Chocolate and wellness will not be two words traditionally used together, but that’s changing fast. 

That’s because whether it’s functional mushrooms, skin-boosting bites or probiotic yogurt, wellness brands want to chocolate to create indulgent but good-for-you products.

As consumers have doubled down on their wellness routines over the past few years, latest complement formats have grown in popularity as a consequence of pill fatigue. Most notably, gummy supplements saw an uptick in 2022 with 41 percent of consumers preferring the format, based on Mintel. Nevertheless, as gummies often include the next sugar content, other formats, most notably all-natural chocolate, are gaining traction. 

Some brands hopped onto this trend early. For instance, in 2017 Moon Juice launched its Cosmic Cocoa, $30, an adaptogenic hot chocolate powder that supports libido, mood and skin. Search data from Spate shows that chocolate searched alongside collagen peptides is important with nearly 25 percent year-over-year growth.

And now more brands are following suit in relation to chocolate supplements.

For Alice founders Lindsay Goodstein and Charlotte Cruze, chocolate was the perfect vehicle to supply consumers with functional mushrooms that also happened to be delicious. 

“After I began looking, [functional mushrooms] were all powders, pills, tinctures, gummies that were made with artificial ingredients and I more so desired to lean into indulgence,” said Goodstein, also the brand’s chief executive officer. “There’s something to say about wellness, not having to be so uncomfortable and celebrating something that’s good for you.” 

Elsewhere, the Coconut Cult is celebrating the ability of probiotics, typically taken in a pill format, through its every day probiotic yogurt. Its chocolate mousse flavor offers 25 billion probiotics and the addition of cacao provides fiber, which also supports healthy digestion.

While chocolate-based supplements address consumer demand for more enjoyable wellness routines, the ingredient also poses several additional advantages that brands like The Coconut Cult are harnessing.  

“Chocolate, when it’s pure, has numerous oils in it. That makes it a extremely good carrier for certain kinds of molecules,” explained Dr. Sarah J. Robbins, gastroenterologist and founding father of Well Sunday. “It’s actually a very good way of getting fat-soluble nutrients [like vitamin A, D, E and K] into something that’s a very good carrier and it could possibly get into your body and into your bowel after which it helps it to be digested and absorbed… Dark chocolate that’s minimally processed has numerous antioxidants in it.” It also incorporates high sources of minerals like zinc and magnesium.

Chocolate’s nutrient absorption and snackability were key aspects for Sourse, which recently launched at Sephora, when formulating its bite-sized beauty-boosting and well-being supplements.

“Dark chocolate is a natural prebiotic with polyphenols that truly aid in nutrient absorption,” said Sourse cofounder and chief executive officer Jenne Moore. “The most important thing that we’ve seen or heard from our customers is it’s easy to recollect and once you don’t remember your pill or powder day by day you’re not going to see results. Everyone’s after results… and consumers are seeing that snackable, convenient form aspects are what’s driving that for them.”

Reports from Mintel show that by utilizing alternative formats, brands can be more successful, especially with younger consumers, by offering more enjoyable experiences — think functional food or indulgent formats.

But while chocolate supplements are addressing consumer demand for alternative formats, founders within the space don’t expect an influx of entrants to the market as a consequence of the difficult formulation process brought on by the ingredient’s profile and melting point.

“From a formulating perspective, there’s numerous challenges to it because chocolate you possibly can only mix powder. You possibly can’t mix any oils or liquids after which obviously flavor, you’re making something that’s purported to taste good,” said Cruze. “There’s definitely a barrier to entry into working with chocolate and I feel you will have to be really dedicated and passionate and know you need to work with chocolate to make it work.”

With this in mind, experts recommend looking for out top quality chocolates.

“The purer the higher, the closer to source the higher,” said Robbins.