Oser Communications Group

NATURALLY HEALTHY www.gourmetnews.com n MARCH 2018 n GOURMET NEWS N H 7 8 Chocolate Companies Sweeten Nutrition Offers By Lorrie Baumann Major chocolate candy manufacturers joined other confectioners last year in support of an industry initiative to offer consumers more information about how their products fit into a healthy lifestyle, and that response to market imperatives is already changing the labels and the products we're seeing in the candy aisle. The five-year project, titled "Always a Treat" is a joint project between the Na- tional Confectioners Association and The Partnership for a Healthier America, and its sponsors include Ferrara Candy Com- pany, Ferrero, Ghirardelli, Lindt, Mar- sWrigley Confectionery, Nestle and Russell Stover Chocolates. Among its goals: more packaging options with more individually wrapped products that con- tain 200 calories or less per pack, calorie information printed on the front of each package, and consumer education to help shoppers understand the role that confec- tions can play in their diets. Most people in the U.S. consume choco- late or other candy two to three times a week, averaging out to about 40 calories per day and about one teaspoon of added sugar per day per person, according to the National Confectioners Association. Now, more than 60 percent of the individually wrapped candy products produced by the association's members contain less than 250 calories per pack, and by 2022, half of the industry's individually wrapped prod- ucts will be available in sizes that contain 200 calories or less per pack, with 90 per- cent of the industry's best-selling treats featuring calorie information printed on the front of the pack. Already, we're seeing a variety of prod- ucts on the market that are clearly de- signed to appeal to consumers' concerns about their nutrition – added sugars in par- ticular – as well as their desire for an in- dulgent treat. Chocolate, in particular, is enjoying a heyday of enthusiasm for chocolate's superfood status and con- sumers' willingness to pay more for qual- ity products that boast fair trade and organic certifications. Healthy snack producer NuGo, to name one brand, has figured out that a lovely coat of luscious chocolate can enhance the appeal of a protein bar, and it's now offer- ing a range of protein bars coated in dark chocolate at retail prices that range from $1.59 to $1.99 per bar. The real dark chocolate that envelops each of these pro- tein bars is made from the cocoa butter and non-fat cocoa solids found in cacao beans, so it's full of the antioxidants, and what- ever health benefits that go along with them, of a real chocolate. The range in- cludes NuGo Slim, which offers 16 to 18 grams of protein and only 2 to 3 grams of sugar in a gluten-free bar; NuGo Organic, which offers 10 grams of protein in a vegan snack; NuGo Free, which offers 9 grams of protein with no soy or gluten. The NuGo Stronger is a high protein ver- sion with 25 grams of protein and no soy. The Stronger bar retails for $2.39. The company's newest product is a pro- tein cookie that's gluten free. The protein cookies are offered in four varieties: Dark Chocolate Chip, Double Chocolate, Peanut Butter Chocolate and Oatmeal Raisin, which doesn't have chocolate in it. All four cookie varieties are vegan, gluten free and non-GMO, with 16 grams of plant protein and 12 grams of fiber per cookie. The chocolate chips in the varieties that include them are real dark chocolate, and none of them contain artificial sweeteners, dairy, soy, eggs, palm oil or margarine. The indi- vidually packaged cookies retail for $2.39 apiece. Navitas Organics, long a darling of health- and socially-conscious consumers, specializes in products that offer superfood nutrition, and its Coffee Cacao and Cacao Goji Organic Power Snacks are its newest plant-based superfood snacks. These are chewy cubes that are packaged in 8-ounce pouches that retail for $9.99. A serving de- livers 90 calories and 20 to 25 percent of the daily value of Vitamin C. OCHO Candy, known for organic filled candy bars that are organic twists on famil- iar favorites, is also introducing for the spring holiday season its Organic Peanut Butter Eggs and Organic Caramel Eggs. The eggs are offered in 100-gram packages that retail for $4.99. The range of bars for which the com- pany is better known includes OCHO Co- conut, OCHO Peanut Butter, OCHO Caramel & Peanut and OCHO Dark Chocolate PB. The Dark Chocolate PB is the company's newest offering, while Co- conut is its best seller. All of the bars are made from simple, high-quality ingredi- ents, and they're all non-GMO and gluten free, with soft centers made from organic ingredients and coated with a thick layer of chocolate outside. Each bar retails for $1.99. The company is also making bite- size versions of the bars in Peppermint, Peanut Butter, Coconut and Caramel vari- eties. Each 3.52-ounce pouch of OCHO minis contains eight snack-size pieces and retails for $4.49 to $4.99. All of the prod- ucts are made from the company's state- of-the-art facility in Oakland, California. The Happy Chocolatier, based in Acton, Massachusetts, has launched a dark choco- late orange truffle Cubze™ to augment the company's line of confections. This new all-natural truffle Cubze has a dark choco- late center infused with essence of orange in a cube-shaped truffle serving. There's an inspirational message about happiness hand-wrapped into each piece. For spe- cialty food outlets and gift shops, the truf- fle Cubze are available in a new counter display that features the happiness theme and is filled with individual servings of an assortment of the truffle Cubze flavors. Brownie Brittle's new Thindulgent Chocolate Bark is offered in two flavors that marry sweet with salty: Dark Choco- late Peppermint and Caramel Pretzel Milk Chocolate. Each bag retails for $4.49. Brownie Brittle Bites are now offered in Milk Chocolate Caramel and Peppermint Dark Chocolate flavors for $4.49 per bag. For the Milk Chocolate Caramel flavor, chocolate chip Brownie Brittle morsels are covered in a layer of caramel and milk chocolate, while Peppermint Dark Choco- late Bites are chocolate chip Brownie Brit- tle morsels as well, covered in a layer of peppermint and dark chocolate. Chocolove is in the midst of a strong innovation and marketing drive that was behind a host of new product introduc- tions this year at the Winter Fancy Food Show. Among the new products are bars with Almonds, Toffee & Sea Salt; Al- monds & Sea Salt and a filled bar with Strawberry Creme. The large 3.2-ounce bars retail for $3.19. The company is also offering elevated versions of the nut but- ter cup with Hazelnut Butter Cups in Dark Chocolate and Salted Caramel Cups in Dark Chocolate packaged in two-packs that will retail for $1.99 and individually packaged cups that retail for $1 each. The company also unveiled two new pouched Bites, Almonds & Sea Salt in Dark Chocolate Bites and Assorted Bites. These pouches of individually wrapped Bites contain a bit less than 6 ounces and retail for $7.99. Chocolove has also intro- duced a ranged of unwrapped chocolate- covered snack bites that are built around the company's best-selling flavors. Dark Chocolate Salted Almonds, Dark Choco- late Almond Toffee and Dark Chocolate Pretzels are offered in a 4.5-ounce pouch to retail for $4.99. Chocolove's chocolate is imported from Belgium and crafted into its products in Boulder, Colorado. Chocolove participates in or funds a number of programs that at- test to the company's commitments to sus- tainability and social justice throughout its supply chain from farm to consumer, in- cluding the workers in its Colorado facil- ity. Endangered Species Chocolate has just added its Polar Bear bar, which is dark chocolate with caramel and spiced apples, as well as Chocolate Bites of its top three sellers, the Panther, Owl and Bald Eagle. Panther Bites are a low sugar option, with two pieces coming in at 2 grams of sugar. Owl Bites are sea salt and almonds in dark chocolate, and Bald Eagle Bites are caramel and sea salt in dark chocolate. The Bites are sold in 4.2-ounce packages that contain 10 to 13 pieces and retail for $4.99. Bars retail for $2.99 for 3 ounces. NibMor's newest offerings are Dark Chocolate Bites with Tart Cherries and Dark Chocolate Bites with Maine Blueber- ries. These bites are made with 52 percent cocoa, and they're gluten free, certified vegan and Non-GMO Project Verified. The 6-piece serving comes in at 240 calories, so this is an indulgent treat, but the 19 grams of sugar are less than the sugar con- tent of competing fruit and chocolate bites products, says NibMor Inc. Chief Execu- tive Officer Ralph Chauvin. The 5.4-ounce stand-up pouches retail for $4.99 Anuga FoodTec Scheduled for March 20-23, 2018 The trade show Anuga FoodTec will run March 20 to 23, 2018, at Koelnmesse in Cologne, Germany. Nearly 1,700 suppliers from more than 50 countries will present their new products for the production and packaging of all types of food and beverage. The exhibits will be accompanied by a tech- nical program that includes workshops, con- ferences and guided tours. "Traditionally process technology has been the most represented section at the trade fair," says Katharina Hamma, Chief Operating Of- ficer, Koelnmesse GmbH. "This year there is greater emphasis on food safety and quality management, as well as food ingredients. Vis- itors experience the entire production cycle, from how basic ingredients are processed and how a product is made, all the way to the pri- mary and secondary packing of the finished product. Nothing less than the entire produc- tion chain is depicted at the trade fair." The theme of this year's exhibition and technical program is resource efficiency. The theme will be showcased through topics such as optimizing production processes, reducing energy and water consumption, and mini- mizing food loss through ingredient, process and package technology. Deutsche Land- wirtschafts-Gesellschaft (DLG), the German agricultural society, is organizing the pro- gram. "The growing demand for commodities and energy sources worldwide and the in- creasing urbanization are compelling us to review our present behavior and economic activity," says Simone Schiller, Managing Director-Competence Center Food at DLG. "Careful, and at the same time efficient, management of natural resources is the key competence of sustainable societies, soci- eties that are fit for the future. The exhibitors this year will be presenting a range of solu- tions showing how competitiveness can be strengthened and how the use of energy and water as well as food losses during produc- tion can be reduced." Complementing this theme is next-gener- ation robotics technology. The show will offer demonstrations of robots at every step of the manufacturing chain, from incoming raw materials to outgoing finished product. "The main areas of robot applications are currently still the heavy palletizing work and tasks in the field of packaging and re-pack- aging," says Schiller. "However enormous developments in the fields of hygienic de- sign, electronic image capture and analysis and gripper technology are making it possi- ble to use robots increasingly for ever more difficult tasks in direct contact with foods." An expert forum on topics of current in- terest to the food industry is also scheduled. This forum, titled "Topics, Trends, Technolo- gies -- what's moving today's food indus- try?" will offer presentations and panel discussions on topics of current interest. Ex- pect discussions on convenience, food au- thenticity, modified atmosphere packaging, genome editing, high pressure processing and more. A separate forum will be dedicated to food ingredients and product develop- ment. This forum will address the topics of clean labeling, personalized nutrition, texture design, enzymes in food production and functional foods. For more information on Anuga FoodTec 2018, visit www.anugafoodtec.com.

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