Reduced calorie chocolate Red enters market after $12.5m investment round

The company launched the no added sugar chocolate at the startup area of trade fair ISM in Cologne last month.

Diamond-shaped brand Red enters the market on the back of €10m ($12.5m) investment in processing technology to reduce fat and calories in chocolate.

The product is sweetened with natural prebiotic inulin, maltitol, erythritol and stevia. There is 0.7 g of sugar per 100g in Red’s plain dark chocolate tablet, which comes naturally from the cocoa.

The brand’s 100 g dark chocolate bars contain 60% cocoa from Ivorian beans. Each piece has 19 calories, equivalent to a slice of apple.

Patented technology​

Chocolette’s partners Bühler, WDS, Sollich and LoeschPack upgraded their equipment to the Latvian firm’s specifications to make the calorie-cutting production method possible.

Some of the equipment required up to 60 modifications.

Chocolette produces the chocolate at a lower temperature of 55 °C instead of the regular 80 °C.

It claims to be the first company capable of producing chocolate with 45% fewer calories than a reference dark chocolate.

Red also produces two milk chocolate tablets that the company claims has 35% fewer calories than regular milk chocolates with nuts and with fat fillings.

Chocolette does not plan to license its technology. It would consider private label, but is focusing on its own brand.

Sales target ​

Red already has distribution in Baltic and Scandinavian countries. It is positioned in the premium segment for €3 ($3.74) per 100 g tablet and €4.90 ($6.12) for a praline box.

Chocolette has a sales target of 5,000 tons this year and believes it can achieve its goal with listings in Europe, Asia, North and Latin America. It is eyeing sales in supermarkets and online.

The company has 100 employees and produces the Red range from a new factory Chocolette Confectionary in Jelgava, Latvia, which it operates itself.