Unwrapping the secret of ‘healthy’ chocolate
New ‘healthy’ and luxury vegan chocolates are being developed by two Scottish businesses with the help of an SRUC chef.
The Food & Drink team at SAC Consulting, part of SRUC, has supported wellbeing start-up Revivein10 and social enterprise Grace Chocolates to develop chocolate products which capitalise on consumer demand for healthy and vegan options.
Working with development chef Mark Barker, both companies have focused on quality, natural ingredients with minimal additives.
Alistair Trail, Senior Consultant at SAC Consulting, said: “In the UK, consumers are more acutely aware of the nutritional or ethical value of the food they eat, particularly in the 25 to 35 age group, and healthy chocolate is a growth market.
“The challenge with chocolate is altering the ingredients without losing the familiarity of the flavour or texture profile associated with it.
“Mark Barker has a wealth of experience and technical knowledge, as well as an innate thirst for finding the right ingredient or balance that makes the product the best it can be. He has worked with both Grace Chocolates and Revivein10 through several iterations to ensure the final product will entice and retain their target markets.”
Nurse Susie Greig set up Revivein10 to offer practical bitesize advice to improve health and wellbeing.
When she decided to create a range of healthy chocolate made with natural, organic wholefoods, Interface – which connects businesses with academics. – put her in touch with SAC Consulting.
She said: “Most chocolate will give you a wonderful high, then a slump, but by using wholefood ingredients and only natural sugars from these, we have created a chocolate that retains the nutritional benefits of the raw ingredients and has a lower glycaemic index to make you feel full and satisfied for longer.”
The new Revivein10 range includes both plain and orange-flavoured dark and milk chocolate and a peppermint dark chocolate. A raspberry flavour is also in development.
Grace Chocolates is a social enterprise set up by Joyce Murray to support women who have been through the Scottish criminal justice system.
Following requests from customers, Joyce approached SAC Consulting to look at options for producing a vegan and nut free chocolate truffle.
She said: “I had underestimated the complexity of the process and there were more challenges than anticipated, but it was worth it for the result.
“We are looking forward to being able to offer vegan chocolates to our customers and continuing to develop the range.”
Posted by SRUC on 29/04/2020
