Whittaker’s Cocoa Pods® redefine luxury chocolate

Whittaker’s is proud to release its new Whittaker’s Cocoa Pods®, which are the ultimate locally made premium treat or gift. They are also a major innovation for Whittaker’s, following more than five years of development and investment in state-of-the-art new factory equipment to ensure Whittaker’s Cocoa Pods® reflect Whittaker’s uncompromising commitment to quality in all its dimensions.

Whittaker’s Cocoa Pods® have a 33% cocoa Five Roll Refined Creamy Milk chocolate shell with a wonderfully soft centre of hazelnut gianduja. Inspired by Whittaker’s beans-to-bar story, they are each crafted into an elegant and unique shape that resembles a natural cocoa pod. Each individually wrapped serve is a generous 12.5g, designed to be enjoyed in two indulgent bites.

Whittaker’s co-Chief Operating Officer, Holly Whittaker, says Whittaker’s is delighted to offer Whittaker’s Chocolate Lovers a new locally-made premium chocolate just in time for gifting over the upcoming festive season.

“It’s taken us several years to get to this point because we live by our ‘best is always better’ promise. A key challenge for us was finding a way to create the silky smooth hazelnut gianduja without the use of palm oil. To achieve this we invested in new technology, which perfectly blends and balances the ingredients so that our Whittaker’s Cocoa Pods® are proudly palm oil-free like all the rest of our range.

“As well as our investment in high-end factory equipment and new processes, the development of our Whittaker’s Cocoa Pods® has involved painstaking refinement of our recipe. We hope Chocolate Lovers will agree that the wait has been worth it for this decadent and delicious new treat!” says Holly.

Whittaker’s other co-Chief Operating Officer, Matt Whittaker, says the commitment Whittaker’s has to sustainability as part of its quality focus includes ethical souring and considerations around packaging.

“Like all of our range that is made with Ghanaian cocoa beans, our new Whittaker’s Cocoa Pods® are Rainforest Alliance Certified™ and are all made at our one factory in Porirua where we make all of our other chocolate from beans-to-bar,” says Matt. 

The packaging for Whittaker’s Cocoa Pods® has been a key consideration, in the context of the programme of work Whittaker’s has underway to deliver on its commitment to 100% sustainable packaging by 2025, building on where it is now with three quarters of its packaging already recyclable.   

As a result, Whittaker’s is using a mix of different types of packaging for Whittaker’s Cocoa Pods®. This includes continuing to trial compostable material specifically to assess its performance on Whittaker’s wrapping machine, rather than its performance at disposal as was the focus of a previous trial, which is why it is not highlighted on the pack label.

The compostable material is used for the inner wrap that is used on individual Whittaker’s Cocoa Pods®, which should be disposed of in home compost bins. The outer layer of packaging on the 200g gift box is cardboard that is fully recyclable. The outer layer of packaging of the 125g pouch is not recyclable or compostable.

Holly Whittaker says Whittaker’s is calling on our Chocolate Lovers to show their support for our sustainable packaging journey by understanding how to properly dispose of each and welcomes their feedback to help inform our transition over time to the ideal long term sustainable packaging solutions for all of our products.

“Our sustainable packaging journey is not a straight road – it involves trialling lots of different materials and a phased approach that responds to various constraints on how fast we and others in the food industry can go,” says Holly.

The individually-wrapped Whittaker’s Cocoa Pods® come in two pack sizes, a 125g pouch and a 200g gift box, perfect for gifting, sharing or for treating yourself. They will be available in supermarkets nationwide from Monday 18 October and at Whittaker’s online gift shop, along with its other gifting assortments.

ENDS