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Cargill and Voyage Foods to Bring NextCoa™ Cocoa-free Confectionery Alternatives to North America

May 12, 2026 by [email protected]

desserts on a blue tabletop

Original Business Wire press release link here.

-The NextCoa™ portfolio delivers chocolatey-like taste without cocoa and is formulated without major allergens.
-This innovation gives food manufacturers a more flexible way to deliver indulgent experiences while improving supply chain resilience.
-As a Gold Edison-Award-winning product, it expands food options for consumers using plant-based ingredients.

MINNEAPOLIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Cargill and Voyage Foods are bringing NextCoa™, an award-winning confectionery alternative to chocolate, to North America, starting in the United States. The product delivers a chocolatey-like taste consumers expect without cocoa, using innovative ingredients and familiar chocolate-making processes.

“The NextCoa™ line is about expanding choice, not replacing chocolate but redefining what’s possible,” said Kojo Amoo-Gottfried, vice president and managing director of Cocoa and Chocolate for Cargill Food North America. “It unlocks a new way for manufacturers to create the flavors and indulgent experiences people love while building resilience into the food system.”

NextCoa™ confectionery alternatives to chocolate are crafted from plant-based ingredients like grape seeds, helping improve pricing stability and availability. The product also delivers measurable environmental benefits, including a 67% lower carbon footprint compared to conventional chocolate.*

The cocoa-free offering is formulated without major allergens, free from dairy, soy, peanuts and tree nuts,** expanding options for both food manufacturers and consumers. It is also vegan, Kosher pareve and Halal suitable.

NextCoa™ products combine Voyage Foods’ patented technology with Cargill’s supply chain scale to bring new food innovations to market.

“We built Voyage Foods to rethink how the world’s favorite foods are made,” said Adam Maxwell, CEO and Founder of Voyage Foods. “With Cargill, we can scale that vision, making our approach to chocolatey-like foods accessible to even more manufacturers.”

In the U.S., the NextCoa™ line is available in Mild (milk-chocolatey-style) and Dark Mild (a blend of dark and milk chocolatey-like flavors) varieties. Formats are suited for a wide range of applications from inclusions in bars, baked goods and ice cream to coatings for snacks and confectionery treats like truffles.

Through their commercial partnership, Cargill serves as the exclusive global business-to-business distributor for Voyage Foods. Cargill is working with regional partners Batory Foods, Blendtek and Gillco Ingredients, an Azelis Company to supply U.S. customers and plans to expand to customers in Canada soon.

* Third-party verified Life Cycle Assessment, conducted in accordance with ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 standards.

**In unopened, original packaging only.

About Cargill

Cargill is committed to providing food, ingredients, agricultural solutions, and industrial products to nourish the world in a safe, responsible, and sustainable way. Sitting at the heart of the supply chain, we partner with farmers and customers to source, make and deliver products that are vital for living.

Our 155K+ employees innovate with purpose, providing customers with life’s essentials so businesses can grow, communities prosper, and consumers live well. With 160 years of experience as a family company, we look ahead while remaining true to our values. We put people first. We reach higher. We do the right thing—today and for generations to come. For more information, visit Cargill.com and our News Center.

About Voyage Foods

Voyage Foods is a food technology company creating low-cost, sustainable alternatives to some of the world’s most important food commodities, including chocolate and coffee. By decoupling these products from their traditional agricultural inputs, Voyage delivers clean-label, great-tasting solutions that are more stable, scalable, and cost-effective amid increasing supply-chain volatility. The company’s products are designed as 1:1 drop-in replacements and are validated at commercial scale using existing global manufacturing infrastructure.

Please visit www.VoyageFoods.com to learn more or follow along on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Contacts
Media Contact: [email protected]

Filed Under: Blogs & Press

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