Chocolate pill enters supplement market — but scientists aren’t swallowing the hype
by Corinne Gretler,
2015-11-24 05:55:12.0
Chocolate pill enters supplement market — but scientists aren’t swallowing the hype
IT’S an idea Willy Wonka’s evil twin might have dreamed up: chocolate that’s healthy, calorie-free, and no fun at all. Behold, the chocolate pill.
Sweet makers are pumping up production of nutritional supplements with flavanols, a cocoa extract said to improve blood circulation. Barry Callebaut, the world’s top maker of bulk chocolate, is planning flavanol pills that have been approved by European health authorities as a supplement that is beneficial to the heart, and Mondelez International is researching the benefits of flavanols for future products.
They join Mars, which is considering European sales of a range of flavanol capsules and powders and may seek approval from regulators. Mars’s offering, a supplement called CocoaVia, has been available in the US since 2010, and a handful of smaller companies have introduced similar products in recent years.
In May, Mars announced a five-year study with Harvard University researchers to quantify the health benefits of flavanols.
Callebaut, which supplies Unilever with chocolate for its Magnum ice cream, says it will team up with French nutrition supplement maker Naturex, which it will supply with cocoa beans to make and sell an extract of flavanols — antioxidants found in the cocoa plant.
The extract will start reaching retailers next year, and while Callebaut and its partners have not yet released pricing data, Mars’s CocoaVia costs $45 for 90 pills — a 30-day supply.
"The science is already done, so getting it to the market should go fast, provided customers are willing to go fast," says Naturex CEO Olivier Rigaud. "There’s no need for further scientific testing or clinical studies."
The flavanol extracts will enter a dietary supplement market that has grown 23%, to $51bn, in the past five years, according to Euromonitor.
Scientists, though, caution that buyers should not count on such products to improve their health, and the US Justice Department has just charged more than 100 makers of nutritional products with fraud in the sale and marketing of dietary supplements.
"Supplements appeal to humans’ sense of control over their own health and hard-wired magical thinking that they might do some good," says Marion Nestle, a nutrition professor at New York University. "This has nothing to do with science. If anything, the science shows that supplements have powerful placebo effects."
In April, Callebaut became the first chocolate company to win European Commission approval for claims of health benefits from flavanol extracts. European Union food safety officials say 200mg of cocoa flavanols daily enhances circulation by supporting the elasticity of blood vessels.
Problem is getting 200mg of flavanols would require eating about two dark chocolate bars, with roughly 350 calories and 20g of fat, or more than four bars of milk chocolate — about 900 calories and 50g of fat, according to Mars.
Or, Mars says, for about $1.50, it can get 375g of flavanols from CocoaVia capsules, with 10 calories and no fat.
Mars has not received any regulatory approval for CocoaVia capsules and powders, which come in either cran-raspberry or dark chocolate flavour to be mixed into drinks. The company’s website claims that taken daily, the cocoa flavanols in the supplements promote a healthy heart by improving blood flow.
But there is an asterisk that says the statements have not been evaluated by the US Food and Drug Administration and that CocoaVia is not intended to treat or prevent disease. Nonetheless, Mars says sales of the products have tripled over the past year.
Some confectioners say they have little interest in taking the enjoyment out of chocolate.
Lindt & Sprungli, the maker of Lindor chocolate balls, says it is not considering cocoa supplements because it wants to keep focusing on indulgence. Nestle says it is researching the health benefits of flavanols, but has no plans to include them in its products.
Bloomberg
Sweet makers are ramping up production of nutritional supplements with flavanols, a cocoa extract said to improve blood circulation, but some confectioners are sticking to enjoyable chocolate. Picture: BLOOMBERG/PHILIPP SCHMIDLI
IT’S an idea Willy Wonka’s evil twin might have dreamed up: chocolate that’s healthy, calorie-free, and no fun at all. Behold, the chocolate pill.
Sweet makers are pumping up production of nutritional supplements with flavanols, a cocoa extract said to improve blood circulation. Barry Callebaut, the world’s top maker of bulk chocolate, is planning flavanol pills that have been approved by European health authorities as a supplement that is beneficial to the heart, and Mondelez International is researching the benefits of flavanols for future products.
They join Mars, which is considering European sales of a range of flavanol capsules and powders and may seek approval from regulators. Mars’s offering, a supplement called CocoaVia, has been available in the US since 2010, and a handful of smaller companies have introduced similar products in recent years.
In May, Mars announced a five-year study with Harvard University researchers to quantify the health benefits of flavanols.
Callebaut, which supplies Unilever with chocolate for its Magnum ice cream, says it will team up with French nutrition supplement maker Naturex, which it will supply with cocoa beans to make and sell an extract of flavanols — antioxidants found in the cocoa plant.
The extract will start reaching retailers next year, and while Callebaut and its partners have not yet released pricing data, Mars’s CocoaVia costs $45 for 90 pills — a 30-day supply.
"The science is already done, so getting it to the market should go fast, provided customers are willing to go fast," says Naturex CEO Olivier Rigaud. "There’s no need for further scientific testing or clinical studies."
The flavanol extracts will enter a dietary supplement market that has grown 23%, to $51bn, in the past five years, according to Euromonitor.
Scientists, though, caution that buyers should not count on such products to improve their health, and the US Justice Department has just charged more than 100 makers of nutritional products with fraud in the sale and marketing of dietary supplements.
"Supplements appeal to humans’ sense of control over their own health and hard-wired magical thinking that they might do some good," says Marion Nestle, a nutrition professor at New York University. "This has nothing to do with science. If anything, the science shows that supplements have powerful placebo effects."
In April, Callebaut became the first chocolate company to win European Commission approval for claims of health benefits from flavanol extracts. European Union food safety officials say 200mg of cocoa flavanols daily enhances circulation by supporting the elasticity of blood vessels.
Problem is getting 200mg of flavanols would require eating about two dark chocolate bars, with roughly 350 calories and 20g of fat, or more than four bars of milk chocolate — about 900 calories and 50g of fat, according to Mars.
Or, Mars says, for about $1.50, it can get 375g of flavanols from CocoaVia capsules, with 10 calories and no fat.
Mars has not received any regulatory approval for CocoaVia capsules and powders, which come in either cran-raspberry or dark chocolate flavour to be mixed into drinks. The company’s website claims that taken daily, the cocoa flavanols in the supplements promote a healthy heart by improving blood flow.
But there is an asterisk that says the statements have not been evaluated by the US Food and Drug Administration and that CocoaVia is not intended to treat or prevent disease. Nonetheless, Mars says sales of the products have tripled over the past year.
Some confectioners say they have little interest in taking the enjoyment out of chocolate.
Lindt & Sprungli, the maker of Lindor chocolate balls, says it is not considering cocoa supplements because it wants to keep focusing on indulgence. Nestle says it is researching the health benefits of flavanols, but has no plans to include them in its products.
Bloomberg
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