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‘Healthy’ chocs – too good to be true?

Posted in General, Marketing November 6th, 2007 by namrita

So, a new contender enters into the already crowded healthy food arena but this time with the golden ticket - healthy chocolate. Can it be true?

According to manufacturer Prestat, two squares of the new Choxi+ dark or milk chocolate gives you your daily fix of antioxidants, equivalent to 450g of Brussels sprouts. This new chocolate is said to contain higher levels of Flavonol antioxidants, which are believed to protect against heart disease and cancer.

It all sounds too good to be true and I’m not sure I’m convinced. I’m not disputing their claims of ‘healthy’, but what I don’t understand is why anyone would want to eat healthier chocolate or go out of their way to buy healthy chocolate?

When you eat chocolate, or any other such food, you know it’s not good for you so you eat in moderation, as a treat. But this new chocolate seems to be almost trying to make people feel better about over indulging in ‘bad’ food by claiming that it’s actually a little healthier - giving you free rein to continue to over eat but with a clear conscience.

Despite the marketing of this new chocolate as healthy the manufacturer does point out that Choxi+ should still be considered a treat and does not replace nutrients and fibres found in fruit and veg. You also get all the calories that come with chocolate. So, what exactly are they trying to say? “If you’re going to be bad, don’t be bad all the way”? Frankly, I would rather just be really bad once in a while and eat a ‘full fat’ Mars bar.

But it remains to be seen if Choxi+ will strike a chord with the current health obsessed population…