Unboxed: 13 craveable chocolate products
Chocolate is one of the greatest comfort foods of all time. Here are 13 new offerings to help give shoppers' moods a small boost.
April 21, 2020
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Of course, Alter Eco makes great tasting chocolate. But they also always find a way to go above and beyond doing the right thing. Beyond being Fair Trade and USDA certified organic, these bars reflect the company’s interest in regenerative agriculture. Here, Peruvian cocoa sourced from Fair Trade farms that use restorative farming methods is blended with the highest-quality milk from grass-fed cows that graze outdoors for 234 days per year in the Alpine valleys of Switzerland. All of this means mouth-dazzling chocolate made from a low-impact supply chain that gives back more than it takes.
It’s never been so easy to take Cocomels with you on the go thanks to these new single serve packs. Available in Chocolate Covered Cocomel Bites with sea salt or straight up Coconut Milk Caramels with sea salt. Either way you get the creamy taste of coconut milk caramels slowly cooked in copper kettles. The organic caramels contain 2 grams of sugar per bite, and the chocolate covered bite-sized pieces have just 1.3 grams per bite. $15.95, case of 8 (1.3oz).
Just when you think it can’t get any better, along come Theo’s chocolate cups. Hitting on the creature comforts we adore, choose from peanut butter & jelly or coffee & cream. Or don’t choose and try both. Organic and Fair Trade, the PB&J is made with 55% dark chocolate while the coffee & cream cups are 45% milk chocolate. $2.29, 1.3oz.
Reminiscent of PB and J, this bar pairs yummy organic raspberry with creamy cashew butter made with custom dry-roasted cashews and real vanilla beans. It is wrapped in Fair Trade dark chocolate made with organic cacao for a bar that is paleo, vegan, organic and dairy free.
Made with real oats, this delicious bar serves up creamy plant-based oat milk mixed with 55% cocoa. In fact, it’s so creamy you’ll think you’re eating milk chocolate. But you’re not. The salted almonds add an extra crunch. Purchases of this vegan bar help to bring awareness to the plight of the Rusty Patched Bumble Bee.
These certified USDA organic 72% chocolate morsels feature Fair Trade organic cacao liquor, organic coconut sugar, Fair Trade organic cacao butter, organic mint oil and 25 mg of organic full spectrum hemp extract (that has naturally occuring CBD). Also available with acai or plain dark chocolate with sea salt. Vegan- and paleo-friendly, it’s a simple snack with a relaxation-boosting twist.
There is truly something for everyone now in the chocolate world. And these dry-roasted chocolate covered chickpeas cover a lot of ground. Serving up 10 grams of protein and 10 grams of fiber per pack, they come with a crunch but are made without oil, salt or additives. They make for a healthy, guilt-free way to get your chocolate fix. $29.99, 6-pack (3.5oz).
Each morsel-like bit mixes organic mint with Fair Trade Certified milk chocolate for a refreshing flavor. These are a version of a chocolate classic but without any artificial flavors, colors or high fructose corn syrup, making it easy on shoppers' consciences when their kids (or they) can’t stop eating them. Available in a single-serve pouch or multi-serve bag for easy eating.
A colorful work of art shoppers won’t want to eat until they take a bite—and then they won’t be able to stop. Dragon fruit helps to give this white chocolate bar its vibrant pink color, while chia seeds and coconut add to its fun and flavor. It’s like eating a smoothie bowl in a chocolate bar.
Made with 73% gourmet dark chocolate and whole double-roasted California almonds, this chocolate bar's velvety taste is enhanced by the fact that it's made with 100% pure Canadian honey. Available in a chocolate covered almond version, too.
This chocolate is a mouthful in more ways than one. Moksha chocolate is made from a blend of sustainably grown, single-varietal Peruvian cacao blended with Colorado slow-crafted CBD oil. While it is available in several varieties, the white chocolate blend with Matcha green tea powder creates the perfect flavor combination of a unique vegetal taste and sweetness. Plus, you get the added benefit of eating green chocolate. Each piece contains 20 mg of CBD.
This chocolate looks so exquisite that shoppers may be hesitant to actually eat it. Definitely portray this SKU as a gift, even if it means a gift for the consumer! And the taste is as good as it looks with floral rosemary complimenting a layer of caramel covered in 70% rich dark chocolate. Available in three different designs.
Noons offers a chocolate makeover of sorts using the whole cacao pod, both seed and fruit, to let its chocolate shine. The cacao fruit pulp is stirred back into the cacao mix and a few fruits and superfoods are added to create pure, tantalizing flavors. It’s a pretty simple concept, but very tasty. Think cacao, organic pineapple, cocoa butter, cacao pulp, organic quinoa, organic coconut and sea salt, all blended together. Or try Mango & Cinnamon or Banana & Nibs. Yum!
Noons offers a chocolate makeover of sorts using the whole cacao pod, both seed and fruit, to let its chocolate shine. The cacao fruit pulp is stirred back into the cacao mix and a few fruits and superfoods are added to create pure, tantalizing flavors. It’s a pretty simple concept, but very tasty. Think cacao, organic pineapple, cocoa butter, cacao pulp, organic quinoa, organic coconut and sea salt, all blended together. Or try Mango & Cinnamon or Banana & Nibs. Yum!
There are few foods that we have a greater emotional attachment to than chocolate. Full of flavonoids, flavonols and antioxidants, dark chocolate encourages the production of endorphins and serotonin, chemicals in the brain that are both associated with making us feel good.
But not only does eating chocolate help our mood, it also offers up some notable benefits for our health. The flavonols found in chocolate are thought to help improve cognitive function, while chocolate is also associated with heart health and possibly lowering our risk for heart disease. A recent clinical trial conducted by researchers from the Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra in Portugal and the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, linked eating dark chocolate to improvement of several markers of cardiovascular health. And the list is long of studies with similar findings.
So where to dig in? The usual rule of thumb is that the higher the percentage of cacao in the chocolate, or the darker the chocolate, the better it is for you. But whatever your preference, one thing is for sure: it all tastes good! Here are some of the latest New Hope Network-approved chocolate offerings on the market.
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