Barry Callebaut Group has launched two new dairy-free chocolate products to better serve consumers seeking vegan confectionery options.

The chocolate and cocoa manufacturer announced the launch of its Plant Craft Dairy-Free “Milk-Like” Chocolate and its Dairy-Free Plant-Based High Protein Coating during BC LIVE, a series of webinars highlighting how chocolate products can fit into special dietary lifestyles such as vegan, keto and paleo.

The Dairy-Free “Milk-Like” Chocolate was created to offer a creamy, milk chocolate-like flavor and mouthfeel without dairy ingredients. It’s also kosher pareve. 

The Dairy-Free Plant-Based High Protein Coating is chocolate-based and contains 20 percent protein, with pea protein being the main source. It’s also non-GMO, kosher and halal.

Barry Callebaut noted 10 percent of U.S. consumers are avoiding dairy, while 15 percent of Millennials and Centennials are doing so. Four percent of U.S. consumers are following a vegan diet, which is double the global average.

Meanwhile, just over 20 percent of U.S. consumers identify as flexitarians, meaning they eat plant-based foods most of the time.

“When it comes to the vegan diet, it is really a lifestyle choice,” said Sophia Bischof, associate brand manager, Barry Callebaut. “For many followers, the vegan claim is not only important on food packaging but also in other consumption decisions...The vegan and plant-based lifestyle is also becoming more holistic in the same sense that ‘is it good for me and is it good for the planet?’”