Vegan Easter eggs seem to have been problematic this year and its to do with the creation of vegan chocolate. Whilst the eggs have a typical chocolate flavour they’ve been found to be too brittle and tend to shatter even as they are taken out of their packaging.
In 2021, Easter egg sales rose by 50% in the UK. The sales effect must have been due to a celebration of easing of lockdown restrictions.
Back in 2019, Galaxy introduced hazelnut milk as the alternative to diary milk. The chocolate was creamy and had a smooth texture but it wasn’t convincing enough to fool those who enjoyed dairy milk-based chocolate. That impression hasn’t changed.
Whilst nearly half of consumers (48%) sampled from 2,000 know about vegan chocolate, only 4% actually buy it to any great extent. Of those who did the vegan chocolate was found to be too brittle even though the flavour was perfectly acceptable.
Sainsbury’s created a luxury Cocoa & Co. Hand Decorated Easter egg which was made with cocoa butter and rice powder. Some consumers found the egg too soft in texture and a flavour that took it away from real chocolate (South Wales Argus, 2021). It could however claim to free from gluten and milk.
Marks & Spencers offered the consumer a vegan Easter egg in the shape of an aubergine which would have caused some confusion. The ‘egg’ however was intended as a play on its plant-derived credentials. Unfortunately, whilst aubergines are enjoyed by many in the emoji world it is an x-rated symbol (Metro, 2021).
It is hoped in time that vegan chocolate will overcome its texture issues.
References
Metro, (2021) https://metro.co.uk/2021/01/25/ms-shoppers-shocked-by-suggestive-aubergine-easter-egg-13959558/
South Wales Argus (2021) https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/19186423.tesco-asda-aldi-m-s—best-worst-easter-eggs/. Accessed 06/04/2021
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