# Chocolate: The New Health Food? By Nigel Goodwin | Published 2006-02-21 | Lifestyle Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/chocolate-the-new-health-food Forget about Atkins. It's time for the Mars diet. Mars Inc., the company behind Milky Way, Snickers and M&Ms, plans to launch a new line of products made with dark chocolate, which the company claims has health benefits. As reported by CNN: "Called CocoaVia, the products are made with a kind of dark chocolate high in flavanols, an antioxidant found in cocoa beans that is thought to have a blood-thinning effect similar to aspirin and may even lower blood pressure. The snacks also are enriched with vitamins and injected with cholesterol-lowering plant sterols from soy. "But researchers are skeptical about using chocolate for its medicinal purposes and experts warn it's no substitute for a healthy diet... "Mars created a new division, Mars Nutrition for Health & Well-Being, to distribute CocoaVia. The company has sold the CocoaVia products online for a couple years. They are already available at retail stores in 34 states, selling for nearly $1 a bar." If only someone could make cheeseburgers healthy, too. ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 4.0/10 - Popularity: 74% | Activity: 38% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 30% men, 70% women - Primary generations: Millennial - Top markets: North America ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Lifestyle](https://www.trendhunter.com/lifestyle) > [Health](https://www.trendhunter.com/health) ## Key Themes ### What's Driving This Trend - **Dark Chocolate as Health Food:** Exploring the growing trend of using dark chocolate as a nutritious food option with potential health benefits. - **Functional Foods with Added Nutrients:** The rise of functional foods like CocoaVia that are enriched with vitamins and other beneficial ingredients. - **Consumers' Desire for Healthy Indulgences:** Addressing the demand for healthier snack options that still provide indulgence, like dark chocolate treats. ### Who This Affects Most - **Food and Beverage:** Opportunities for creating innovative products in the food and beverage industry using dark chocolate with added health benefits. - **Nutraceuticals:** The nutraceutical industry can explore the incorporation of dark chocolate in functional foods and supplements. - **Wellness and Healthy Living:** Providing healthier alternatives in the wellness industry, such as dark chocolate products, that align with consumers' desire for better choices. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [Heart Health Dark Chocolates](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/kocoatrait-dark-chocolates.md) - [Functional Superfood Chocolates](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/superfood-chocolates.md) - [Keto-Friendly Chocolate Foods](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/keto-friendly-chocolate-foods.md) - [Gut-Friendly Functional Chocolates](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/meiji-chocolate.md) - [Beneficial Botanical Chocolate Bars](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/yes-cacao-bars.md) - [Vitamin-Enriched Chocolate Lines](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/fourx-better-chocolates.md) - [Everyday Functional Chocolates](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/functional-chocolate-co.md) - [Sugar-Reducing Chocolate Technologies](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/chocolate-bar-technology.md) - [Protein-Rich Chocolate Bars](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/chocotein.md)