While the Government has delayed its crack-down on promotions for HFSS foods, manufacturers have kept up their momentum when it comes to launching healthier products.
Lactalis Nestlé’s latest launch builds on the success of the ‘gold chocolate’ trend (see box below) and is reportedly the first HFSS compliant crème dessert to market in the UK chilled desserts category – combining white chocolate with anew gold caramel flavour.
What is 'gold' chocolate?
Blonde or ‘gold’ chocolate is essentially white chocolate cooked at a lower temperature and for a longer period of time. The use of this cooking method results in the Maillard reaction, a chemical reaction that takes place between sugars and amino acids.
This reaction produces a chocolate that is often described as having a ‘caramelised flavour’ thanks to the manipulation in the flavour of the amino acids in the milk, as well as the sugar.
Also known as the browning reaction, this gives the end product its caramelised flavour and creates the beige colour of its namesake.
‘Unique flavour’
Christopher Pihoué, marketing manager at Lactalis Nestle Chilled Desserts UK, said: “Milkybar Gold White Chocolate Caramel Crème Dessert has a unique flavour offering that we know will appeal to consumers.
“The dessert is positioned as the perfect treat for anytime of the day and evening and with the calorie count and HFSS compliance, brings a real USP in the chilled desserts aisle. We are confident that this new launch will capitalise on the trend towards gold chocolate product launches, while attracting Milkybar confectionery fans to the chilled aisle.”
This month also saw premium desserts brand Pots & Co bring their own HFSS compliant sweet treats to the table.
Choco Latte Ganache and Chocolate & Hazelnut Praline Ganache both promise less than 87 calories per pot and contain no artificial preservatives in a bid to meet the growing demand for premium desserts with “better ingredients and less sugar”.
Top rated cocoa
Both desserts are produced with ‘Fino de Aroma’ cocoa – classified in the top 8% of cocoa in the world and is sustainably crafted – and handmade in small batches.
Michelin-trained chef and joint chief executive for Pots & Co Fraser Thomson said: “Developing a high quality and great tasting HFSS-compliant product has been a year-long journey that has seen more recipe development, tasting and testing than we’ve ever done before.
“We pride ourselves on the quality of the ingredients we use, especially when it comes to chocolate. Using this extremely high-quality chocolate means that our ingredients naturally don’t contain as much salt and sugar as others. This gave us an advantage when developing our non-HFSS products, as we were still able to produce restaurant-quality desserts that taste buds everywhere deserve.”
Meanwhile, Walkers continued to make progress towards it healthier snacking targets, as it reported 30% of its sales are now from healthier snacks.
