After tapping on forward-looking market insights and a deep understanding of its customers and consumers in the region, Cargill is all set to demonstrate its high-quality gourmet products and versatile solutions for chocolate, compounds, fillings & coatings and decorations, specially tailored for chefs and food professionals in the hospitality industry at this week’s Food & Hotel Asia (FHA) in Singapore which opens today.
Read: April Issue of Food Infotech Magazine.
“We are seeing a growing consumer appetite for indulgent experiences and higher ingredient consciousness. Across APAC, consumers have shown that they prioritize rich flavors and attractive visuals when it comes to indulgence, and they desire to maintain good health from their food and beverage choices. Inspired by these trends, the gourmet chocolate innovations we are bringing to FHA will enable our foodservice customers in APAC to develop delightful culinary offerings which consumers want to enjoy. At the same time, our bean-to-bar capabilities in Asia, from sustainable sourcing commitment to product co-creation, position us to deliver even greater value as our customers’ partner of choice for innovation and growth,” shared Xiaoling Liu, Indulgence Leader, Food Solutions Asia Pacific, Cargill.
“Experience It” is a key theme revealed in Cargill’s 2024 TrendTracker proprietary research which provides annual insights into global & regional consumer food & beverage trends. Consumers place a high level of importance on experiences. Through their food and drink, consumers seek experiences that are novel and exciting, nostalgic and comforting, indulgent and pampering. The TrendTracker reported that 33% of APAC consumers believe that rich flavors and tastes are essential for an indulgent experience, and caramel in particular proves popular, as 2 in 5 consumers are most interested in caramel flavors among emerging flavors of chocolate or chocolate products. To meet this consumer desire, Cargill is presenting its range of creative gourmet chocolate solutions with complex caramel flavors, including:
– Pâtissier by Aalst Chocolate Chocolate Artisan Sol, the easy-to-use chocolate caramel buttons with strong creamy and nutty profile;
– Pâtissier by Aalst Chocolate Chocolate Artisan Milk Carmelo, the smooth milk chocolate that reveals a strong creamy and caramel first note with a hint of nuttiness profile;
– Veliche Euphoria Caramel, easy-to-use white chocolate caramel buttons offering rich and intense caramel with cookie notes and a hint of saltiness and balanced caramelized sugar on the finish.
Moreover, to add to the consumer’s sensory experience and to enhance the creations’ visual appeal and flavors, Cargill is featuring its Pâtissier by Aalst Chocolate Prismatic Coating and Filling, ready-to-use flavored pastes that carry a strong, milky and creamy profile alongside its distinctive flavors and colors and a wide and ever-evolving portfolio of Smet & Leman decorations that focus on bringing visual excitement and signature customization to each chef’s creations through the impact of color, shapes and personalized designs.
Meanwhile, the “Healthy for Me” theme in the TrendTracker reflected that more consumers today are proactively adopting a holistic approach to health, being more thoughtful and deliberate regarding their food and beverage choices and are more selective about ingredients that go into their foods. Based on the report, sugar is the top ingredient that APAC consumers are actively trying to limit in their diet. When it comes to chocolate, 50% of APAC consumers prefer dark chocolate for its less sweet taste profile and hold the perception that the darker the chocolate, the healthier and more premium it is. In response, Cargill’s high cocoa percentage range with Pâtissier by Aalst Chocolate Chocolate Artisan Dark 85% Chocolatier and Pâtissier by Aalst Chocolate Chocolate Artisan Dark Single Origin Ghana 75% coverture with high cocoa content allows endless possibilities for chefs and food professionals to create alternatives with lower sweetness levels without compromising the richness and intensity of flavor.
To showcase how our products have been developed by chefs for chefs, winner of the prestigious Meilleur Ouvrier de France (MOF) competition, Chef Bruno Pastorelli will demonstrate innovative recipes and applications with Cargill’s range of gourmet cocoa and chocolate solutions. Alongside Chef Bruno, Cargill’s team of international chefs will also take the stage with their culinary expertise to whip up delectable chocolate creations with Cargill‘s gourmet chocolate products at the exhibition booth.
Being a leading Asian cocoa & chocolate producer, Cargill is committed to serving the Asian market and beyond with “from Asia for Asia” bean-to-bar solutions, leveraging its extensive cocoa sourcing networks, state-of-the art production capabilities and its deep R&D and innovation expertise.
Within Asia, Cargill has been accelerating sustainable cocoa sourcing practices in Indonesia for more than 10 years, complemented by a world-class cocoa processing plant in the country that also houses Asia’s most advanced cocoa development center. Later this year, the plant in Gresik is set to complete enhancements to its production lines that will support the development of premium cocoa solutions through flavor and color customization.
In Singapore, Cargill operates the Aalst Chocolate manufacturing plant which exports products to over 50 countries and the Chocolate Academy which serves as a hub for innovation and co-creation with customers, supported by Cargill’s four food innovation centers across Asia. As a food solutions provider with one of the most comprehensive portfolios in the industry, Cargill is also able to offer its cocoa & chocolate customers access to a wide array of ingredients and solutions, such as specialty fats from edible oils – all of which well positions the company to deliver value, innovation and growth for customers across the region.