Leading premium chocolate brand Cacao Barry has announced that its WholeFruit Chocolate, made from 100 percent pure cacaofruit, is the first-ever chocolate to be Upcycled Certified by the Upcycled Food Association (UFA).

Cacao Barry’s Evocao WholeFruit Chocolate was introduced one year ago on June 7, 2021, highlighting fresh fruity tastes with no added refined sugars, no lecithin and no vanilla. Evocao is the first expression of WholeFruit chocolate, with its bright, citrusy, tangy signature taste complemented by what marks Evocao: a tropical fruitiness bursting with fresh mango, lemon, mandarin, passion fruit, and cacaofruits pulp, an expression of Dominican Republic and Ecuador cacaofruits.

WholeFruit Chocolate has given value to the pulp of the cacaofruit that used to be discarded by being good for the environment, bringing an added revenue stream to the farmers and offering a new fresh and fruity taste to the world of chocolate. Recently, Evocao WholeFruit Chocolate was awarded the 2022 World Food Innovation for Best Artisan Product.

“Evocao being Upcycled Certified means a big step in our industry toward a sustainable cocoa farming that will engender other industries to follow,” says Chef Dimitri Fayard, head chef at Chicago Chocolate Academy. “By using Evocao, I know I am making the planet a little better.”

“In 2022, upcycling is a giant leap forward in the world of chocolate and an example of good practices that will make all the difference for the good of our planet,” says Chef Nicolas Dutertre, head chef at Montreal Chocolate Academy.

The Upcycled Certification program is the world’s first third-party certification program for upcycled food ingredients and products. The certification highlights upcycled ingredients and products procured and produced with surplus food or food-byproducts from manufacturing that use verifiable supply chains and positively impact the environment.

“Eliminating food waste is the single most effective thing people can do to address climate change,” says Turner Wyatt, UFA co-founder and chief executive officer. “Thanks to the launch of Upcycled Certified, reducing food waste becomes much easier. Upcycling is an innovative approach because it’s the first consumer product-based solution to food waste, making it highly scalable and economically sustainable.”

“This is incredible news for the entire team that has been involved in this project,” says Chef Ramon Morató, Cacao Barry creative director. “WholeFruit chocolate is not just a chocolate, it is a movement and with the commitment of the chefs, we are changing the way of understanding chocolate. This news is confirmation that the path we have taken is in the right direction.”