Easter Bunny has been busy this year with innovative chocolate products taking pride of place on supermarket shelves around the globe.
"There is something to make everyone smile, from a traditional Christian chocolate cross and royalty-themed chocolate ducks to real egg shells filled with praline, decorate your own eggs and a cocktail egg from Brazil," says Cesar Pereira, Global Director of Product Launch Analytics at Datamonitor.
Brasil Cacau has extended its line of chocolate eggs with three new varieties including Pe-de-Moleque (a Brazilian sweet made with toasted nuts, Cocada (a Brazilian sweet made with coconut) and Caipirinha (a Brazilian cocktail). The Caipirinha variety is a milk chocolate egg with crunchy lime, filled with bottle-shaped, 'lime-caipirinha' flavored milk chocolates sweets.
U.S. consumers will be able to celebrate Easter with Russell Stover's solid milk chocolate cross, which comes in a windowed, Easter-themed box.
Across the pond in the UK, Marks & Spencer plc has launched a new hand-decorated milk chocolate product for Easter inspired by the popularity of the royal family. Their Royal Ducknesses features two decorated hollow milk chocolate "ducks" with sugarpaste crown shapes. They come without artificial colors or flavors and are presented in see-through plastic box.
Meanwhile, consumers in Germany can buy a new praline chocolate in real eggshell from Gut Springenheide GmbH. Presented in a windowed paperboard box, the product is available in white, red, and green colors.
Finally, Italian consumers who feel like being artistic can now decorate their own eggs. Italy's Molino Spadoni S.r.l. has introduced a new dark chocolate egg that includes a decorating kit, sold under the Specialita del Trentino brand name. The kit includes two dark chocolate eggshells, a blank greetings card, a base to support the egg, a wrapper, a satin ribbon, and a string to hold the egg together. Consumers can fill the eggs with miniature eggs, toys, candy or other surprises in an ideal way to personalize their Easter egg gifts.
"There is an Easter Egg to suit every taste out there somewhere," says Pereira. "Chocolatiers from around the globe have pulled out the stops for top class product innovation this year." www.datamonitor.com
