Maltesers has launched a dark chocolate version of its classic confectionary treat with 30% less sugar, in response to growing consumer demand.
The latest NPD from Mars Wrigley marks the first innovation to its classic malt ball range for more than ten years. The new dark chocolate Maltesers will be available in four different SKUs, each containing 65% more cocoa and 30% less sugar than the core range.
The new lines have been created to take advantage of the market trend towards dark chocolate, which Mars said was the brand’s “most requested new flavour”. The new lines are described as offering an “intense cocoa experience”.
READ MORE: Mars launches first-ever ‘healthy’ HFSS-compliant chocolate bar
“We are excited to be extending our Maltesers range to offer fans a new twist on the chocolate malt confections, which we all know and love,” said Maltesers’ brand director Leah Dyckes.
“We thought it was about time to finally create dark Maltesers, as fans have been requesting us to bring out this flavour for years. We’re proud to have developed this new innovation and we can’t wait for everyone to taste the new product.”
The new dark chocolate product follows a number of previous Maltesers variations, including orange, mint and white chocolate Malteser Buttons, as well as a range of biscuits manufactured by Burton’s.
It’s been already been a strong year for Maltesers, which added £12.7m to its sales last year, growing 7% to £195.7m over the year ending 1 January 2022. According to the brand, around six packs of Maltesers are sold every second.
Dark Maltesers will be available nationwide from Monday 20 June.
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