Cacao and Cocoa as Functional Foods: Insights into the Research Landscape, Current Gaps and Future Opportunities

Cacao and Cocoa have attracted growing scientific and commercial interest as candidate functional foods because of bioactive compounds. At a time when demand for functionally substantiated food products is increasing, a clear understanding of how research on cacao/cocoa is distributed across agricultural, food science, and health-related domains has become increasingly necessary. Using a scientometrics approach applied to Scopus (search date: September 17, 2025) and standardized AGROVOC descriptors, we analyzed publication trends, co-authorship patterns by country, region, and income group, and thematic clusters derived from titles and keywords. Results showed sustained growth in publications since 2000, with research activity concentrated in post-harvest processing, fermentation, plant pathology, and agroforestry systems. Functional and health-related studies, including clinical outcomes, bioavailability, and regulatory substantiation, represented a smaller yet emerging segment. Safety issues such as cadmium and mycotoxins appeared consistently, while geographic asymmetries were notable: high-income and upper-middle-income countries, led by the United States and Brazil, concentrated most of the scientific output, whereas low- and lower-middle-income economies contributed marginally despite representing a substantial share of global cacao production, particularly in West Africa and parts of Latin America. These findings indicate that cacao/cocoa research is expanding but thematically fragmented and unevenly distributed across geographies, limiting progress toward evidence-based functional food applications. Building on these gaps, we propose an evidence-based roadmap comprising seven strategic steps, from mapping and diagnosing knowledge gaps to interdisciplinary integration, clinical validation, producer engagement, and policy translation. This framework highlights priority opportunities for coordinated global research efforts in cacao/cocoa research.