It started when Cadbury brought its much-loved in Australia Caramilk products to the UK last year. Blonde chocolate didn’t exactly burst on to the scene though. It’s been a drip
But Easter 2022 has been the time when other brands and retailers have cottoned on to blonde choc as the next big trend, rolling out a host of their own products to capitalise on the excitement.
Will the novelty of blonde chocolate turn into a long-lasting love affair? Or will the flavour go the way of ruby chocolate?
What is blonde chocolate?
“Blonde chocolate was originally a mistake, when a chef left white chocolate melting for too long, resulting in the chocolate going through a ‘maillard’ reaction,” says James Cadbury, founder of Love Cocoa and great-great-great grandson of the original Mr Cadbury.
“The maillard reaction is a reaction between sugars caramelising and amino acids and helps to alter the taste of the white chocolate. This process occurs in lots of cooking and baking already, such as biscuit baking, meaning blonde chocolate ends up with a similar flavour profile. The reaction leads to a more complex, nutty flavour that has a much more adult flavour profile compared to traditional white chocolate, erasing the often overly sweet and sickly sweetness of white chocolate.”
A white chocolate for adults bodes well given trends within the wider confectionery market. Retro sweets and sweets for grown-ups provided something of a “kiss of life” for the category ailing after Covid and facing a range of bans on its ability to advertise.
Making chocolate sophisticated is nothing new, with the likes of Lindt and Hotel Chocolat remaining in remarkably fine fettle, but convincing Brits to broaden their horizons when it comes to chocolate is a different story, as often proved by Kit Kat. The brand launched a ruby variant in 2018, made with ruby cocoa beans, giving it a distinct pink hue, but these days it’s nowhere to be seen. It also launched a Gold flavour made with blonde chocolate in the UK in 2020, well ahead of the trend. This one had been successful in Australia too, a tried and tested market full of blonde chocolate lovers. Its survival has emboldened others to bring the flavour to British shores.
“Previously it was just a technique used by patisserie and dessert chefs,” says Cadbury. “However, now more and more brands are beginning to incorporate the technique into their chocolate production. It’s seen as a luxurious, grown-up chocolate versus traditional white chocolate – for adults with a sweet tooth, it ticks a lot of boxes.”
Blonde chocolate or blond chocolate?
There remains some debate over blonde chocolate, most significantly whether to spell blonde with or without an E on the end. In French, chocolate would be masculine, meaning there should be no E, and blond chocolate is the spelling M&S has gone with across its ranges. But most brands and retailers have stuck with the E: therefore we will too.
Indeed, the appearance of blonde chocolate in own label ranges suggests the product is popular enough to stay, and what better time for retailers to test the theory than Easter, a holiday with plenty of demand for new and innovative chocolate eggs?
Here are eight products showcasing blonde chocolate’s versatility:
Galaxy Fusions Blonde Chocolate with Sea Salt
£6.99/150g
Galaxy launched its Fusions range in late 2020, with a Blonde Chocolate with Sea Salt SKU among the three variants. In 2022, Galaxy has trasnferred the product into Easter egg format with a Galaxy Fusions Blonde Chocolate with Sea Salt Easter Egg.
“Blonde chocolate has dramatically increased in popularity in the past year, growing by 597% [Kantar Worldpanel 52 w/e 27 December 2020 vs 52 w/e 26 December 2021], it has really resonated with consumers and created a new chocolate flavour,” says Gina Head, brand director for Galaxy.
“Blonde chocolate has been found to over-index with all age groups between 28 and 64 [Kantar Worldpanel 52 w/e 26 December 2021], making it a must stock for retailers who are looking to boost chocolate confectionery sales, particularly at key sales occasions through the year, such as Easter.”
Valrhona White Dulcey 35% Blonde Chocolate Bar
£4.29/70g
Luxury chocolate brand Valhrona launched its take on the trend in January with its White Dulcey 35% blonde chocolate, featuring “toasty, caramel and fudge flavours”.
Sainsbury’s Easter eggs
£4.50-£8
Sainsbury’s is featuring blonde chocolate not just once but twice in its Easter range. As well as this luxurious White & Blonde Chocolate Marble Egg (£8), it’s got a Blonde Chocolate Drizzle Egg (£4.50) in its range.
M&S Golden Blond Chocolate & Salted Caramel Hot Cross Buns
£1.65/260g
M&S has been a trailblazer for blonde chocolate, launching its Golden Blond Chocolate Spread last year that it describes as “white chocolate and caramel spread studded with crunchy wafer pieces” and a Golden Blond Chocolate Flavour Cream Liqueur. This Easter season, it has followed that proud tradition with its Golden Blond Chocolate & Salted Caramel Hot Cross Buns, which it describes as “delicately spiced hot cross buns with golden blond and milk chocolate, salted caramel fudge and toffee pieces”.
Love Cocoa Roasted Blonde White Chocolate Almonds
£6.95/100g
Love Cocoa is a high-end ethical chocolate brand led by James Cadbury. He describes the taste of blonde chcolate as “nutty” and “caramelised” with a “complex flavour profile that’s very versatile”, creating a sophisticated post-dinner nibble when coating these roasted almonds. The products are available direct from Love Cocoa’s website.
Moser Roth Blonde Chocolate Geometric Egg
£2.99/120g
Not to be outdone, Aldi was hot on the heels of its upmarket supermarket rivals launching its own label Blonde Chocolate Geometric Egg under its own label Moser Roth brand. The discounter added extra innovation with the geometric design, allowing it to cut out plastic inserts by making the bottom of the egg flat.
Cadbury Caramilk Buttons
£1.49-£1.99/90g-105g
Cadbury extended its Caramilk range beyond the core bar format in February with the launch of Caramilk Buttons. The chocolate giant called Caramilk its “biggest launch of last year and our best-ever confectionery launch”, suggesting Brits have followed our Australian cousins in embrancing the golden chocolate products and they could well be here to stay.
Waitrose Easter range
Blonde chcolate also features in Waitrose’s Easter range, both in apple and egg form. The retailer has identified it as a marker of luxury, pairing the caramelised white chocolate with praline feuilletine chocolate or fleur de sel or both in all three of the products in which blonde chocolate makes an appearance.
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