Who says that only a chocolatier can create his/her unique chocolate bar? Even if chocolate is not your company's main product, having your very own chocolate bar could be a fun and artistic way to get your branding done, attract the potential customers’ attention and then show the customers all your capabilities. Bakeries, cafés, restaurants, and specialty food shops are in an excellent position to do this already. 

The reason why chocolate bars are good for an add-on product is very simple: they are an easy choice for the customers. Being shelf-stable, the bars are easy for the customers to add us their purchase with little or no thinking at all. In case your restaurant or café already has a gift shop section with your brand, a chocolate bar is a safe buy for those who don’t want to spend more than a few dollars, but still, want a souvenir to expand on the great culinary experience they just had. That’s why it is important to make one that fully shows your quality, boldness, and standards. 

 

The Missed Opportunity: Outsourcing by Default

The majority of the bakeries and restaurants that offer chocolate bars opt to have them made by a third-party chocolatier. This makes sense if you have complete faith in your chocolatier as well as in the accuracy of your request, but if you need to cut back on expenses and at the same time really want to have this product (a product which can very easily either become a generic representation of your brand or a uniquely surprising one) under highly controlled production conditions, then it is better to get involved if you have the time. 

Making Chocolate Bars Can Be Easier Than You Think

High-quality chocolate bars can be made without the use of sophisticated equipment, just good quality raw materials, and an innovative idea. You might consider the purchase of a small-scale melanger, a basic tempering setup, and good molds. If you are a business that has been already dealing with food production, the learning curve will not be steep at all.

Chocolate making at its simplest can be described as the mixing of cacao liquor, cacao butter, and sugar, followed by refining and tempering until it acts like good chocolate. Finally, that mixture is poured into molds and left to solidify. There are a lot of things you could add such as lecithin, vanilla, and even milk. You can also add toppings or filling which can be a part of your experimentation. There are so many ways to experiment that it is the very reason why chocolate is so much fun.

 

Let’s Get Technical 

Cacao butter is that quality that plays a crucial role in whether or not a chocolate bar breaks with a clean snap rather than bends, melts with a nice flow and sets evenly, and so on. 

Cacao butter is a polymorphic fat which means it has the ability to crystallize into more than one form. Out of all these different crystal structures, one of them called stable beta crystals (Form V) gives the chocolate that nice shiny look and a firm snap. If cacao butter does not crystallize in the correct way, the outcome will be a bar that is dull-looking, soft and bendy to touch, or even getting fat bloom. 

This is where the tempering process is applied. The tempering is the getting of the cacao butter to establish the crystal structure we previously spoke about (Form V). One sure-fire method to always get this form is through a technique called butter seeding where already-tempered cacao butter is mixed in with the melted chocolate. The stable crystals in the added butter act as a blueprint for the remaining cacao butter to crystallize rightly when the chocolate is cooling down. 

Lecithin is an ingredient that needs to be closely scrutinized when making chocolate. Not all the time it is needed, but when it is, it can be of great help. Lecithin is a type of emulsifier that is only required in minute quantities for viscosity to be lowered, thus making it easier to process. It assists in giving a smooth blending of the various ingredients hence thereby creating a homogeneous result. 

Making chocolate is no longer an intimidating affair when one comprehends these basic concepts.

Creative Bar Ideas for Non-Chocolate Brands

For confectionery companies, the first step is to come up with chocolate bars that can showcase or remind people what company’s artistry is all about.

As for the bakery, here is what it could be like:

- Signature Pastries Inspirited Bars

- Milling or grinding of fruits and nuts for spreading flavors like brown butter, sourdough crumb, or citrus notes...

The bakery might also include:

For cafés:

- Bars with a strong coffee taste

- Milk alternatives 

- Move your seasonal flavors around by rotation

For restaurants:

- Pudding like bars inspired by desserts you already offer on your menu

- Savory proportions or spice profiles

 

Choosing Ingredients

When bars are made on your own, the choice of ingredients will be your identity. For example, using high-grade cacao liquor having multi-flavored notes can be the turning point. Sometimes, less is more.

At CocoaSupply, we supply the cacao ingredients that help companies to make their own bars using the highest quality Ecuadorian high aroma cacao that is minimally processed. By using these products instead of pre-formed chocolates, you are able to produce something that is completely yours.

A Low-Risk Way to Expand Your Offering

Sometimes, an expansion does not mean that you have to add a brand new or extravagant thing. Sometimes it’s just realizing how much more you can do with what you already have and how much you are already known and loved for. Your clients would appreciate it if they could reach more of that. The little, simple, and thoughtful expressions of your brand are always a great idea.