IT sounds like the kind of product dreamt up in Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory.
A Glasgow-based scientist has created a new style of chocolate bar that is said to taste good while being healthier than its market rivals.
And demand is such that Dr Neil Robson and wife Suzanne, owners of Rebel Chocolate, are ramping up production from the current 200, 90g bars per week to 2,000 by the end of the year.
The husband and wife, who met while studying towards PhDs in immunology at the University of Glasgow, launched Rebel earlier this year. Their product is currently stocked by independent outlets such as Pittenweem Chocolate Shop and Kimbles Café, Deli and Chocolate Shop in Glasgow, and available online. Compared with competitor brands, Rebel contains less sugar and more cocoa, while being high in protein and lactose free.
Dr Robson, who praised Business Gateway for its “tremendous support” in bringing the product to market, said: “At Rebel Chocolate we make unique chocolate bars in which we maximise the good and minimise the bad. We make our milk chocolate with less sugar and enhance it by adding in whey protein from milk. The end result is delicious chocolate which is lactose free and contains 25 per cent protein.”
Dr Robson, who studied biochemistry and molecular biology in New Zealand before moving to Glasgow, began working on Rebel after a back injury sustained doing martial arts training ultimately prevented him from continuing with his research. He said his scientific grounding had been a major asset as he created Rebel. Dr Robson said: “My background is in protein biochemistry and immunology so when I set myself the challenge to create a healthier chocolate I was able to draw on my training and experience gained through my scientific research.
“Whilst making chocolate is totally different to trying to cure cancer, the thought process of recipe development is very similar to scientific experimentation.”
There are currently three flavours in the range: Belgian Milk, Single Origin Colombian Milk and Single Estate Madagascan Milk.
The company recently took the product to the Loch Lomond Food Festival, and will appear at the Scotland Fitness and Nutrition Expo next month and the Perth Chocolate and Gin Festival in November.
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