ASHLAND, ORE. — Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker has expanded its premium chocolate product offerings with the brand’s first ever vegan oat milk chocolate bark.
The company’s Breaks bark, unveiled at this year’s Sweets & Snacks Expo, combines 43% oat milk chocolate and coconut sugar sweetener to provide a lower-glycemic snacking option. Scharffen Berger’s oat milk chocolate is packaged in 4.5-oz resealable pouches and available in four varieties: salted almond bark, coconut and quinoa bark, salted sunflower seed bark and gluten-free pretzel bark.
“The rising trend of consumers purchasing plant-based product alternatives and increase in Google searches for plant-based foods underscores the importance of providing these types of options for consumers across all food categories,” said JP Mackey, president and chief sales officer for Scharffen Berger. “Of course, bark lines are already out there, but with Breaks, we have created a first-of-its-kind bark line that offers a plant-based solution with high-quality taste in familiar flavors.”
The launch marks the second addition to Scharffen Berger’s product line since the company rebranded following its separation from The Hershey Co. The chocolate maker’s Chocolate Provisions, a sleeve box of dark chocolate flats for charcuterie boards, launched in February 2023.
“The new branding, SKUs and product lines are expansions to meet the tastes of today's consumers as well as the broader needs of our current and future retail partners,” Mr. Mackey said. “We have invested heavily in getting new products in the right package formats with on-trend ingredients, like plant-based oat milk, coconut and maple sugars and inclusions, up and running. Breaks is a perfect example of how we have been re-thinking this brand and where it can bring value for our retail customers while delivering on end-user consumer tastes.”
