Chocolate-and-Cheese Products Gain Ground in Brazil

The project moved forward after the company opened a new factory and branch in Santa Rita do Sapucaí, in Minas Gerais. The expansion placed the operation closer to an area associated with cheese and other dairy production.

The products combine cocoa from Bahia with cheese and dulce de leche from Minas Gerais. The range includes a Canastra cheese and dulce de leche chocolate bar, as well as a milk-based white chocolate containing blue cheese.

Formulating the bars required the cheese to remain identifiable without overwhelming the chocolate. The Canastra version pairs a creamy texture with sweetness, while the blue-cheese product has a stronger and more aromatic profile.

The cheese is used as more than an additional component. It changes the sensory character of the bars and places a normally savoury ingredient within a category centred on chocolate. Marcela said the combination can initially surprise consumers, with their response changing after tasting it.

At the Americas stage of the International Chocolate Awards’ Bean-to-Bar and Craft Chocolatier competition, held in August 2026, the Canastra cheese and dulce de leche bar won a silver medal. The white chocolate with blue cheese received bronze.

The Canastra product had also collected four other awards over the preceding two years. Those recognitions included a silver medal at the 2025 Academy of Chocolate Awards in the “Flavoured Chocolate Bars” category.

The products are designed to keep the chocolate and cheese perceptible together rather than allowing either one to replace or dominate the other. Their flavour profile combines sweetness, saltiness and the cheeses’ pronounced aromas in the same serving.