Mars Just Announced Its First Animal-Free Chocolate Brand

There are more vegan chocolate options in the world than ever before, and now one of the world's largest confectionery companies is unleashing its own animal-free chocolate brand into the ring. Mars Inc., the manufacturers of Snickers, Skittles, and M&Ms, has just announced their new chocolate brand CO2COA, according to a press release. The animal-free chocolate is Rainforest Alliance Certified, uses paper-based packaging, and features a new animal-free milk protein substitute developed by the company Perfect Day. Mars says that this new product is in line with shifting consumer demands, and its mission to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), producing cocoa beans (the primary ingredient in chocolate) contributes to deforestation in West Africa, which means that it can be devastating to animal habitats in countries like the Ivory Coast or Ghana where most of the world's chocolate is grown (via Statista). According to the WWF, 70% of the illegal deforestation in the Ivory Coast is due to cocoa bean farming. The Rainforest Alliance certification shows that CO2COA is being sourced responsibly, and not contributing to this crisis. Mars has also helped to address this problem in the past by mapping the cocoa genome, leading to cocoa trees that produce three to four times more cocoa beans than other varieties (via WWF).