Easter treats are designed to inspire desire, but don’t be fooled.
"You can make something look fancier and higher quality than it is,” says marketing expert Mike Lee from Auckland University.
"Instead of investing in the product, companies might invest in packaging."
It’s not a new trick, but it comes into its own at Easter.
Extra cute bunnies and colourful packaging make for good sales, and extra large boxes promise huge returns but might contain less than you’d hoped.
Fair Go found fancy packaging doesn’t always provide a good reflection of taste.
The show recruited some children for an unscientific blind taste test of 11 chocolate bunnies. Before the test began, they selected their favourites based on the packaging. The biggest product was the favourite.
But, after blind tasting, the same product had the lowest rating for taste.
There’s also the issue that chocolate packaging can be used for 'green-washing'. Lee explains that "you can give an impression of sustainability or being fair and ethical using certain colours, even though this may not be the case".
Consumers who like to feel they’re making ethical purchases may rely on accreditation, but even these might not tell the whole story.
For example, Guylian supports Project Seahorse. This does great work for seahorse conservation but says nothing about sustainable farming. However, the company also bears the Project Cocoa logo. An internet search for this organisation reveals a goal of sustainable farming by 2025.
So it’s looking good. But, the Australian Ethical Consumer Guide has put in the hard yards and carried out a comprehensive analysis of numerous chocolate companies, looking at their impact on deforestation, packaging and the treatment of farmers.
In this guide, Guylian is rated with an F. That’s the lowest rating. It’s the same low rating for the likes of Cadbury and Lindt.
It’s not across the board though. Of the companies we looked at who sell products in New Zealand and are included in the guide, Ferrero Rocher scored a C, with Whittaker’s getting the highest rating of a B.
Checking guides like this can help you work out which companies operate with sustainable practices. But some chocolate makers, particularly the smaller craft companies, aren’t included in the Australian guide.
For these boutique operations, the best way to determine their ethical commitment is to talk to the companies directly.
Fair Go spoke to Miann’s owner, Brian Campbell. He says his Auckland-based company visits the farmers they use, and ensure they pay them more than they’re paid by the bigger manufacturers to ensure quality cocoa product and to improve the farmers’ livelihood.
He admits this extra cost does get passed down to the consumer.
"You pay more to get the best of anything, that’s just a reality."
Other consumers may be interested in buying a treat that’s at least a little bit healthy. After all, there are numerous claims about chocolate being good for you, from heart health to brainpower.
Nutritionist Nikki Hart says these claims should be taken with a pinch of salt.
For a start, the claims are for one ingredient of chocolate – the flavonoids found in cocoa beans.
Much of their goodness is processed out of the final product, so to get a health benefit "you’d have to eat it every day", Hart says.
"And, as a nutritionist, I can’t recommend that you eat a chocolate a day instead of an apple a day."
The reason is that chocolate as a whole contains added sugar and milk solids which aren’t so great for your daily diet.
For those wanting to be as healthy as possible though, the best bet is to opt for dark chocolate, the higher the percentage of cacao the better.
For the ultimate gain, craft chocolate is likely to be best as it’s less processed than commercial bars.
Hart recommends dark over milk chocolate but also has this advice for Easter shoppers: “Enjoy it because it’s a beautiful, luxury item, but be sure not to over-consume."
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