Cadbury Creates Kale Crème, Beetroot Jelly, And Wasabi Crunch Chocolates

For 100 years, the Cadbury Milk Tray has undergone many tweaks and changes to its assortment, according to The Telegraph. Iconic flavors such as the lime cordial barrel, peach cream swirl, and rose cream dome have come and gone, to the dismay of some die-hard chocolate fans.

In an effort to meet consumers' "ever changing tastes and preferences," says a spokesperson for Mondelēz, which owns Cadbury, scientists at Milk Tray are experimenting with flavors to appeal to more health-conscious consumers. These said flavors are Kale Crème, Beetroot Jelly, and Wasabi Crunch.

Dave Shepherd, Milk Tray's head of product development, says, "Beetroot is one of the ways you can get the red colour without using artificial colourings. Kale is more of a gamble, but people are much more health orientated and crispy kale is already being eaten by some as a substitute for crisps. Ten years ago, nobody would've thought chilli chocolate would work."

Elizabeth Anderson from The Telegraph visited Mondelēz's chocolate innovation lab and tried the flavors for herself. Of the Wasabi Crunch, a dome-shaped chocolate shell filled with bits of chopped wasabi peas and wasabi-flavored cream, she says, "It had a sharp, savoury taste, enough to make many wince." The Beetroot Jelly barrels were a pleasant surprise for Anderson. She says, "[I]t had a fairly pleasant taste, and is surprisingly sweet – like a strong, fruity jam." Finally, of the kale-inspired chocolate dome, Anderson says, "It had an overwhelmingly bitter taste with an earthy flavour that can't be disguised by the sweet chocolate casing."

Shepherd says, "What we're doing is similar to the fashion industry. The clothes you see on the catwalk never appear as they are on the shelves. Instead you see things inspired by it a little bit down the line."