Chocolate: Galaxy introduces vegan bars
Mars gives vegan chocaholics an early Christmas present
What vegan does not like chocolate and has not felt a pang of irritation at just how difficult it can be to get dairy-free chocolate without going to a specialist shop? Well, times certainly are changing. Mars is now joining the vegan trend with the announcement that Galaxy is to introduce not one, but three vegan chocolate bars.
“Wherever you look you can’t avoid the vegan buzz in the UK and with the launch of Galaxy Vegan we’re thrilled to be offering vegans, flexitarians and lovers of sweet treats even more ways to choose pleasure with a brand they love,” said Kerry Cavanaugh, marketing director at Mars Wrigley UK.
The company is, he said, “so excited” to introduce the Galaxy vegan range that “doesn’t compromise on the brand’s signature smooth and creamy characteristics”. Mars the parent company claims to be the first major milk chocolate manufacturer to offer a plant-based vegan chocolate alternative.
As of next week, three varieties will be available to complement Galaxy’s traditional range. The vegan versions are caramelised hazelnut, smooth orange and caramel and sea salt.
Galaxy’s recipe is using a mixture of hazelnut paste and rice syrup instead of dairy. This is the combination that Mars says gives the vegan version the “same velvet texture of standard Galaxy”. It has spent six months working on the variation of its classic milk chocolate.
Tesco’s will carry the chocolate from Monday 18th November and Ocado and Amazon will follow shortly thereafter.
Vegan Society approved with special compostable packaging
The company has actually collaborated with the Vegan Society on the launch as well as the design of the new chocolate range’s logo.
In addition the packaging is made from compostable film packaging made from wood fibre. It will break down in home composting in a few months. The outer card is recyclable in the normal way. This is a first for Mars.
It is also Mars’ first UK confectionery product to be wrapped in
Dark chocolate is naturally vegan, or “accidentally” vegan but often does not have a vegan label on account of the risk of cross-contamination in the factories where they are produced. But milk chocolate has, until now, largely been the problem for vegans.
The bars will retail at £3 for 100g. This is more than double the cost of standard Galaxy and they pack in just over 50 more calories in 100g because of the rich nut pastes. The extra calories are a price most vegans will think worth paying – if not the actual monetary price. It is doubtful that the price point will prove an obstacle for most vegans with a sweet tooth that fancies a special treat.
