Being recently named as one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies is a satisfying validation for Cambridge, Ont.’s Blendtek.

But in addition to receiving the recognition, the blended food product company also recently partnered with a major U.S. agricultural company on what might become the future of chocolate.

“NextCoa is a confectionary alternative to chocolate in North America, and something that Cargill and (Oakland, Calif.-based) Voyage Foods had been working on for a number of years now but just recently it’s become available in North America,” Rob Bianchin, co-chief executive officer at Blendtek, said to FoodNX during an interview.

The partnership was originally started in 2023, he said, as the company become a distributor of some of Cargill's products. The Minneapolis-based firm operates in more than 70 countries and has 160 years of experience. Its Canadian arm is based in Winnipeg.

Even though it is a private, family-owned company, Cargill reported US$154 billion in revenue in fiscal year 2025.

New way of producing "chocolate-like" experience

The development of NextCoa will provide producers with another option, without some of the downsides of deploying cocoa the traditional way, Bianchin explained.

“What we’re seeing is this really dynamic cocoa landscape over the last little while, and because of that, there’s lots of companies that are looking for ways to augment the chocolate and cocoa products that they’re providing.”

There are a number of advantages to using this plant-based ingredient, as it also has no major allergens.

“We’ve seen some opportunities surface in the school-safe programs, for example, where they’re concerned about allergies. You’re still able to deliver that chocolatey-like indulgent experience but without cocoa,” Bianchin said.

By using NextCoa, it can provide producers with a “reliable supply and stable pricing,” amidst volatile times, he said.

“Also, there’s a great sustainability story around how this product is created. It actually uses 95 per cent lower water footprint, 90 per cent lower land-use impact, and 61-per-cent reduction in carbon footprint because they’re using upcycled grape seeds as part of the process.”

Unpredictable environment for cocoa

The cocoa market has experienced “unprecedented volatility in recent years,” according to a recent report by Deloitte. It cites such pressures as disease, climate change and regulatory issues that are plaguing the global trade in cocoa.

Prices skyrocketed between 2022 and 2024, the report said, but have since stabilized. However, there are other major factors affecting the market.

“Consumer behaviour is shifting rapidly. Searches on the web for ‘healthy chocolate’ have doubled in four years and reached an all-time high in early 2026. Consumers increasingly demand low- or zero-sugar formulations and functional benefits: The rise of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs is also influencing food choices, with consumers becoming more conscious of sugar and calorie intake,” according to the report.

For Blendtek, the recognition from a major industry partner provides even more validation of its original vision.

“My business partner, Steve (Zinger), and I started the business over 12 years ago with a focus on disrupting an industry that was very traditional in how they operated. We came up with the slogan: ingredient distribution done differently.”

The company operates in three different categories: it helps food manufacturers solve complex technical problems such as new labelling requirements; it also distributes ingredients to manufacturers; and it helps companies by “developing value-added blended solutions,” Bianchin said.

“We might have a customer that is looking for us to create a mix of these different ingredients together to help with streamlining their business operations, so that they’re not weighing out all these individual ingredients in their operations. Instead, they can take one bag of it from us and put it into their production process, and it really makes things more efficient for them.”

Expanding market knowledge of Blendtek

Despite these recent successes, the company today remains focussed on building better “brand recognition,” as it moves forward, he said.

“Though we’ve been around for over 12 years as Blendtek, we’re still not globally recognized and need to focus our efforts on being top-of-mind when food manufacturers across North America are looking for either innovative ingredients or solutions to help them with this ever-changing food landscape.”

“That I think is our biggest challenge right now: showing people that we can be a value-added partner for them.”

With negative headlines around food affordability, there are some challenges for companies such as his in a “generally recession-proof industry,” Bianchin said, but there are other considerations coming to the fore.

“We see these shifts in terms of what people are consuming, what they’re willing to spend their dollars on, and with cost of living going up to where it is, our dollars aren’t going as far as they used to, and so it’s really an affordability crisis. It comes down to families that are trying to put food on their tables, and they’re choosing different products,” he said.

As Blendtek continues navigating through a challenging and dynamic food market, the recognition from Canada’s Best Managed companies will fuel that drive, according to Bianchin.

“For us, the milestone really underscores our commitment to our employees, our customers, our partners, and really modernizing an industry that we feel is long defined by tradition.”