Cacaofruit Is Its Own Category Now. And Kaoba Got There First.
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You know kombucha. You know kefir. You know oat milk. Every few years, a new ingredient breaks through and rewrites what people expect from a drink. Cacaofruit is doing that right now.
What Is Cacaofruit?
Cacaofruit — also written as cacao fruit — is the tropical fruit that grows on the Theobroma cacao tree, the same tree that gives us chocolate. Each cacao pod contains up to 50 beans surrounded by a white, juicy pulp. The chocolate industry ferments and dries the beans. The cacaofruit juice — sweet, tropical, alive — has historically been left behind.
Until now.
Cacaofruit juice tastes nothing like chocolate. It's light and refreshing, with natural notes of pear, lychee, and citrus. It's naturally sweet, low in calories, and completely free from added sugar. If you've never tried a cacaofruit drink, you're not alone — but that's changing fast.
A Whole New Drink Category
The global drinks market has a new entrant: cacaofruit beverages. Not coffee. Not cacao powder. Not hot chocolate. Pure, cold-pressed cacaofruit juice — sparkling or still — made from the fresh fruit of the cacao tree.
It's a category that didn't have a name five years ago. It does now. Cacaofruit drinks sit alongside premium soft drinks, functional beverages, and low-calorie sparkling drinks — but they're in a class of their own. No other drink tastes like cacaofruit. No other ingredient has this story.
Demand for upcycled food and drink is accelerating. Consumers in 2025 and 2026 want ingredients that are traceable, low-waste, and genuinely interesting. Cacaofruit ticks every one of those boxes — and it happens to taste extraordinary.
Why Kaoba Is Leading the Cacaofruit Drink Movement
Kaoba is the UK's first sparkling cacaofruit soda. Two ingredients: upcycled cacaofruit juice (~45%) and sparkling water. No added sugar. No flavourings. 90 kcal per 250ml can.
We source our cacaofruit from Ecuador — one of the world's most prized cacao-growing regions — working through Barry Callebaut's Cabosse Naturals, who work directly with farmers to capture the juice before it becomes waste. Full traceability from pod to can.
Kaoba won a Great Taste Award in 2025 — the benchmark for food and drink quality in the UK. Wine critic Jancis Robinson described it as "perhaps the most unusual and distinctive non-alcoholic drink to turn up on my doorstep recently." We don't chase trends. We're making one.
Kaoba is already stocked across independent delis, health cafés, bars, and restaurants across the UK — and the list is growing. Bartenders love it as a mixer. Health-conscious consumers love it as a standalone sparkling drink. Anyone who's tried a cacaofruit soda for the first time tends to ask the same question: why hasn't this existed before?
The Bigger Picture: Upcycled Cacaofruit and What It Means
Millions of metric tonnes of cacaofruit pulp are discarded globally every single year. It's one of the most significant food waste stories in the world, hiding in plain sight inside every chocolate bar you've ever eaten.
Cacaofruit drinks like Kaoba are part of a growing movement in upcycled beverages — drinks made from ingredients that would otherwise go to waste. This isn't a niche idea anymore. It's where the best innovation in food and drink is happening. And cacaofruit is, arguably, the most compelling ingredient in that space.
The taste is there. The story is there. The category is forming — and Kaoba is at the front of it.
Try the UK's First Sparkling Cacaofruit Soda
Follow the category as it grows at @drinkkaoba on Instagram.
Cacaofruit is having its moment. Taste it before everyone else catches up.