Sustainable chocolate — not only is it made with more sustainable ingredients, it’s actually made using upcycled ingredients. Grapeseeds from the wine industry typically go to waste, but at Voyage Foods they are using them as the base ingredient to make cacao-free chocolate. Sunflower seeds, natural sugars, and fats are also used. It’s vegan and gluten-free. You might be wondering, what’s wrong with regular cacao? Due to climate change, 50% of harvestable areas are expected to disappear (IPCC study). Cacao requires vast amounts of water to grow, and a simple 100g chocolate bar requires 1,700 litres of water. It’s also, sadly, responsible for child and slave labour, deforestation, and biodiversity loss. There will always be a place for ethically sourced, cacao-based chocolate, and this solution isn’t trying to replace it entirely, but rather supplement the global supply to reduce the damaging effects of mass cacao consumption. Voyage Foods are also working on alternatives to coffee using chickpeas as the base and caffeine from green tea — and honestly, I couldn’t tell the difference. These solutions are incredibly clever, use natural ingredients, and can have a hugely positive impact on our planet once scaled.