Home » What we do » Upcycling Cacao
Home » What we do » Upcycling Cacao
The cacao fruit consists of a compact outer shell that protects the cocoa beans and cocoa pulp. Did you know that in the conventional processing of the cocoa fruit, only 20 to 30 per cent of the fruit is processed, depending on its size? The beans are roasted, dried, cleaned and processed into chocolate or chocolate-like products. Another 30 per cent of the fruit is edible, while the outer shell is not suitable for human consumption.
Our goal within AFOODS Group is holistic utilisation of the cocoa fruit in order to offer you the best possible cocoa fruit-based fruit products and other non-food innovations, while at the same time reducing the waste of resources.Â
We intervene at two points in the processing in order to utilise what is considered “waste” in conventional cocoa processing, namely the pulp and the cocoa bean shells. The pulp of the cocoa fruit is extracted from the beans by natural processing in decentralised hubs in the first few days after harvesting. The natural process of extraction and gentle processing for preservation means that all the nutritional values are retained.Â
The juice obtained serves as the basis for our pulpaco products and as a sweetener for all other cocoa fruit-based products. We also offer the juice in natural form or in concentrate as an ingredient for catering and industry use. The previously used beans are then fermented for 5-7 days, dried in the sun and roasted. In traditional industrial cocoa processing, after the fermentation and drying process, the beans are exported to Europe for further processing.Â
At AFOODS Group, however, we work with cocoa cooperatives in West Africa who manually crack the shells of the roasted cocoa beans. The shells serve as the basis for our cocoa fruit-based brands like COBE COPU. Within this framework, we act responsibly not only for people and nature but also for the environment. This is precisely why especially for the European market; we also work with selected European partners to valorize their cocoa bean shells which would otherwise be wasted.
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Providing you with the best possible and most nutritious food products from African raw materials through the upcycling of side streams based on African Traditional Knowledge and Knowhow combined with modern processing technologies.
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Providing you with the best possible and most nutritious food products from African raw materials through the upcycling of side streams based on African Traditional Knowledge and Knowhow combined with modern processing technologies.
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