Nestlé has invented a 70% dark chocolate made only with the fruit of the cocoa, using the grains and the pulp as the only ingredients, without adding refined sugar. To achieve this, the company has developed a natural manufacturing process that allows extracting the pulp and using it in chocolate without compromising taste, texture, or quality.

The cocoa fruit contains grains and pulp. Part of the pulp is used in the fermentation of cocoa beans after they are harvested, but a significant proportion is generally eliminated and the value is lost. Until now it has not been used to naturally sweeten chocolate. So this is an innovation that takes advantage of the sweetness of the cocoa pulp to “provide a pure and novel experience,” says Patrice Bula, director of Nestlé’s Strategic Business Units, Marketing, and Sales.

The company plans to introduce the first product in Japan in the fall in its KitKat Chocolatory store and next year in other countries through different Nestlé brands.