Environment
Cocoa Butter
Turning waste into revenue – A circular cocoa breakthrough
The challenge
Cocoa butter is a readily available byproduct of cocoa processing, and its supply often exceeds demand. What if we found new applications for it where it became the hero ingredient? That’s what we helped our client achieve. By turning it into a premium spread sold in Dutch supermarkets.
Our client wanted to create multi-million euro revenue streams from cocoa butter, mostly unused outside of confectionery. But how do you know where to play and win?
The services
No items found.
Our approach
After identifying "spreads" as the most promising category, we developed several concepts and tested them with different consumer personas. Using quick-turn landing pages and behavioral experiments, we were able to measure genuine interest and gain evidence on market acceptance before the client invested heavily in R&D and product development.
Crucially, these experiments were conducted without any edible prototypes. Instead, the insights we gathered helped us clearly define the sensorial and behavioral expectations of consumers, which we then used to create a comprehensive R&D brief for the technical teams.
The outcome
A plant-based cocoa butter spread emerged as a clear winner, which we validated through a viral “smoke test” and developed into a full product by an external partner. It's now stocked nationally at Albert Heijn and Jumbo, with expansion plans underway.
Learn more
We help companies turn by-products into bestsellers. Ready to build your next circular venture?
