Choc lovers offered healthier option

Glen Yeatman, C-Corp general manager, is launching a range of dark chocolate made from locally processed Solomon Islands cacao beans

Niche Mount Maunganui cacao manufacturer C-Corp will launch its first range of gourmet chocolate bars at this weekend's Chocolate and Coffee Show in Auckland.

For general manager Glen Yeatman, selling a branded chocolate bar marks a new stage in the two-year evolution of the business from its original focus of selling cacao - or cocoa - ingredients to New Zealand chocolate manufacturers and the catering industry.

"We are going to be selling a gourmet healthy chocolate bar under our Solomons Gold brand," said Mr Yeatman. "This was always the dream. Our aim is to be a boutique chocolate maker."

The initial range includes four dark chocolate bars - two made from cocoa nibs, the crushed roasted bean, and two from cocoa mass made from the liquefied nibs. Two are sweetened with cane sugar and two with coconut sap sugar, and the bars have either 70 or 75 per cent cacao content.

The company's point of difference was that the bars were gluten, nut and dairy-free, said Mr Yeatman. C-Corp would also be stressing the single point of origin of its cacao beans, which all come from plantations in the Solomon Islands.

"It's a very different taste because they're not blended with anything," he said. "Our main thrust is to make chocolate the way it was originally made."

Long-established health food manufacturer Healtheries New Zealand also recently entered the market with a range of three gluten-free and sugar-free chocolate bars, using stevia as a sweetener.

"Healthy and gluten-free options are more than a trend," said Healtheries senior brand manager James Ford. "There's growing awareness and education about the need for these options."

The Coeliac Society of New Zealand's Karen Little said there was definitely a growing market for gluten-free products.

C-Corp NZ's key outputs to date have been the nibs and cocoa mass, made from the liquidised nibs. Since setting up the operation two years ago, C-Corp has added conching/refining which helps smooth the quality of the cocoa mass, and a tempering machine which locks the crystals together, makes it "snap" and increases shelf life.

Although the company had made some sales of cacao mass to local and international manufacturers, it was now focusing on making its own branded chocolate, said Mr Yeatman. It was also selling the nibs as a packaged healthy snack locally, online on Amazon, and through an agent into China.

While some competitors sold through supermarkets, Mr Yeatman said C-Corp planned to initially market its Solomons Gold bars to health food shops, cafes and pharmacies in Tauranga, with expansion to other centres and exports to follow.

Lauren Cooke, owner of Tauranga's Gluten and Allergy Free Shop, who already sells C-Corp's cacao nibs, said she would stock the new chocolate bars.

"The market is growing a lot more for this kind of food," she said.

"People are now looking at what they are eating. If you crave chocolate, this is far better for you because it's a raw, dark chocolate without additives."

Cacao

* Cacao (cocoa) solids are a mixture of many substances remaining after cocoa butter is extracted from cacao beans.

* Cocoa liquor, also known as cocoa mass, is a paste of roasted cocoa beans with cocoa butter and solids in their natural proportions.