Whittaker’s catering for all NZ diets
Porirua - Chocolate brand Cadbury is launching its first-ever vegan chocolate bar but New Zealand company Whittaker’s is well ahead of them in terms of moving into non-dairy chocolate.
Whittaker’s has a number of products with no added dairy, which are a popular choice for Whittaker’s chocolate lovers who are lactose intolerant and also looking for a locally made, high quality chocolate.
Milk is not an ingredient in any Whittaker’s dark chocolate over 50 percent cocoa (except their caramel flavours), including their Cocoa Lovers Collection released last year.
Whittaker’s is always working on innovative new flavours for Whittaker’s chocolate lovers of all dietary requirements.
In April, Whittaker’s won Reader’s Digest’s most trusted of all Australasian brands award for the 10th consecutive year, which is an unprecedented achievement.
Whittaker’s recently launched a compostable peanut slab wrapper trial, continued support of iconic Kiwi charities, investment in machinery and facility advancements, and grow a direct relationship with its cocoa farmers.
Meanwhile, the Cadbury plant bar comes in two flavours: smooth chocolate and smooth chocolate with salted caramel pieces. It is being launched in the UK.
Both options are made with a blend of cocoa, almond paste, and rice extract.
The 197-year-old confectionary company has acknowledged it had fallen behind competitors by not launching vegan chocolate sooner.
A poll by Veganuary found that those adhering to a plant-based diet were hungry for a vegan version of chocolate.
In other chocolate news, Nestlé has started selling a vegan dairy-free KitKat in the UK. It was developed by their confectionery research and development centre in York, England.
Lisa was born in Auckland at the start of the 1970s, living in a small campsite community on the North Shore called Browns Bay. She spent a significant part of her life with her grandparents, often hanging out at the beaches. Lisa has many happy memories from those days at Browns Bay beach, where fish were plentiful on the point and the ocean was rich in seaweed. She played in the water for hours, going home totally “sun-kissed.” “An adorable time to grow up,” Lisa tells me.
Lisa enjoyed many sports; she was a keen tennis player and netballer, playing in the top teams for her age right up until the family moved to Wellington. Lisa was fifteen years old, which unfortunately marked the end of her sporting career. Local teams were well established in Wellington, and her attention was drawn elsewhere.