We discovered months ago back in March that Trader Joe’s is testing a vegan “milk” chocolate bar and the world is ready. Due to dietary restrictions and food trends, many things have become veganized. There are so many vegan foods and dishes that are available, but a lot of desserts and chocolate bars depend on cocoa powder and cacao nibs to get that taste we’re all looking for. But while those replacements are okay, it would be nice to have some actual chocolate chips.
In an episode of the podcast Inside Trader Joe’s, Tara Miller, the company’s Director of Words, Phrases, and Clauses shared that the grocery chain is working on a full vegan “milk” chocolate.
Miller said that the product is still in development but it has been approved by the company’s tasting panel. The “milk” in the chocolate is almond milk. “But I wouldn’t have known the difference,” Miller says, “if I wasn’t told it would’ve just tasted like creamy milk chocolate. I feel like our vegan customers are going to absolutely flip when they see this product,” Miller added. And luckily the moment has arrived!
This month, Trader Joe’s finally released its new vegan milk chocolate bar in response to increased customer demand.
The vegan chocolate bar has been in development for several months as revealed by the grocery chain in one of its podcasts in February. The new “Organic Almond Beverage Chocolate Bar” contains almond milk, a blend of almond flour and water, cocoa butter, sugar, sea salt and cocoa beans. According to the chain’s marketing director Tara Miller, the vegan chocolate is so identical to good creamy milk chocolate that she feels “vegan customers are going to absolutely flip for that particular bar.”
Announcing the release on Instagram, the brand wrote: “Whatever your reason for dairy-ditching, there’s a plethora of pleasant milk alternatives—whether you want a bowl of cold cereal, or just to enjoy a chilled glass of “milk.” “But what about the real need to enjoy a milk chocolate bar? This Almond Beverage #ChocolateBar is the answer!”