SEMI-FINISHED COCOA PRODUCTS FOR THE FOOD INDUSTRY

Organic cocoa mass (liquor), cocoa powder, cocoa butter and cocoa nibs are key ingredients in numerous sweets, baked goods, drinks and milk products. Pure cocoa butter is also a popular natural ingredient in a variety of personal care products.

PRONATEC has been established in the world of organic cocoa for about 30 years. Since 2022 we have been producing our semi-finished cocoa products ourselves at our own cocoa production facility in Switzerland, PRONATEC Swiss Cocoa Production, the world’s first exclusively organic cocoa processing plant. Because we only process certified organic beans, any mixing with non-organic cocoa can be completely ruled out. The fact that we have seen a significant reduction in pesticide cases validates our decision to go for a purely organic plant. The quality characteristics of our cocoa mass, also known as cocoa liquor, as well as our butter, powder and nibs mean that they remain stable for a long time, making them ideal for the modern, efficient finishing processes in the food and cosmetics industries. Our cocoa mass, powder and nibs are distinguished by their full, well-balanced flavour.

From procurement through fermentation and export to processing and wholesale, the entire value chain of semi-finished cocoa products is in PRONATEC’s hands. This means that all our products can be traced back to the smallholders.

All our semi-finished cocoa products are handled in strictly separated batches: each batch of beans is processed separately, with no mixing. This enables us to comply with the strict and demanding criteria of organic and fair trade labels. Our cocoa mass always comes from one specific country of origin or even from a single cooperative (“single origin”). For our cocoa powder and cocoa butter, we use bean blends with a high proportion of cocoa beans from our subsidiary YACAO in the Dominican Republic.

All our cocoa masses or liquors, butters, powders and nibs are certified organic. No synthetic pesticides or artificial fertilisers are used during the cultivation of organic cocoa. The entire value chain is certified organic – from the smallholder organisations to the semi-finished products.

It is very important to us that the smallholder farmers receive a fair price for their products. That’s why all of our organically produced semi-finished cocoa products are certified as fair trade.

The fair trade premiums help farming families to demonstrably improve their living conditions. For example, the money can be used to finance further training for small farmers, ecological projects, school buildings and school materials for the children of small farmers. The entire production chain is free from child labour.

In 2024, we paid out 2’111’370 US dollars in fair trade premiums together with our customers. Learn more about how your purchase of fair trade products makes a difference.

Here you will find detailed information on our range of organic cocoa mass (liquor), butter, powder and nibs.