June News & AMA | #PSC 208
OVERVIEW: Episode 208 of #PodSaveChocolate features chocolate and cocoa news fit to eat, as well as the monthly live AMA (Ask Me Anything about chocolate or cocoa) for June 2026.
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Episode 208 Overview
In this episode: Chocolate News that’s Fit to Eat™ for June 2026.
The Ongoing Saga of the Cost of Cocoa
& the new TCL Cocoa Market Report
| MARKETS |
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| Barchart.com Futures Prices / Futures Overview |
| Trading Economics Chart |
| TradingCharts.com 1977 Baseline |
| ICCO Pricing Stats |
What might be interesting for a small chocolate maker/chocolatier?
I created a bot that scans news sources for stories I might have missed while manually reviewing my feeds. I now share this weekly email (lightly edited to remove links to the service itself) with ALL premium members of TheChocolateLife. Following are some highlights from the June 1 – 7 newsletter.
Typical topic areas include:
- Headlines
Pistachio supply squeeze intensifies — Dubai-chocolate demand meets Iran war and weather shocks — Turkish, US, and Iranian harvests all below expectations; Iran disruption hits exports.
FoodNavigator - Industry Moves and Announcements
Consumer-trust issues are now a board-level concern. Hershey's reformulation backlash is a warning for any manufacturer that quietly reduces cocoa solids. Expect more “no-compromise” cocoa claims and front-of-pack storytelling from peers.
Confectionery News - Commodity and Policy Updates
EU Digital Product Passport (DPP) goes live 19 July 2026. Goods in regulated categories — including chocolate and cocoa derivatives — without a registered machine-readable DPP face automated EU customs detention. African exporters are being onboarded now.
Business Insider Markets - Forward-Looking Insight
Chocolate brand owners should expect a split market through year-end — softer bean costs, but tighter compliance costs (EU DPP, EUDR, CSRD).
More thoughts on alt.cocoas
As I started to point out in last Friday’s episode of #PodSaveChocolate, there is a disconnect in the reporting about cocoa alternatives. And I am not entirely sure what the disconnect means and what should be done about it. What I do know is that none of the “mainstream confectionery news” outlets seem to have alerted to this yet:
- Total cocoa production is about 4 million metric tonnes (plus/minus about 10%)
- Total cocoa production in just Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana is between 60 and 70% of that, so let’s say 2.4 – 2.8 million MT.
- The total installed capacity of ALL forms (cell culturing, precision fermentation (engineered microbes), natural fermentation (naturally occurring yeasts and bacteria), and gas fermentation) of cocoa alternative manufacturing capacity is on the order of 25,000 MT. (That’s between 0.9 – 1.04% of cocoa production from just two countries.)
What are the issues here, really? If the current installed capacity (not production) is around 1% of cocoa production in the two countries:
- What’s all the fuss about?
- Has anyone else asked this question?
- Why are cocoa alternatives being hailed as “the” future of chocolate?
Thinking about what to name and label cocoa alternatives
I have some ideas, but one thing I am sure of, we cannot let it be called “cocoa-free chocolate”. By definition, if the primary ingredients are not derived from tree-grown cocoa, it cannot be labeled chocolate.
I began my career as a professional chocolate critic, journalist, consultant, and educator in mid-May 2001. That means I am celebrating my 25th anniversary as a professional chocolate critic, journalist, consultant, and educator in 2026. To help me celebrate, I hope you will consider becoming a Lifetime Member!
This special offer is available May 25 – June 30, 2026.
Ikigai, TheChocolateLife, and You
Our Next Steps Together …
These will be (are) expressed during the live stream.
Future Episodes
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Clay Gordon
Clay Gordon
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