Life happens, Cocoa helps

 Cocoa & its Origin 

Cocoa Pod

Cocoa was first developed as a crop in many ancient South American cultures, with the Aztecs and Mayans being the most well-known of these indigenous populations. Researchers have found evidence of cocoa-based food dating back several thousand years The Mayan civilization worshiped the cocoa tree and gave it the Latin name Cocoa which means “Food of the Gods.” It was used for many different purposes. The Mayans created a ritual beverage made from ground cocoa beans, vanilla beans and other spices. It was shared during betrothal and marriage ceremonies.

Market Share of Natural Beverages 

Tea leads the pack with a market share of USD 65 billion followed by Coffee 34.02 and Cocoa with a market share of $ 12.3 .

The global cocoa and chocolate market is projected to grow from $48.29 billion in 2022 to $67.88 billion by 2029, at a CAGR of 4.98% . Europe dominated the market and its share stood at USD 19.5 Billion because of many chocolate producers and largest consumers of chocolate products. The market in Asia is showing an upward trend because of rapidly increasing demand for chocolate and related products in China and India .

Cocoa Tree

About 70 percent of the world's cocoa beans come from four West African countries: Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon. The Ivory Coast and Ghana are by far the two largest producers of cocoa, accounting for more than 50 percent of the world´s cocoa.

Major Cocoa Producing Nations

• Cote d'Ivoire – 2,200,000 tons.
• Ghana – 800,000 tons.
• Indonesia – 739,483 tons.
• Nigeria – 340,163 tons.
• Ecuador – 327,903 tons.
• Cameroon – 290,000 tons.
• Brazil – 269,731 tons.
• Sierra Leone – 193,156 tons.

Butter accounted for the largest market share in 2021

Cocoa Butter

The increasing use of cocoa butter in cosmetic industry for development of skin care and food products, alongside growing demand for cosmetics made from natural ingredients among key consumers, is projected to promote the need for cocoa butter. This, along with key industry players developing personal care products to gratify consumers looking for natural alternatives to traditional cosmetics, is expected to grow the market segment. For instance, in November 2021, Palmer launched a new range of cocoa butter-based body care products, including lotions and other daily skin care products. Cocoa butter-based lotions offer key advantages to consumers, such as superior skin moisturization and providing nourishment through additional vitamins, which promote their adoption among consumers.

Cocoa butter lotion

Therefore, the key benefits of body care cosmetics formulated with cocoa butter and increased adoption of cocoa-based products among target consumers are estimated to drive the cocoa butter segment. Additionally, cocoa butter-based products are considered premium offerings among consumers, further shifting consumers' preference from conventional cosmetics and promoting the segment's growth.

 

Food & Beverage sector is expected to hold the significant revenue share 

Cocoa Powder

The rising health awareness among consumers, along with increasing consumption of bakery products such as chocolate-infused cookies, doughnuts, cupcakes, rolls, sweet rolls, cakes, pies, and coffee cakes, is projected to accelerate the demand for cocoa and chocolate market.

Moreover, the growing demand in the beverage industry is expected to support the market growth. The demand is primarily driven by the choice preference of consumers in beverage selection, influenced by the beverage’s flavor profile. Various product offerings, such as chocolate-infused alcoholic beverages, and chocolate syrups, are increasing the availability of cocoa-based drinks on the market, supporting growth of the segment. This, combined with reducing sugar content of a beverage by increasing the proportion of cocoa, opens new consumer segments to select chocolate beverages over artificially sweetened products.

Cocoa Cakes

Some major global players include Barry Callebaut, Cargill, Olam, ECOM Agro-industrial Corporation, Cocoa Processing, Touton, Niche Cocoa, BD Associates Ghana, PLOT Enterprise Ghana, Nestlé, Mondelez International, and Meiji Holdings.

Cocoa Fun Facts: 

The fruit of the Cocoa tree grow directly from the trunk. They look like small melons, and the pulp inside contains 20 to 50 seeds or beans.

• It takes 5 years for a cocoa tree to produce its first seed pods.
• It takes about 400 beans to make a pound of chocolate.
• December 13th is National Cocoa Day.
• Chocolate has properties that combat Heart disease; thanks to flavanoids from the cocoa plant.
• The ancient tribes, of the Maya Indians, were the first to discover the wonderful enchanting properties of the cocoa bean around the year 600 AD.
• Christopher Columbus, in 1502, was thought to have brought cocoa beans to King Ferdinand, during his fourth trip from the New World.
• Cocoa was exported to Europe in 1585 but the first chocolate bar was not made until 1848.
• Watching your caffeine intake? An ounce of semi-sweet dark chocolate has only 20 milligrams on average, about the same amount as three ounces of brewed regular tea.

Future of Cocoa;

Child Labour at farms

The share of Cocoa cultivation has increased multi fold since 1980s but the profit per yield has touched North , a farmer in 80s used to make 16% of profit per tonne of cultivation whereas it has now reduced to paltry 6.6 % whereas the margins of Chocolate manufacturer has increased from 20 % to 35% making it extremely hard for a farmer to survive also to make ends meet ,farmers are making children to work on the farms which makes this business more ugly and less efficient also the labour is working at less than 1.25$ a day which already puts them in the extreme poor category , to overcome this the farmer cultivates and uses more land which results in Cocoa glut and environmental destruction thereby reducing the price . So in a nutshell chocolate manufacturer and retailers make money at the expense of poor farmer.