Birmingham Chocolate Eyes Sugar-Free With Acquisition
Michigan-based manufacturer Birmingham Chocolate announced it has acquired one of its customers – sugar-free, dark chocolate brand Macalat. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The deal was a “culmination of three years of business” between the two companies, reported Birmingham CEO Doug Cale.
Macalat, based in Durham, N.C., uses an innovative formulation featuring MycoTechnology’s mushroom mycelium to temper the bitterness of dark chocolate. The brand’s organic “sweet dark chocolate” relies on monkfruit as a sweetener and maca, lucuma, vanilla and cinnamon for additional “superfood” benefits.
The result is a 70% couverture dark chocolate that Cale describes as a “smooth, rich chocolate experience.”
“In my view, this is the most exciting innovation in chocolate since Hershey introduced milk chocolate,” Cale said in a press release.
Birmingham, which has a full portfolio of manufacturing capabilities, plans to build on Macalat’s “strong support of loyal grassroots consumers” by expanding the brand into new formats and line extensions.
Next month, Birmingham plans to expand Macalat’s single-SKU product line with new Quinoa and Raspberry bars. New packaging and formats are also coming in the form of Bark Thins with popped quinoa and Macalat-covered mango and dates available in resealable stand-up pouches.
The deal positions Birmingham deeper in dark chocolate and opens up opportunities in health-conscious, low-glycemic and functional chocolate subcategories.
The trend toward more reduced-sugar, premium chocolate options trailblazed by Lily’s has only grown since that brand was acquired by The Hershey Company in 2021. Challenger brands like Spring & Mulberry, Harken and Bon AppéSweet have adopted a date-sweetened approach to reducing or excluding refined sugar from the nutritional panel.
The bleed of mushroom-laced coffee has fit into the chocolate category with Raaka, JOYÀ and Alice all marketing toward functional indulgence.
Consolidation could be one solution to the market fluctuations in the cocoa industry, protecting from revenue declines in certain segments while consolidating raw ingredients and revenues under one business.
