In a preview of the Snacks & Confectionery feature in the June/July issue of Food & Drink Business magazine, we spoke to chocolate manufacturer Angus Suttie about what prompted his first own brand to have 50 per cent less sugar.
With more than 30 years of private label manufacturing behind them, chocolate maker Chokolata says its first own brand Moreish came from experience and innovation.
This month, a new chocolate brand called Moreish is launching in Coles supermarkets nationally. It is up against the icons of our sweet teeth – Cadbury, Darrell Lea, Nestlé, and Mars Wrigley.
Its point of difference will be that each Moreish block contains 50 per cent less sugar than the recognised existing brands on the shelf.
Founder Angus Suttie said, “We know that just over half of us are trying to reduce our sugar intake. Australians consume about half a kilo of sugar every week and half of us are exceeding the World Health Organisation’s recommended daily limit.”
But if anyone is going to take on the titans of chocolate, Suttie, who has been co-manufacturing premium chocolate for recognised brands for 30 years, is probably the one most likely to succeed.
“With a history of helping so many great brands in the past, we saw the current shift in consumer behaviour towards healthier, low-sugar products heralding the opportunity to introduce our own brand to market.
“This set us on a path to strike the balance between maintaining the great taste and fun we love about chocolate but with less sugar, and importantly with the same pack sizes and prices as full sugar brands,” Suttie said.
The goal was to create a product to appeal to the more health-conscious, providing a like-for-like in size and price with half the sugar.
Suttie said that with company’s depth of experience, its chief chocolatier Iyad Rafidi has “seen it all” when it came to ingredients, taste, texture, and sourcing.
“We want to give a 50 per cent lower sugar chocolate that doesn’t compromise on taste, it was through that experience and expertise we could source the high-quality ingredients for Moreish and create an incredibly tasty chocolate,” he said.
Moreish is made with milk, cocoa solids, and (50 per cent less) sugar, with polydextrose fibre replacing the sugar content. Suttie said the brand doesn’t use sugar alcohols like erythritol, maltitol, or xylitol as they can create digestive issues for some people.
“We’re out to prove reduced-sugar chocolate can be just as fun and enjoyable as full-sugar brands. That’s why we’ve gone after interesting flavours rather than the plainer or dark chocolate flavour profiles traditionally associated with many reduced-sugar brands,” Suttie said.
Moreish launches with five flavours with a RRP $5. Flavours are: White Gold Cookies & Cream, White Chocolate Raspberry, White Chocolate Birthday Cake, Milk Chocolate Almond, and Milk Chocolate Biscuit.
Look out for the June/July issue next month for more news and insights on the snacks and confectionery market.
