Process Technologies for soy-based a. Prebiotic milk chocolates, b. Probiotic milk chocolates and c. Synbiotic milk chocolates

Background

Current market offerings and research predominantly focus on chocolate confectionery made from dairy milk, while the use of soymilk—a nutritionally superior alternative—remains largely untapped. Soymilk is naturally cholesterol-free, low in saturated fat, and rich in high-quality protein, minerals, vitamin E, and riboflavin. It also addresses key consumer concerns related to lactose intolerance, dairy allergies, and health-conscious dietary choices. Despite the broad variety of chocolates available in the market, synbiotic chocolate confectionery—combining probiotics and prebiotics with soymilk—represents a novel and highly promising product segment. However, there is a noticeable lack of established processes and commercial products in this space. This presents a unique opportunity to lead innovation by developing and marketing functional, health-oriented soymilk-based chocolate products tailored to the growing demand for plant-based, gut-friendly alternatives. Hence, there is a need to explore the potential of synbiotics in soymilk based chocolate confectionaries.

Technology Details 

Probiotics were added to soymilk based medium, and their physicochemical and sensory qualities, as well as probiotic viability, were studied during storage. When compared to control chocolate, the addition of potential probiotics did not affect the physicochemical qualities. During storage, the viability of the promising probiotic MTCC-5463 in milk chocolate was sufficient. The technology proposed here can be used in future to produce probiotic soymilk based probiotic, prebiotic and synbiotic chocolate in small and/or medium scale.