Dark chocolate is basically always completely plant-based (i.e. vegan). ClearChox also has a growing number of vegan chocolate bars in its range. As an alternative to milk chocolate, for people who prefer no dairy. Instead of ‘real’ milk, for example, cashew, oat or coconut milk has been added to the chocolate. They are tasty, soft, creamy, melting on the tongue… Exactly what you are looking for in a special chocolate.
Naming
The naming is not always clear. Much is forbidden in terms of naming, and much is still unclear. That doesn’t make it easy for manufacturers to decide what to put on the packaging. And it therefore does not make it easy for the customer to find the product.
Search for vegan
We ensure that these chocolates always can be found in our webshop under the search attribute ‘vegan’. And if you include a lower cocoa percentage in your search, for instance up to 50% or 50-70%, you will find what you are looking for. Auro, Chocolat Madagascar, Definite, Georgia Ramon, Original Beans, Soklet – they all have one or more delicious creamy vegan bars!
Milk chocolate is not allowed
It is important to know that we are not allowed to call these plant-based chocolates milk chocolate. What is allowed is to use adjectives. So, for example, something like ‘creamy cashew-based chocolate’ is allowed. What is also allowed is: ‘A delicious creamy plant-based alternative to milk chocolate’.
Phantasy names: yes or no
Where it starts to get really unclear is with the fantasy names. We find names such as Mylckchocolate, M_LKchocolate or M!lkchocolate. And it is not entirely clear whether they are allowed or not. What makes it more complex is that many of our chocolate makers also sell their bars in other parts of the world, for example in the United States, where such names are allowed. It is striking that many European big chocolate producers are conservative and stay away from these kinds of names as much as possible. For example, Lindt uses the name ‘Vegan smooth – Made with oat drink’. So then it’s just not called chocolate anymore. And Barry Callebaut sells it in bulk as ‘NXT Dairy Free M_LK – the tastiest and creamiest alternative to milk chocolate’.
Finally
While it is rather vague at the moment, ClearChox does not want to create extra costs and hassle for its artisan chocolate makers by asking them to change fantasy names (including packaging, etc). We will of course do so if it becomes clear that this is really not allowed. But in the meantime, it is already important for you as a retailer to choose the right words when it comes to plant-based chocolates. Because milk may not always be called milk….
