Dark Chocolate Market Trends and Related Dynamics

This blog provides detailed information about Dark Chocolate, including its classification, manufacturing process, industrial usage, price trends, and important players in the market.

Dark Chocolate: Definition

Dark chocolate can be defined as chocolate with no added milk solids. The main ingredients are cacao beans, sugar, and an emulsifier such as soy lecithin to retain the texture and flavourings like vanilla or fruity. The sweetness of dark chocolate depends on the amount of cocoa added to it.

The flavour of dark chocolate is desired for baking and melting, used in various desserts. The wide range of utilisation of the product in food items and other products greatly impacts the dark chocolate price. The product has a distinct real taste of chocolate as compared to milk chocolate. It does not include milk solids or extra sugar that make the chocolate sweeter in flavour, which is found in nearly all candy bars.

Nonetheless, the absence of milk additives in dark chocolate also implies that it is more susceptible to a dry, chalky consistency and a bitter aftertaste. There are several types of dark chocolate that are categorized by the proportion of cocoa solids included in the bar.

Utilising plant fats and oils, vapour steam distilling edible vegetable oil derivatives, and condensation of 2,3,6-trimethylhydroquinone with phytol vitamin E is produced.

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It is grouped as bittersweet, semi-sweet, and sweet dark chocolate. The cocoa content in commercial dark chocolate bars can vary from 30 percent for sweet dark chocolate to 80 percent or more in highly dark and bitter bars. Dark chocolates can be consumed directly from the package without preparing or using it in recipes. Moreover, it can be chopped, pounded, shaved, or melted and is primarily used for ganache, glazes, mousse, and pudding.

Dark Chocolate Production Process

Two of the most crucial parts of dark chocolate production are the conching and tempering of chocolate. Conching can be defined as a process where the material goes through constant mechanical blending, kneading, and shearing in order to break further and reduce the material particles.

Hence, the conching process of chocolate is via a continuous mechanical collision and friction, which helps the cocoa and sugar particles to become smoother, as a result enhancing the taste of chocolate.

Once the chocolate material is processed, its elements are further decreased and uniformly distributed and regrouped. Simultaneously, membranous fat is created, consistently surrounding the sugar, cocoa, and milk solids, making a highly settled emulsified tissue state.

The repulsive fragrance of the chocolate is removed in the conching process, which supports the enhancement of the smell and sweetness of the chocolate odour and improves the overall quality of the chocolate. 

In the chocolate tempering process, the tempering curve of chocolate is 40 to 45? as its first temperature zone, 32-27 as its second temperature zone, followed by 27 to 32 as its third temperature zone. However, the temperature alteration is not the same for different types of chocolates.

The objective of altering the temperature is to prepare the cocoa butter crystals in the slurry to form stable β crystals, giving the chocolate a black luster and improving the product's shelf life. Largely, the milk fat content in milk chocolate impacts the temperature alteration, which means that the higher the milk fat content in the chocolate, the lower the temperature modification will be. However, looking at the recent trends, the fluctuation in the raw materials prices influences the dark chocolate production cost.

Industrial Uses of Dark Chocolate

Dark chocolate consists of antioxidants such as flavonoids and cocoa-derived pentameric procyanidin, which may work against free radicals. The benefit of dark chocolate is that the body also acts as an anti-inflammatory agent. Hence, it decreases the probability of chronic inflammation and safeguards the cells and tissues from severe damage. Other health benefits of dark chocolate are that it keeps cholesterol in check, regulates blood pressure, prevents the risk of heart disease, has a good effect on the skin and helps in weight loss.

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Such health benefits and the persistent health and wellness trend amongst consumers are influencing the market and the dark chocolate price trend across the globe. In addition, dark chocolates are preferably utilised in cookies, candy bars, cakes and pastries, ice creams, puddings, hot drinks like hot chocolate, etc. Since the product is available in liquid, paste, or block form, it can be used as a flavouring, sweetener, and thickener to bake chocolate bars and make solid confectionery.

Dark Chocolate Prices: Market Trend and Forecast

North America

Because of the increasing awareness of the nutritional content and stress-relieving competence of the product among consumers, there is a high demand for dark chocolate in North America. Besides, the prevalence of online retailing and e-commerce has driven chocolate producers to augment their consumer base and enhance profit margins. Such factors are leading to the increasing share of the North American dark chocolate industry in the global market.

Asia Pacific

There has been an increase in the preference for dark chocolate among consumers in the Asia Pacific region owing to the rising awareness concerning health benefits linked to the product. The raising disposable incomes and the advancing lifestyle of consumers propel the regional market. Moreover, the augmentation of the region's online retailing and e-commerce sector has developed a positive prospect for the market.

Europe

The dark chocolate mark in Europe has been progressing gradually in recent years. This is mainly due to high demand for the product based on the factors such as integration of organic and natural sweeteners in commercial dark chocolate bars, medical benefits, rising penetration of the internet, involvement of the added market players, increase in the disposable income and shift in the consumption habits.

Key Industry Players

• Nestlé S.A.
• Ferrero U.S.A., Inc
• Barry Callebaut AG
• Mondelez International
• The Hershey Company
• Blommer Chocolate Company

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