NPEW 2024: Luker Chocolate talks sustainable cocoa sourcing, farmer support and protein trends

19 Mar 2024 --- At the recently concluded Natural Products Expo West in California, US, Food Ingredients First spoke to Rachel Fish, business development manager at Luker Chocolate, about the company’s efforts at making cocoa sustainable by shortening the value chain and adding value at the origin.

Luker Chocolate manufactures chocolates from directly sourced Cacao Fino de Aromas — a particular type of cocoa classified by the International Cocoa Organization for its fruity, flowery and nutty malt notes. Nearly 76% of the ingredient is produced in Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Venezuela.

“We are a 115-plus-year-old company, family-owned and our original product was a hot drinking chocolate, an everyday beverage in Colombia. Then, as we evolved, we wanted to move toward this natural terroir occurring in chocolate in Colombia,” Fish tells us live from the show floor.

The company then explored how it could “add even more value by bringing it [cocoa] to different regions outside of Colombia.” 

Shortening the value chain
Headquartered in Colombia, Luker Chocolate sources its ingredients primarily within the country.

“The goal is to create shared value through the cocoa chain in the country of origin. We have three different levels of origin, even within what we’re purchasing,” notes Fish.

The first level includes Luker’s “heritage recipes,” which include blends from any region in Colombia and are intended to achieve a specific flavor profile and taste “consistent year over year.” The second level comprises cocoa, which is “more specific” to the origin and has more variance between seasons and years.

For 100% traceability of its cocoa, Luker’s third level includes its own farms that also serve as “agricultural resource centers” for the community.

Luker works with farmers directly to shorten the value chain (Image credit: Luker Chocolate).“We are on the ground in these regions that we’re sourcing from and farmers are invited to create a community that supports them with agroforestry systems and learning how to optimize their revenue stream through cocoa production and the agroforestry systems,” she explains.

The farmers can bring products to the company’s warehouse “directly” in the fields to sell their cocoa beans or take them to a regional cooperative that would then take them to Luker. “That’s how we can add value directly to the farmers by shortening that chain.”

Innovating with consumer trends
Luker Chocolate’s foundation is based on cocoa, but it also customizes its ingredients based on percentages to meet consumer demands, notes Fish.

“We have a team within our marketing division, creating [products] based on what we see at trade shows and our market research.” 

For instance, she tells us about the team’s 70% coconut sugar under development owing to the “popularity of alternative sugars that don’t raise your glycemic index.”

Fish also points to customers’ ethical and clean label demands based on consumers’ preference for such products, which the company meets through its R&D team and pilot plant.. The team “matches the formula” from ingredient and nutrition statements provided by the customer and supports  manufacturers in formulating the desired chocolate. 

Luker Chocolate is also tapping into the demand for protein products. At the NPEW 2024 trade show, the chocolate supplier showcased its protein chocolate — a 44% dark chocolate formulated with pea protein that contains 5g of protein in a 25g serving of chocolate.

The products are made "exclusively" from directly sourced Cacao Fino de Aroma, a rare cocoa variety (Image credit: Luker Chocolate).“It is a recent addition to our portfolio and currently a made-to-order item, as are most of our products,” states Fish.

Sustainability-forward efforts
To create sustainable products and maintain a transparent supply chain, Luker recently conducted a sustainability audit to find areas of progress within their sustainability efforts.

The report depicted the company’s environmentally friendly practices across 11,945 hectares of land, focusing on sustainability and enhancing biodiversity, along with a 20% reduction in direct carbon emissions.

Under its “The Chocolate Dream” sustainability plan, Luker formulated its “Dairy-Free Oat M!lk Chocolate” and organic chocolate sourced from areas where it implements the plan. The initiative focuses on healthy cocoa growth without relying on daily chemical inputs.

The company is now targeting a reduction of 28% in carbon emissions in the energy and industrial emissions space, compared to its baseline year of 2021.

By Insha Naureen with additional reporting by Jolanda van Hal at NPEW in California, US