Wholesale Chocolate – Considering the Health Benefits

Whenever one is discussing retail and wholesale chocolate sales strategies, almost inevitably today the subject arises of health implications and appropriate consumer messages. So what is the current thinking in the industry on this important subject?

A Recap of the History

It’s a matter of some debate amongst historians as to when chocolate started to get something of a bad press in terms of its potential health impact. Certainly, in the first half of the 20th century it was sold as being positively beneficial for health. That message was largely widely accepted and supported by the medical profession.

However, minor as the scale of the problems appear to be from our perspective today, by the 1960s and 1970s, society was already starting to become concerned about obesity and over-consumption. Seemingly almost overnight, chocolate moved from being something seen as a beneficial foodstuff into the category of doubtful in terms of its health impact.

What drove this shift?

It’s important to keep this in the context of the times. In the third and earlier fourth quarters of the 20th century, obesity was seen to be largely a question of the over consumption of calories. Processed chocolate can be relatively high in terms of its calorie content and, as such, along with many other foodstuffs, it became equated with obesity.

Of course, today, with our greater understanding of genetics and biochemistry, we now know that a simple equation between calories and obesity cannot be made. In fact, over-consumption and obesity needs to be seen in a far more holistic sense and take into account a whole range of other balanced diet issues. It simply isn’t possible to point the finger at one or two foodstuffs and position them as the villains.

The Pendulum Swings

In the 21st century, the good news for retailers and wholesale chocolate providers is that the medical and healthy eating professions have radically revised their view of chocolate. Current medical evidence suggests that far from being harmful, the moderate consumption of certain types of chocolate may actually be beneficial to your health.
The various fats and compounds in chocolate are becoming increasingly associated with certain cardio-vascular benefits, a lowering of harmful cholesterol in the blood, and even possibly some advantages in terms of protecting against type-2 diabetes.

Nobody is suggesting that it would be wise to focus a marketing programme on chocolate for medical treatment, however, there does seem to be increasing evidence from experts and well-qualified sources to suggest that it may beneficial when consumed in sensible quantities. It is, of course, important to stress that its consumption should form part of an overall balanced diet - consuming almost anything in excess may have detrimental health effects.

The most important message here is that retailers and wholesale chocolate providers appear to have no reason to apologise for their product any longer. In fact, the contrary may well be the case and, in years to come, retailers may find themselves increasing their stock orders of wholesale chocolate for these very reasons.