When you shop around for chocolate, a few things become evident. There are cheap chocolates, moderately priced chocolates, and luxury brands that have the highest prices of all. The cheap chocolates are usually made from unknown brands and they tend to leave a rather awful taste in your mouth. Kind of like cheap Easter eggs. The chocolates we often choose are the ones made by big names in the industry while luxury chocolates are often thought of as too expensive. That is, at least, until more recently.
There has been a notable decline in chocolate sales in the UK and this is due to a number of factors. One of which being the fact that popular chocolate brands tend to use an excessive amount of sugar in their chocolates. People are becoming increasingly aware of health issues that result from overindulging in sugar. Which means that they are turning away from the usual sweets in favour of healthier options.
Chocolate in itself is not necessarily unhealthy. However, it’s important to understand what types of chocolates are best if you are trying to limit your sugar intake or watch your weight. Dark chocolate is known for its beneficial health properties yet most of the chocolates that line our shelves are of the milk chocolate variety.
Luxury brands take a different approach when it comes to making chocolate. They use less sugar and, in most cases, their best chocolates are dark chocolates. This is not to say that other ingredients like fruit or nuts cannot be added too. Orange pieces taste particularly well in dark chocolate as well as mint. It is important, however, to beware of compromising health for flavour.
Now, with all the talk about health and chocolates, it’s interesting to note that while the sales of regular supermarket chocoaltes has declined; that of luxury chocolates has increased! People would rather pay more for a smaller amount of luxury chocolate than a bucket load of cheaper chocolate. Chocolate is being seen as more of a luxury now than ever and this is not only being applied to adults but children too.