ADM Cocoa has introduced a new intense cocoa powder at Gulfood in Dubai this week, tapping into consumer interest in richly coloured and intensely flavoured cocoa products.

Citing Mintel figures, the company says the use of cocoa products with rich, distinctive flavours has increased over the past five years in a range of applications, including bakery, beverages, desserts, cereals, confectionery and ice cream.

The company has a selection of cocoa powders available to food manufacturers, ranging from a light yellowish-red brown to an extra-dark powder, verging on black in colour. Speaking to FoodNavigator at Gulfood, the company explained that the new deZaan D11SQ cocoa powder fills a gap in the range for a dark red-brown powder with the intense flavour that consumers prefer.

Alkalised cocoa is a particularly popular product in the Middle East, the company says. Alkalising the cocoa has two main effects: on the colour (making it darker) and enhancing the intensity of the cocoa flavour.

"In the Middle East, they use a lot of compound cocoa coatings and a lot of alkalised cocoa,” ADM Cocoa spokesperson Wido Roorda said later via email. “Natural cocoa powder tastes a little bit acid and is less expressed in cocoa flavour. Because of the processing, the cocoa note becomes more enhanced. This means that less cocoa can be used to achieve the same flavour intensity.”

This can help manufacturers cut costs without affecting flavour quality, as they can use smaller amounts of cocoa powder to achieve the same result.

 The company says the new powder complements other recently released cocoa powders in the deZaan range, including its extra black powder and a powder developed specifically for fermented dairy products.