Cheese-Filled Chocolate: Next Chocolate Trend?

Cheese-filled chocolate isn't exactly a new concept, but Spanish company Natra is hoping that new savory-sweet chocolates will mark Spain as a premier chocolate country.

Industry magazine Food Navigator reports that Natra has developed wine-, cheese-, and olive oil-filled chocolates, hoping that utilizing Mediterranean flavors would increase the chocolate's appeal.

Currently, the company is testing a a creamy sheep's cheese typical to the Basque region. "It's not just a creamy cheese but something which really tastes of cheese," Eli Lopez de Bergara, marketing and innovation manager at Natra, told Food Navigator.

Of course, this isn't the first cheese-filled chocolate out there. French chocolatier Jean Paul-Hévin has a cheese-chocolate appetizer box, where creamy cheeses like goat cheese are wrapped in dark chocolate. Meanwhile, Japanese confectioner Meiji has developed a cheese and chocolate bar, with white chocolate. And in Hungary, Túró Rudi chocolate bars cover sweet cheese curds with crunchy chocolate.