Cocoa Inflation Is Reshaping the Industry
In the past few months, cocoa futures have surged over 400%, reaching the highest levels ever recorded. This isn’t just a short-term spike – it’s a sustained price surge that’s forcing chocolate manufacturers to rethink how they operate.
We’ve covered the impact of cocoa prices in many of our blogs over recent years but it remains a challenge that continues to shape the chocolate industry. With inflation, climate pressures, and supply chain volatility still affecting cocoa sourcing, the cost and complexity of chocolate manufacturing show no signs of easing.
From cocoa beans and liquor to cocoa butter, the key ingredients in chocolate production have become significantly more expensive to source and store.
For manufacturers, chocolate is now a high-risk, high-value commodity, where even minor losses can mean hundreds or thousands of £ Pounds, $ Dollars, or € Euros in wasted product.
When Every Kilogram Matters, Waste Is No Longer Acceptable
With ingredients at a premium, every part of the production process is under scrutiny, from transfer efficiency to cleaning routines.
The costs don’t stop at raw materials: energy usage for heating, oil or butter for flushing, extended changeover times, and labour hours all contribute to significant operational expenses.
Yet despite this, many chocolate facilities still depend on outdated liquid transfer methods or accept residual product loss as inevitable.
In today’s economic climate, these practices are more than inefficient. They pose a direct risk to profitability and long-term competitiveness.
Pigging Technology: A Proven Solution for High-Value Chocolate
To address rising costs and reduce waste, an increasing number of chocolate manufacturers are turning to HPS liquid product recovery (a form of “pigging”) technology.
Pigging is a highly effective chocolate processing technology that reclaims residual liquid from the inside of process pipelines after a transfer, cleaning, or changeover.
A specialist, food-grade projectile (the “pig”) is propelled through the pipeline, pushing residual product to its destination and leaving the line virtually product-free and without compromising quality.
Many types of pig are unable to successfully, reliably or efficiently operate with chocolate products.
However, HPS pigs and pigging technology are designed specifically for high-viscosity, temperature-sensitive products like chocolate.
Pigging benefits a wide range of chocolate manufacturers, from those handling bulk cocoa ingredients like cocoa butter and liquor, to companies producing finished chocolate products such as bars, coatings, or filled inclusions.
Whether it’s recovering valuable product during bulk transfers or improving changeovers between recipes and SKUs, pigging delivers efficiency gains across the entire chocolate production chain.
How Pigging Works in Chocolate Manufacturing
In a chocolate manufacturing environment, the pigging process usually takes place at the end of a batch or transfer.
The pig travels through the line, usually propelled using filtered compressed air, safely pushing out the remaining product – whether it’s cocoa liquor, chocolate coating, filling, or any other liquid.
- HPS pigging systems are specially designed for the specific requirements of chocolate:
- High recovery efficiency – up to 99.5% of residual product from full pipelines
- Full bore pipeline contact, even around bends thanks to HPS’s specially designed food-grade pipeline pig
- Hygienic design for clean-in-place (CIP) compatibility
- Automation – HPS pigging systems are automated
This enables faster changeovers, consistent quality, and significant product savings.
Designed for Heat-Sensitive Products: Pigging with Jacketed and Heat-Traced Lines
There are special considerations when working with chocolate. If it cools too quickly, it can crystallise or solidify; if it overheats, it may burn or separate.
These risks make jacketed or heat-traced pipelines essential for maintaining product quality during transfer.
HPS pigging technology for chocolate are fully compatible with jacketed or heat-traced lines. Our technology will:
- Maintain chocolate temperature during product recovery
- Prevent product from sitting stagnant and solidifying
- Preserve product texture and integrity throughout transfer
This ensures high-value chocolate remains usable and saleable, reducing waste, eliminating unnecessary rework, and safeguarding every batch.
Pigging Solves Real Challenges Faced by Chocolate Manufacturers
The chocolate industry is navigating one of its most volatile periods in decades.
In addition to the surge in cocoa prices, manufacturers face a complex mix of pressures: energy cost hikes, labour shortages, sugar reduction initiatives, and rising expectations for sustainability and traceability.
In this context, pigging systems are helping manufacturers improve chocolate production efficiency by:
- Maximising yields and capacity
- Cutting waste disposal and rework volumes
- Eliminating manual cleaning and disassembly
- Reducing butter/oil use for flushing
- Speeding up changeovers times
- Reduced risk of solidification and cross-contamination
And with a typical payback period of just a few months, pigging represents a low-risk, high-impact upgrade for chocolate producers, and manufacturers.
Pigging Enhances Product Quality, Flexibility, and Sustainability
Maintaining product quality in chocolate production requires tight control over every transfer, changeover, and batch.
From batch separation to flavour integrity, pigging plays a vital role in preserving product quality across different chocolate formulations.
HPS pigging systems help manufacturers:
• Improve lot control and traceability by cleanly separating batches
• Prevent cross-contamination when switching between recipes or formulations
• Ensure more of each batch reaches its destination in sellable condition
Pigging also enhances production agility. Manufacturers can run multiple chocolate types or variants on the same line without compromising output or quality, supporting faster changeovers, seasonal launches, and greater product variety.
These efficiency gains also support broader environmental goals by reducing waste, energy usage, and resource consumption across the production line.
Real-World Results from Leading Chocolate Producers
HPS systems are already trusted by some of the world’s leading chocolate and confectionery manufacturers including Nestlé, Ghirardelli, Barry Callebaut, Mondelez, Blommer, and many more.
Here’s what they’re achieving:
- A UK-based chocolate producer reduced product rework from 15% to under 1%, saving over £2 million annually through pigging
- Log House Foods (USA) eliminated the need to flush out 500–600 lbs of chocolate during changeovers – now reduced to minimal residue per run.
- HPS Pigging Technology prevented pipeline blockages and product cross-contamination at a chocolate facility in South America by replacing ineffective compressed air flushing – effectively clearing cocoa butter and liquor from over 300 metres of transfer pipelines ranging from 4″ to 5″ in diameter.
- Multiple manufacturers have reduced changeover times by 30%–70%, improving flexibility and throughput
- High return on investment with payback periods nearly always in less than 12 months
These results demonstrate how pigging plays a key role in improving product recovery, reducing waste, and enhancing production performance.
These are just a few of the results our clients are achieving. Find out more in our chocolate and confectionery pigging system case studies.
Take Action: Turn Your Pipeline Losses into Profit with HPS Pigging Technolog
In a world where chocolate ingredients are more expensive than ever, inefficiency comes at a cost few can afford. Whether you’re producing cocoa liquor, milk chocolate, inclusions, or coatings, every kilogram counts, and every transfer matters.
HPS pipeline product recovery systems help recover what would otherwise be lost as waste.
They’re low risk, easy to integrate, and pay for themselves quickly through reduced waste, faster changeovers, and higher product yields.
Contact HPS today to find out how much your process could recover, and how fast you’ll see a return on investment.