Koa tackles cocoa crisis with new shot drinks based on cocoa pulp

In recent years, cocoa markets have been battered by climate issues impacting harvests in West African growing regions, supply chain volatility, and crop disease. These issues culminated in record cocoa bean and chocolate prices and disruption to supplies, but also led to novel innovation as companies developed cocoa alternatives to mitigate the ongoing crisis.

Koa unveils shots made from the previously ignored cocoa fruit pulp to offer a novel solution.

The Cologne-based start-up says that, in addition to climate change, the crisis is also attributable to outdated practices within the cocoa industry. Historically, the industry has only been interested in the cocoa bean, leaving about three-quarters of the cocoa fruit unused. 

Utilizing the whole fruit

Working in collaboration with Ghanaian smallholder cocoa farmers, Koa has created a processing method that utilizes the fruit pulp to develop Cocoa Fruit Shots that do not taste like chocolate. 

The pulp has a tropical, fresh taste and is a natural source of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. The shots are also made with 100% natural ingredients and positively impact people and the environment. The flavors are KOA Pure: Cocoafruit, KOA Boost: Ginger, and KOA Energize: Coldbrew.

Although cocoa prices are now beginning to stabilize after improvement in the weather and harvests and a decline in demand, concerns remain that this period of respite might not last, and there will be a return to a surge in prices. 

Koa’s innovation can go some way toward influencing broader change in the cocoa and chocolate industries, especially in the face of climate disruption and supply volatility.

Company co-founder and CEO Anian Schreiber tells Food Ingredients First how Koa’s innovation provides a dual contribution to the resilience of the cocoa sector. Farmers who partner with Koa receive a second income through the utilization of the cocoa fruit pulp. As a result, these farmers now earn nearly twice as much additional premium as with Fairtrade and over six times more than with Rainforest Alliance, he says. 

Furthermore, all payments to the cocoa farmers are verified using blockchain technology and are accessible to all consumers. 

“By utilizing the cocoa fruit pulp, we create an additional income stream for smallholder farmers that is independent of the volatile cocoa bean price. This offers farmers a much-needed financial buffer against price swings and crop failures caused by climate change. Secondly, the holistic utilization of the fruit contributes to sustainability by reducing food waste by up to 40%,” Schreiber adds.

“Beyond this, in close cooperation with local farming cooperatives, we are actively implementing Dynamic Agro Forestry principles. This approach not only helps farmers increase their cocoa yields while significantly reducing the CO2 footprint of cocoa cultivation, but also diversifies their income streams through the integration of other valuable food crops.” 

Koa co-found and CEO Anian Schreiber.

Overcoming challenges

Koa tackled two main challenges in developing a product from a previously ignored part of the cocoa fruit — both in terms of food safety and flavor profile.

“The first challenge was purely logistical and related to food safety and shelf life: the pulp’s high sugar and moisture content make it prone to rapid, spontaneous fermentation immediately after the pod is opened. Our solution was to develop solar-powered Community Mobile Processing Units for on-farm extraction and pasteurization within hours.” 

“This preserves the pulp’s fresh, tropical taste — a blend of lychee and peach — and ensures it’s safe. The second challenge centered on flavor adoption for an end-consumer product. While the cocoa fruit’s taste is supremely pleasant, it’s virtually unknown to consumers who only associate ‘cocoa’ with chocolate. The hurdle is making them fall in love with this unfamiliar flavor profile immediately upon trial.” 

To overcome this, instead of launching a single, mono-flavor shot, Koa created an entire portfolio of shots, allowing them to blend the distinctive cocoa fruit taste with more familiar, complementary flavors, such as ginger or coffee, to ease consumer acceptance and demonstrate the fruit’s versatility.

Vast potential 

Schreiber says that cocoa fruit pulp has potential for use in other F&B applications, beyond shots. 

“The potential for cocoa fruit pulp is vast, and our vision extends far beyond our initial cocoa fruit shots. Our background as an ingredient provider means we have developed vast experience and numerous use cases for how the cocoa fruit can be applied across the industry. We see enormous potential in the beverage sector, particularly for functional drinks.” 

“The pulp’s natural properties, including a high content of minerals and natural sugars, make it an ideal, clean label base for next-generation products, such as energy drinks and other functional beverages. The natural proximity to chocolate is obvious, which is why the pulp can be transformed into innovative applications like chocolate tablets, bars, drink powders, and many more confectionery items.” 

“We have an entire portfolio of products in the pipeline, and our intention is not to stop at shots, but to successfully establish the cocoa fruit as an entirely new food category,” he says.

Koa focuses on strategic partnerships with large F&B manufacturers and retailers to bring cocoa fruit ingredients into the mainstream and increase demand.

“While we cannot name specific names yet, the momentum is very positive as major companies recognize the need to diversify their supply chains and make them more resilient.”

The Cocoa Fruit Shots will be presented to the public for the first time at the forthcoming Anuga trade fair, which will be held from October 4 to 8 in Cologne, Germany.