CHOC FULL

GEORGE ELLIS

Just as chocolate lovers were beginning to grasp the flavor nuances of sweet treats boasting premium cacao content, chocolatiers began infusing their delectable creations with equally premium centers. Today's fillings range from standby caramels and crèmes to such exotic inclusions as hot chilies, olive oil, superfruits and even breakfast proteins.

“People have got in their mind that really good chocolate tastes even better if it's got raspberries or coffee beans or something like that in it,” said Marcia Mogelonsky, an analyst with Mintel, a Chicago-based market research company. “As people become more sophisticated and want better-quality chocolate, they want more sophisticated fillings as well.”

Scott Achs, grocery manager at Dayton, Ohio-based Dorothy Lane Market, recognizes the trend.

“The Mo's Bacon bar from Vosges, with applewood-smoked bacon in milk chocolate, is a popular item here,” he said.

St. Louis-based Straub's Markets caters to an equally offbeat sweet tooth.

“There's a company called Ritrovo Italian Regional Foods in Seattle that's importing BruCo chocolate, and they've got an olive oil ganache chocolate, and it's fantastic, and unique,” said Roger McElroy, who is grocery manager there. Of all the things being put in chocolate today, “this filling goes quite well,” he said, noting that he's just added the confection to the 500-600 SKUs of premium chocolate carried at each of Straub's five stores. About 40% of chocolates carried by the retailer include some sort of filling.

High-quality chocolates have performed well in recent years at Straub's, especially those that are presented in a bar form.

“Instant consumables — small packages — it's something the customer can buy and enjoy that day,” McElroy said. Overall premium chocolate sales are also faring well, he said.

“During the past three to four years, we've [sold] three times what we'd sold previous to that.”

Premium chocolate sales have grown at double-digit rates in recent years, hitting $2.05 billion in 2006, according to Mintel, and they're predicted to reach $3.5 billion by 2011. A Mintel consumer survey revealed that when asked about their favorite premium chocolates, almost two-thirds (62%) of respondents chose filled chocolate as one of their top picks.

Traditional grocery stores have become a popular destination for these chocolates, according to Mintel. More than two-fifths (41%) of consumer respondents reported purchasing premium or gourmet chocolate at a “regular” grocery store in the previous three months, ahead of those who purchased the sweet treats at mass merchandisers such as Wal-Mart (37%), drug stores (26%), and specialty candy or chocolate stores (26%).

Supermarkets find that premium chocolates, including those that are filled, sell well as an impulse item near the checkout, but they also merchandise it in other parts of the store, ranging from the candy aisle to deli, fruit, floral and wine departments.

McElroy merchandises premium chocolate throughout the store.

“There's the normal places, such as on the check lanes and registers,” he said. “We cross-merchandise them about any place in the store we can. So we'll have some by the cheese and we do them over by the snack section. It's a very high-impulse item.”

DLM's Achs has chosen to rely on a dedicated section near the checkout.

“My chocolate section is completely separated — I have what we call a Great Wall of Chocolate,” he told SN. “It runs parallel to the checkout.”

At one time, DLM merchandised chocolate from its checkout lanes, but it found that creating its “Great Wall” was a more effective strategy. “Now it's become a destination point for the chocolate lover,” he said.

In DLM's bakery department, manager Scott Fox sells Ghyslain and Godiva fancy filled chocolates out of a service case.

Bret Vitek, international department manager at Jungle Jim's International Market in Fairfield, Ohio, offers a large selection of fine chocolates in the store's candy aisle, displaying each manufacturer's line in its own shelf section. The retailer carries 400 to 800 SKUs of premium chocolate; about 65% are filled items.

“My bars are my No. 1 sellers in all my lines,” Vitek noted. “The two biggest brands are Lindt and Ghirardelli, but the Belgian chocolates do well, and the German chocolates do tremendous for us,” Vitek said. Jungle Jim's is able to differentiate itself with its vast variety.

“Each of the chocolates seem to have their own little niche,” he said.

The retailer carries Lindt's 3.5-ounce filled bars that are infused with Orange, Pistachio, Raspberry and other flavors. Jungle Jim's also merchandises a 5.3-ounce Creation 70% cacao Cherry Chili bar, as well as bags of truffles and other Lindt creations.

Items in Ghirardelli's filled chocolate line are included in Jungle Jim's selection.

The San Francisco-based chocolatier recently introduced Milk Chocolate squares filled with Peanut Butter, Milk Chocolate filled with Caramel, Dark Chocolate with Mint, Dark Chocolate with Raspberry and 60% Cacao Dark Chocolate with Caramel.

The list of premium chocolate brands retailers told SN they carry reflects the vast selection buyers can choose from today. McElroy listed several, starting with local St. Louis chocolatier Bissinger's and including Cadbury, Starbucks, Lindt, Ghirardelli, Chocolove, Scharffen Berger, Valrhona, Lake Champlain, Dagoba, Ecco Bella, Green & Black's, Dean & DeLuca and many more. “And, of course, we've got a lot of Hershey's and other standard companies getting into the high-end market, too,” he said.

Many new introductions include fillings.

Mars Inc. recently rolled out new M&Ms Premiums, with Chocolate Almond, Mint Chocolate, Mocha, Raspberry Almond and Triple Chocolate fillings inside an iridescent candy shell.

Dove Chocolate offers 3.5-ounce premium bars filled with flavors like Cranberry Almond and Blueberry Almond. The Hershey Co., meanwhile, recently added a 9.6-ounce bag of Bliss Milk Chocolate pieces with Raspberry Meltaway Centers to its upscale line.

Starbucks also teamed with Hershey's Artisan Confections Co. subsidiary to create a line of chocolates that includes various bars and tasting squares, truffles, and Milk Chocolate Covered Verona Coffee Beans. The truffles selection includes Caffè Mocha, Chai, Espresso and Vanilla Bean varieties.

Starbucks is providing retail display racks that pair Starbucks Chocolate with the company's coffee and ready-to-drink beverages, said Sherry Maple, director of the Starbucks Chocolate platform, consumer products global.

Recent startup Explorer's Bounty, Miami, emphasizes quality teamed with sustainability. It markets a line of artisan panned chocolates that are handmade with 100% organic ingredients and feature 70% Costa Rican cacao content. Included in the line are Chocolate Covered Cashew Nuts, Chocolate Covered Cocoa Nibs and Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans.

The products debuted last month and are making their way into stores.

“Right now, they've been authorized for Shaw's, Hannaford and Sweetbay,” said Claire Polson, vice president of trade marketing and business development at Explorer's Bounty.