Guittard Chocolate Company, the 150+ year-old San Francisco-based chocolate maker, is excited to announce its dairy-free kosher pareve processing capabilities and its new dairy-free product line, which will include three retail baking chips—Semisweet Chocolate Chips, Extra Dark Chocolate Chips, Akoma Organic Extra Semisweet Chocolate Chips—as well as dairy-free kosher pareve options within the company’s industrial line. These newly dairy-free retail products will make their debut on shelves beginning June 2023. All will be produced on the company’s dedicated dairy-free line at their Fairfield CA facility with the aim of providing consumers with safety and choice in their chocolate. 

“Guittard is already beloved for its high-quality baking staples, and shifting some of our most requested products to dairy-free will continue to bolster trust and usability with allergen-conscious consumers,” says Gary Guittard, CEO of Guittard Chocolate. The introduction of these products expands diverse benefits for consumers, industrial customers and professionals looking for allergen-friendly and kosher pareve options.

Guittard’s Fairfield facility, which opened in 2001, allows the company a dedicated production line that is kosher pareve and free of 14 major food allergens, including dairy, enabling greater flexibility in fulfilling the demand of modern consumers and the needs of industrial customers. The Fairfield facility expanded Guittard’s production beyond their original Burlingame facility, which is peanut-free, tree nut-free, and gluten-free. 

These products will be available on shelves and at Guittard.com for consumers starting this June. The dairy-free attribute were officially announced at this year’s EXPO WEST show for distribution and wholesale purchase.

As the oldest continuously family-owned and operated chocolate company in the United States, Guittard Chocolate Company, now under the fourth and fifth generation of family management, continues to grow with the same innovative spirit and commitment to sustainability that has made it one of the world’s most respected makers and suppliers of premium chocolate over the past 150+ years.

Plant Craft

With Barry Callebaut’s new Plant Craft range, you can make your plant-based creations truly indulgent - in any application. The breadth of product solutions offers you the most comprehensive plant-based portfolio in the industry, according to Barry Callebaut.

Mark Seaman, CMSA, culinary applications chef, Specialties, Barry Callebaut, points out that one of the key groups of consumers who is looking for plant-based options for dessert are not the vegans, vegetarians or lactose-intolerant ones, but Flexitarians.

“So with an even greater percentage of the population (well over half) looking for plant-based alternatives, bakers are incorporating even more alternatives to dairy milk, and sweeteners made from the mucilage (pulp) of the cocoa pod,” he says. “But those consumers seeking plant-based desserts still want the product to look visually appealing and to taste just as good (or better) than traditional desserts.”

Dairy-free chocolates, nut-based vegan decorations & fillings, and new vegan variegates for non-dairy frozen desserts top the list for applications consumers are drawn to today, Seaman adds.

Identifying the needs of consumers is pivotal during Barry Callebaut’s innovation work. They aim to understand the needs of consumer groups to best serve today’s and tomorrow’s consumers in the health & wellness space. Barry Callebaut’s comprehensive “Better For You”-portfolio offers solutions for consumers of any age and allows our customers to develop solutions specifically tailored to the age group they serve.

The continued exploration of consumer needs and views has fueled Barry Callebaut’s plant-based innovation work. Plant-based food is more than hype, it is a trend that is here to stay. Dairy-free compound is its latest portfolio addition to better serve the retail shelves of the future.