CHICAGO --Cacao Barry, the world’s leading premium chocolate brand for artisans and chefs since 1842, announced today that its WholeFruit Chocolate, made from 100% pure cacaofruit, is the first-ever chocolate to be Upcycled Certified^TM by the Upcycled Food Association (UFA). Artisans and chefs will now be able to make an intelligent purchasing decision, knowing they will be receiving upcycled certified chocolate for the first time historically.

Cacao Barry’s Evocao^TM WholeFruit Chocolate was introduced to the world on June 7th, 2021, and revolutionized the confectionery industry by highlighting fresh fruity tastes with no added refined sugars, no lecithin, and no vanilla. Evocao^TM is the first expression of WholeFruit chocolate, with its bright, citrusy, tangy signature taste complemented by what marks Evocao^TM: a tropical fruitiness bursting with fresh mango, lemon, mandarin, passion fruit, and cacaofruits pulp, an expression of Dominican Republic and Ecuador cacaofruits. Made for and by chefs, not only does WholeFruit Chocolate provide a unique sensory of flavors and nutritional values, but it has given value to the pulp of the cacaofruit that used to be discarded: it's good for the environment, it brings an added revenue stream to the farmers, and it offers an exciting new fresh and fruity taste to the world of chocolate! Recently, Evocao^TM WholeFruit Chocolate has been awarded the 2022 World Food Innovation for Best Artisan Product.

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

Chef Nicolas Dutertre, Head Chef at Montreal Chocolate Academy^TM echoed similar sentiments. “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.”

In late April 2022, The Upcycled Food Association (UFA), the premier trade association for the upcycled industry, announced the expansion of its Upcycled Certified^TM program into Canada after seeing success in the U.S. market. 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 CEO. “Thanks to the launch of Upcycled Certified^TM, 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.”

Now that WholeFruit chocolate has received the Upcycled Certification by the UFA, artisans and brands will be able to provide customers with creations that align with their environmentally-conscious principles. Becoming UFA certified strengthens Cacao Barry’s core values to eliminate food waste while delivering high-quality chocolate. WholeFruit chocolate becoming Upcycled Certified^TM by the UFA establishes the product solution as a pioneer within the confectionery industry and solidifies the company’s commitment to sustainability efforts. Evocao^TM joins a suite of products from Cabosse Naturals, Barry Callebaut’s specialist cacaofruit brand, already certified via the UFA. Cabosse Naturals contributes to this movement with its upcycled cacaofruit ingredients.

As Chef Ramon Morató, Cacao Barry Creative Director concludes, “This is incredible news for the entire team that has been involved in this project. 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.”

For more information on the Upcycled Food Association, please visit www.upcycledfood.org/.

WholeFruit chocolate is currently available in select countries throughout Europe, EEME, Asia, and the Americas. For more information on WholeFruit chocolate, please visit https://www.cacao-barry.com/en-US/wholefruit-chocolate-revolution.

About Cacao Barry® (www.cacao-barry.com)

Explorers of cacao flavor excellence and protectors of its diversity since 1842, we share the whole cacaofruit flavor experience, from nature to plate, with farmers and chefs.

A favorite among creative chefs in more than 90 countries, Cacao Barry, rooted in its French pastry heritage, offers a wide variety of fine flavor chocolates which cacaofruits and beans are carefully selected from exceptional plantations in Latin America, Africa and Asia.

Fostering strong stimulating international chef communities is at the heart of Cacao Barry efforts to bring motivating inspirations to chefs, supported by their influential Ambassador network and the 26 Chocolate Academy^TM centers around the world. Cacao Barry is committed to a responsible and sustainable future, with the goal to offer 100% sustainable chocolates by 2025. It already reached the milestone to have 100% sustainably sourced beans in 2020.

Thanks to its Thriving nature commitment, Cacao Barry aims to ensure sustainable growth of the chocolate sector through a movement that includes farmers, civil society, industry, governments and chocolate lovers supporting the Cocoa Horizons Program.

Cacao Barry empowers all creative chefs, masters and the next generation, to engage fully, to reach their vision: to express their true nature.

About The Upcycled Food Association (www.upcycledfood.org)

The Upcycled Food Association (UFA) is a nonprofit focused on reducing food waste by growing the upcycled food economy. Through networking, advocacy, and consumer education, the Upcycled Food Association is building a food system in which all food is elevated to its highest and best use. Our Member businesses represent the next generation of sustainable food. To learn more, visit www.upcycledfood.org.