expected to roll out in Japan in the Autumn, in a new line of KitKat bars made with 70% dark chocolate.
These bars will not contain any added sugar. Should all go accordingly, Nestle might use the same process to make milk and white chocolate in the future.
A Changing Climate
Not only a healthier alternative, the company’s head of confectionery, Alexander von Maillot, said using the pulp will make it “a more premium chocolate” as “sugar is a cheap ingredient.”
But using the pulp is, first and foremost, a way to use the entire cocoa pod and not necessarily to reduce the sugar.
Von Maillot explained:
“The sugar reduction is incidental, not a focus […] It’s more about a novel way to produce chocolate and use the best of the cocoa pod.”
It’s a happy accident, as the new Nestle recipe will mean the 70% dark chocolate will have as much as 40% less sugar than most equivalent bars.
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Understandably the news is exciting for health-conscious foodies. The food and beverage industry has faced increased pressure from governments and consumers to make healthier products due to rising obesity and diabetes rates.
We can expect the company to roll out the new technique across the globe next year, to other confectionery brands under its umbrella.
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