Easter roundup: Chocolate makers take their eggs online this holiday season

Ethical eggs

Dutch ethical and premium brand Tony’s Chocolonely says it is on a mission to raise awareness of ‘the bitter truth behind the production of chocolate Easter eggs’, by taking on the biggest global chocolate companies to call for positive changes.

Every purchase of Tony’s Chocolonely helps to fight slavery in the cocoa industry, and it has launched two new products for Easter - Great Big Chocolate Eggs and an Easter Lemon Meringue Milk Chocolate Bar.

The Great Big Chocolate Eggs are small (despite the big name) but perfectly formed solid egg versions of Tony's best-selling classic bars - milk chocolate 32%, milk caramel sea salt, milk hazelnut, milk almond honey nougat, dark milk 42% pretzel toffee, dark 51% dark almond sea salt and pure 70% dark chocolate. Seven flavours are ‘un-egg-ually’ divided over 12 eggs to illustrate the inequality in the chocolate industry. The Lemon Meringue Bar is packed with meringue pieces (made from free-range eggs) and a hint of zesty lemon with an Easter egg shape to pop out. Minimal packaging is used for both products, and the paper, cardboard and aluminium foil are all recyclable.

Product info:​

Great Big Chocolate Eggs - RRP £4.49

Milk Chocolate 32% Lemon Meringue Bar - RRP £3.98

Available at Sainsbury’s, Ocado, Whole Foods, independent retailers and online from tonyschocolonely.com​

Extra-Thick Eggs

Hotel Chocolat may have temporarily shuttered its bricks and mortar stores​, but it is operating an online service and has a range of Extra-Thick Eggs for every appetite this April.

“The received wisdom when we first made our Extra-Thicks was to keep them as thin as possible. We did the opposite, opting for ridiculously thick shells that are still satisfyingly snappable. Almost two decades on, they’re still your favourites: from high-cacao, intensely dark Rare & Vintage, to our best-selling Rocky Road to Caramel, there’s an egg for every appetite​,” a spokesperson told ConfectioneryNews.

“Traditionally, those following a free-from or vegan diet may have found themselves limited to dark chocolate eggs. We created a Free From Soft Boiled Egg with all the mellow, creamy taste of milk chocolate. Made without dairy, gluten, nuts or wheat​. “

New products for this year include:​

Salted Caramel Hard-Boiled Egg - £15

Marmalade on Toast Egg Sandwich - £10

Free From Milk Soft Boiled Egg - £10

Free From Dark Soft Boiled Egg - £10

Available online at hotelchocolat.com/uk/shop/easter-eggs/​

'One Egg, One Tree'

As reported previously​, independent chocolate brand Love Cocoa has launched two new Easter eggs that also support a worthwhile cause: its  'One Egg, One Tree' campaign, where each purchase supports Love Cocoa’s wider ‘One Bar, One Tree’ commitment to plant 500,000 trees in West Africa in 2020 to fight against deforestation.

New products for 202:​

1 x Sea Salt Dark Chocolate Luxury Egg (vegan friendly) and 1 x Salted Caramel Milk Chocolate Luxury Egg - palm oil free with 100% recyclable and plastic free packaging (RRP £10.95/150g).

Love Cocoa is available online at lovecocoa.com​ and from Anthropologie, Harvey Nichols, Fenwick, Liberty, Ocado, Selfridges plus many independent outlets.

Fudging it

Fudge Kitchen has also launched a range of fudge selection boxes, including ‘Happy Easter’ … with dairy and vegan slab fudge selections in seasonal flavours.

Its artisan confectioners have created special Easter selections including the following.

Handmade, using fresh whipping cream:

• Chocolate Fudge Brownie

• Salted Caramel

• White Chocolate

• Hot Cross Bun

Vegan Easter Selection …

Handmade, replacing the dairy with either coconut milk or soya milk,

• Hot Cross Bun

• Lemon Drizzle

• Millionaire’s Shortbread

• Traditional Toffee

Weight: 700g

RRP: £16.00 (plus P&P)

Available from all Fudge Kitchen shops and online at fudgekitchen.co.uk​

Stover bunnies

In the United States, Russell Stover is gearing up with a variety of offerings for the Eater holidays including its signature bunnies and popular flavourful egg varieties, along with its new Sours! collection, there are ‘options for all candy lovers to indulge in on this sweet holiday’.

The company has also made it easier for customers to ‘build-your-own basket with affordable must-haves, plastic egg fillers in a variety of flavours and price points to fill that basket’. You can find the full gift guide of Easter offerings from its website​.

Petit praline eggs

Pierre Marcolini’s Easter Collection 2020 includes an enchanted garden full of playful rabbits for a fabulous egg hunt. Traditionally made petit praline eggs come in a variety of new flavours, using cocoa beans blending Cameroonian Forastero and Cuban Trinitario varieties.

For the main feature of the collection, Le Grand Lapin sits on two drawers filled with petit praline eggs, chocolate animals, and chocolate bells and the rabbit heart is nested in a dark  chocolate egg dusted with cocoa.

The luxury chocolatier also includes boxes to share in this year’s collection with a range of petit praline eggs, where Marcolini revisits his famous mini praline eggs and offers six new recipes using carefully sourced ingredients, including pieces of Piedmont hazelnut, pecan nut, cashew nut, Iranian pistachio, and Faro almonds. The smooth shells are finely coloured with natural powder made from dried fruits.

Check online for Pierre Marcolini’s full Easter range and prices: marcolini.com​