You might not have even noticed, but in recent years, beloved candy brands like Almond Joy, Mr. Goodbar, and Rolo quietly removed the phrase “milk chocolate” from their packaging.
These subtle changes are easy to overlook. For instance, Mr. Goodbar went from being described as ‘milk chocolate with peanuts’ to simply ‘chocolate candy with peanuts.’ Almond Joy is now a ‘coconut and almond chocolate candy bar,’ and Rolos are marketed as ‘rich chocolate candy’ instead of their former ‘milk chocolate’ label.
My own curiosity was piqued earlier this year after biting into a chocolate bar that just didn’t taste right. It wasn’t expired; it simply wasn’t the flavor I remembered. As a climate reporter, I was aware that global warming has led to severe droughts in West Africa, driving cocoa prices sky-high. I also knew that candy companies had already responded by increasing prices and reducing product sizes.
But a thought struck me: were they also secretly altering the very ingredients of the candy itself?
The answer, it seems, is a resounding yes. Industry experts confirm that skyrocketing cocoa prices have led to a surge in ‘reformulations’ – a fancy term for recipe adjustments. Especially as Halloween approaches and demand for candy peaks, some manufacturers are swapping costly cocoa butter with alternative fats. This change is significant enough that their products no longer qualify as ‘milk chocolate’ under U.S. regulations, forcing them to update their packaging.
This explains why ‘milk chocolate’ (a term strictly regulated by the Food and Drug Administration) is morphing into ‘chocolate candy.’ These aren’t just isolated incidents; armed with advanced confectionery technology, candy scientists are constantly striving to create new recipes that sidestep mandatory label changes, often going unnoticed by average consumers – and even by many within the industry, save for a select few ‘super-taster’ scientists.
From a certain perspective, this is a testament to human ingenuity. As climate change makes certain ingredients harder to come by, the food industry is pouring millions into research and development to adapt to these agricultural shifts. Yet, with hardly any fanfare, the subtle handprint of a changing climate has already made its way into the treats we enjoy.
Over recent years, West Africa, the world’s leading cocoa-growing region, has been hit by prolonged droughts, intense heat, and erratic rainfall, severely impacting cocoa yields. A fast-spreading mealybug infection has only worsened the situation. Adding to these agricultural woes are complex factors like financial speculation, potential tariffs, labor disputes, and other geopolitical issues.
A study released last February by the nonprofit Climate Central highlighted the severity of the problem, revealing that climate change has caused an extra six weeks of extreme heat annually across most West African cocoa-growing areas over the past decade, significantly hindering crop output.
This whirlwind of challenges in the cocoa market has sent prices soaring. By the end of last year, cocoa reached an astounding peak of over $10,000 per ton – roughly four times its 2022 price, as reported by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
Judy Ganes, a seasoned food industry consultant, explains the dilemma: “When climate change exacerbates existing structural problems and diseases, prices inevitably rise. Manufacturers are reluctant to pass these costs directly onto consumers, fearing a drop in sales. Their options are either for consumers to seek alternatives, or for them to reformulate their products.”
While many food industry executives are transparent about the broader trend of reducing cocoa usage to cut costs, they become far more cautious when asked specifically about changes to their own beloved recipes.
During a February earnings call, Hershey’s Chief Financial Officer, Steve Voskuil, acknowledged examining and testing reformulations, stating, “in some parts of our portfolio, over time we’ve made some changes,” while insisting there had been “no consumer impact whatsoever.”
That same month, Nestlé informed investors of over $500 million in savings achieved through recipe reformulations, coinciding with a presentation highlighting high cocoa and coffee prices. When pressed for details, a Nestlé spokesperson clarified that candy contributed only a minor part to these savings, with most coming from streamlining “recipe complexity” and “harmonizing recipes” across various brands.
So, how can discerning candy enthusiasts detect these subtle shifts? I took a deep dive, comparing the current labels of Mr. Goodbar, Rolo caramels, and Almond Joy with historical ingredient lists. My sources included the crowdsourced Open Food Facts database, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s ingredient database, and meticulous data compiled by Richard Hartel, a food science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who annually records the ingredients of popular chocolate bars for his students.
This investigative process also required numerous trips to the grocery store, where I confess to spending an unusually long time scrutinizing the tiny print on Halloween candy variety packs.
My findings suggest that Rolo and Mr. Goodbar have undergone changes since 2023, while Almond Joy appears to have been reformulated between 2020 and 2022. The Hershey Company, the maker of all three candies, chose not to comment. Interestingly, Mr. Goodbar briefly lost its ‘milk chocolate’ classification around 2008 before seemingly reverting.
However, relying solely on package labels offers only a limited view for diligent candy lovers. Food scientists are, after all, experts in subtly modifying recipes to avoid detection by the average palate.
Michelle Frame, a celebrated figure in the industry and founder of the candy development company Victus Ars—known for her groundbreaking work creating flavored Peeps, earning her a spot in the Candy Hall of Fame—offers insights into these tactics.
Even outside her lab, Ms. Frame has observed noticeable changes in everyday treats. She noted a thinner milk chocolate coating on a Snickers bar and discontinued purchasing a beloved brand of chocolate chip cookies after discovering larger chips had been swapped for a cheaper alternative. (A Mars spokeswoman stated that Snickers coatings haven’t changed since a minor reduction in 2019.)
According to Ms. Frame, a frequent method for lowering cocoa expenses involves substituting traditional chocolate coating with ‘compound coating,’ which utilizes vegetable fats instead of cocoa butter. While some popular bars like Butterfinger and Baby Ruth have long used compound coatings, others, such as Almond Joy, have made this transition more recently.
Reformulating candies without a coating presents a greater challenge. Manufacturers are actively exploring convincing substitutes for cocoa butter. Dr. Hartel refers to this as ‘a food scientist’s delight,’ highlighting the complex task of replicating cocoa butter’s unique texture and melt-in-your-mouth sensation – a lucrative endeavor in the industry.
He points out that a tell-tale sign of such a substitution is often the appearance of the word ‘chocolatey’ on a product’s packaging.
Cargill, a major ingredient supplier, has observed a significant rise in demand for chocolate alternatives, according to John Satumba, their director of global edible oil solutions research and development. Cargill has poured $35 million into a Dutch facility dedicated to producing coatings and fillings with reduced cocoa content, and is also constructing a new plant in Ohio to produce chocolate substitutes.
Worldwide, Cargill’s investment in ‘cocoa butter equivalent capabilities’ now totals an impressive $70 million.
Another strategy involves substituting cocoa with readily available ingredients like sugar or various chunky add-ins. Andrew Moriarty, a senior cocoa analyst at Expana, notes that this marks a reversal of a decade-long trend where companies were reducing added sugars to meet consumer preferences. Now, sugar content is subtly on the rise again as it increasingly takes cocoa’s place.
Ms. Frame elaborates that a common trick involves thinning a milk chocolate coating and layering a chocolate compound underneath. Similarly, cookie manufacturers might reduce the size or quantity of chocolate chips, or even combine ‘real’ chocolate chips with compound ones.
While these clever adjustments often go unnoticed by the average shopper, industry insiders share a different perspective.
Eric Schmoyer, Technical Innovations Director at IRCA Group, a chocolate manufacturer, candidly shared, “We all know each other, and behind the scenes, we’re constantly asking, can you believe they’re doing this?”
Although cocoa prices have eased slightly since their winter peak, analysts forecast that the supply shortage is unlikely to disappear, especially with a warming planet. Global chocolate demand continues to grow, and increasing production isn’t a quick fix. Climate change is set to further strain cocoa crops with hotter temperatures and unpredictable rainfall, and new cultivation is restricted by anti-deforestation regulations, according to Mr. Moriarty.
Looking ahead, Dr. Hartel envisions a widening divide in the chocolate market. Premium chocolate will likely maintain its traditional ingredients, with consumers paying increasingly higher prices. Meanwhile, companies will relentlessly seek methods to keep more affordable chocolates accessible, through recipe changes, smaller packaging, or introducing new products with reduced cocoa content.
This Halloween season provides a clear illustration of the latter strategy. Hershey’s current assortment features items like light-green Kit Kats and Cookies ‘n’ Creme Fangs – products that, surprisingly, contain no actual chocolate.
Revisiting my initial mystery: what truly happened to that disappointing chocolate bar? Despite my extensive label comparisons, I found no official changes over five years. Yet, candy scientists assure me many other factors could have been adjusted, such as sourcing beans from a new region, using lower-quality beans, or even changing manufacturers.
Over the past few years, alarming headlines have warned us about how a warming world could reshape our food systems, potentially making staple crops less nutritious, leading to widespread food shortages and hunger. But beyond these grand, frightening scenarios, smaller, subtler changes are already appearing on our plates, discreetly masked by a food industry finding profitability in adaptation.
The future, it seems, might just taste like that disappointing chocolate bar: subtly inferior, whether due to different beans, less cocoa butter, or an increased sugar content.
Or perhaps, I admit, it was just stale.
Mira Rojanasakul contributed reporting.