Wellness trend reveals opportunities in better-for-you confectionery
Health and wellness continue to be one of the key drivers of innovation in the confectionery and chocolate category. Today’s consumers are looking for permissible indulgence: products that satisfy cravings while aligning with better-for-you expectations. As a result, demand is growing for chocolates and confectionery products that combine indulgence with improved nutritional profiles.
Less sugar, clean label formulations and natural ingredients are high on consumers’ priority lists. At the same time, taste and texture remain non-negotiable. Successful better-for-you confectionery products achieve a careful balance—maintaining sensory quality while partially replacing traditional ingredients with healthier and more natural alternatives.
As expectations evolve, consumers are no longer willing to choose between indulgence and healthiness. For food and beverage manufacturers, this means continuously developing more creative and innovative solutions.
Protein brings a health halo to confectionery
Protein enrichment plays a significant role in enabling indulgence with positive health connotations. Added protein provides a “green light” for consumers seeking to balance enjoyment and perceived health benefits. Higher-protein chocolate and confectionery products appeal to health-conscious consumers and support indulgence without guilt. When executed well, indulgent protein products successfully combine great taste with enhanced nutritional value.
Consumer trends and regulatory requirements drive manufacturers to develop new reduced sugar products. Naturality is something that health-aware consumers are looking for in their indulgence products. Manufacturers who only use natural ingredients in their confectionery might have an advantage over manufacturers who use sweeteners, colourings, or preservatives.
Digestive comfort is also important consideration influencing consumer choices. Globally, millions of people experience gastrointestinal challenges such as lactose intolerance or Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). This has accelerated demand for gut-friendly food solutions, a trend that increasingly extends to chocolate and confectionery products.
Lactose free products are a growing sector in the latest food and beverage product launches. While the majority of lactose free launches are in white milks, other categories, such as ice cream, chocolate milks, snacking products, yogurts and puddings are also growing. Lactose free milk chocolates have also gained a presence in the market.
The confectionery industry has all the prerequisites needed to capture growth from the health and wellness trend
Confectionery products, and chocolate products in particular, stand apart as foodstuffs that straddle a variety of consumption occasions. Chocolate products may be perceived as indulgent treats as well as suitable options for snacking. And there is clear growth for the healthy snackification trend, as consumers crave convenient and nutritious meal options when eating on the go.
Furthermore, a range of complex of factors influence consumers’ desire for chocolate – from sensory and emotional to social and ethical, or relating to dietary preference.
Where sensory excellence meets better nutrition
Valio’s solutions give food and beverage producers the tools to tweak their offerings to better respond to the market’s demands. In addition to offering tasty, healthy, and nutritionally balanced products with customized functionalities, companies can develop their products to suit all consumers.
Valio Eila® lactose free milk powders are unique, specialty milk powders that enable confectionery producers to create tastier and healthier milk and white chocolate, fillings, sweet spreads, toffee and fudges, cacao drinks, coating chocolate, and a host of other products.
The versatile range of properties offered by Valio Eila® powders makes them suitable for use in a broad range of applications and for delivering on multiple on-pack claims, such as lactose free, gluten-free, clean label and less sugar. The powders can also be used to create and modulate different sensory profiles.
Meet the growing demand for better-for-you chocolate and confectionery
Our whitepaper explores new opportunities in natural sugar reduction, digestive-friendly formulations, and the role of AI in product development—plus practical insights for chocolate, fillings, caramels, and cocoa powders. Download it to gain clear, science-based guidance for creating the next generation of permissible indulgence.
