Whittaker's caught short after vegan-friendly block runs low

Nigella Lawson has been spruiking Whittaker's Black Doris Plum and Roasted Almond chocolate, which is currently in short supply.

Chocolate lovers will have to wait a few more weeks before one vegan-friendly artisan block floods back into stores.

Whittaker's Hawke's Bay Black Doris Plum and Roasted Almonds in Dark Chocolate block has been running low in stores nationwide for the last month due to supply issues.

After updating consumers in June about the shortage on Facebook, Whittaker's yesterday told the Herald it is making good progress resolving the supply for one quality ingredient.

"Our Whittaker's Chocolate lovers have been very supportive - they appreciate that we would never cut corners on quality, even if it means stocks run low temporarily," said Jasmine Currie, Whittaker's brand manager.

Although Whittaker's wouldn't say what the quality ingredient was, comparing ingredients lists with other Whittaker's chocolate left the Hawke's Bay Black Doris Plum as the ingredient most likely to be missing.

However, Summerfruit New Zealand said there is definitely no shortage of plums.

In Wellington, one plum chocolate enthusiast's brother took the initiative after she struggled to find the chocolate in her local New World in Porirua. He surprised his sister, Jenny Porter, quietly leaving two blocks in her letterbox.

"They were two blocks out of the six left in store. It's one chocolate that's very difficult to find," said Ms Porter.

The range was released in May this year, with Nigella Lawson as the face of the campaign.

There are three other artisan bars to choose from, including Supreme Coffee in Dark Chocolate, Ginger and Kerikeri Mandarin, and West Coast Buttermilk Caramelised White Chocolate, but the plum flavour is still being missed.

Whittaker's Chocolate has gone from strength to strength, providing the chocolate base for Lewis Road's Fresh Chocolate Milk, and was rated New Zealand's most trusted brand by Reader's Digest last year.