Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate has launched a range of coatings and fillings, including coconut oil sourced from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms.

The new products can be used in ice cream, confectionery and bakery applications.

Cargill said the products were the first to use Rainforest Alliance Certified coconut oil, sourced through a mass balance model as an ingredient.

“The demand from consumers for sustainably sourced ingredients is well established,” said Inge Demeyere, managing director of Cargill’s chocolate activities in Europe.

“Cargill’s cocoa and chocolate business is already a leader in implementing standards for cocoa sustainability supporting farmers and their communities through training and expertise with the Cargill Cocoa Promise – so the move to offering coatings and fillings using sustainably sourced coconut oil was a good next step.”

The new coatings and fillings replace conventional coconut oil with the product sourced from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms. Cargill said the range provided the “same great sensory impression and quality”, while adding value to customers’ recipes.

“Ethical brand positioning is an increasingly important driver for our customers’ products and brand enhancement. By providing our customers with supply chain integrity and certified ingredients via products such as our coatings and fillings, including coconut oil sourced from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms on a mass balance basis, they can position their products to appeal to the growing number of ethically aware consumers,” added Demeyere.