Cargill and Voyage Foods to bring NextCoa™ cocoa-free confectionery alternatives to North America
MINNEAPOLIS – May 12, 2026 – Cargill and Voyage Foods are bringing NextCoa™, an award-winning confectionery alternative to chocolate, to North America, starting in the United States. The product delivers a chocolatey-like taste consumers expect without cocoa, using innovative ingredients and familiar chocolate-making processes.
“The NextCoa™ line is about expanding choice, not replacing chocolate but redefining what’s possible,” said Kojo Amoo-Gottfried, vice president and managing director of Cocoa and Chocolate for Cargill Food North America. “It unlocks a new way for manufacturers to create the flavors and indulgent experiences people love while building resilience into the food system.”
NextCoa™ confectionery alternatives to chocolate are crafted from plant-based ingredients, utilizing grape seeds from wine-making, helping improve pricing stability and availability. The product also delivers measurable environmental benefits, including a 61% lower carbon footprint compared to conventional chocolate.*
The cocoa-free offering is formulated without major allergens, free from dairy, soy, peanuts and tree nuts,** expanding options for both food manufacturers and consumers. It is also vegan, Kosher pareve and Halal suitable.
NextCoa™ products combine Voyage Foods’ patented technology with Cargill’s formulation expertise and supply chain scale to bring new food innovations to market.
“We built Voyage Foods to rethink how the world’s favorite foods are made,” said Adam Maxwell, CEO and Founder of Voyage Foods. “With Cargill, we can scale that vision, making our approach to chocolatey-like foods accessible to even more manufacturers.”
In the U.S., the NextCoa™ line is available in Mild (milk-chocolatey-style) and Dark Mild (a blend of dark and milk chocolatey-like flavors) varieties. Formats are suited for a wide range of applications from inclusions in bars, baked goods and ice cream to coatings for snacks and confectionery treats like truffles.
Through their commercial partnership, Cargill serves as the exclusive global business-to-business distributor for Voyage Foods. Cargill is working with regional partners including Blendtek to supply U.S. customers and plans to expand to customers in Canada soon.
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* Third-party verified Life Cycle Assessment, conducted in accordance with ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 standards.
**In unopened, original packaging only.
About Cargill
Cargill is committed to providing food, ingredients, agricultural solutions, and industrial products to nourish the world in a safe, responsible, and sustainable way. Sitting at the heart of the supply chain, we partner with farmers and customers to source, make and deliver products that are vital for living.
Our 155K+ employees innovate with purpose, providing customers with life’s essentials so businesses can grow, communities prosper, and consumers live well. With 160 years of experience as a family company, we look ahead while remaining true to our values. We put people first. We reach higher. We do the right thing—today and for generations to come. For more information, visit Cargill.com and our News Center.
Media Contact: media@cargill.com
About Voyage Foods
Voyage Foods is a technology company future-proofing the world’s favorite foods that face uncertain futures. Using its breakthrough technology, Voyage is decoupling foods from traditional source material—creating new alternatives to the food and drink we love in ways that are even more sustainable, scalable, cost effective and comparable in taste and industrial application to their traditional counterparts. Voyage’s products are always made from real, wholesome ingredients and are considered even more sustainable by using less water and land than their traditional counterparts. Focused on spreads produced with no nut or dairy allergens used in the recipe formulation, cocoa-free confectionery and coffee imitation beverages, Voyage sells these products across retail, foodservice, and business to business channels.
Please visit www.VoyageFoods.com to learn more or follow along on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.