9 Best Whole Foods Chocolate Bars (Brands & Reviews)

When I was a kid living in the United States, going to Whole Foods was a momentous occasion. It was only on my birthday or when I could persuade my mother that we need gourmet hummus. As I got older and started doing all of my own grocery shopping and cooking (occasionally including fancy hummus), I quickly learned that when it comes to health food stores, Whole Foods’ chocolate selection is consistently one of the best. This was something that I discovered as I began doing all of my own grocery shopping and cooking.

Not only do they maintain a large number of brands on a national scale, but they also consistently have a local segment for much more nimble manufacturers. Even after being purchased by Amazon, they have maintained the same high quality of their inventory, and I don’t anticipate that this will change in the near future.

Even while it would seem odd for a fine chocolate expert to suggest buying a handful of bars that cost about $4 each, a good number of the chocolate bars sold at Whole Foods are both ethical and cheap options. I’ll be the first to say that they don’t always have the most sophisticated tastes, but compared to the sugary trash I ate when I was a child, they’re light years ahead of the game.

After getting into high-quality chocolate around a decade ago, I discovered that the Milky Way® and Aero® bars that I consumed as a child were more like chocolate-flavored sugar than true chocolate. This was something that I had no idea about growing up. Although they did contain cacao, to refer to them as chocolate bars would be like comparing orange soda to fresh squeezed orange juice. That assertion is flawed for a variety of reasons that are not easily explained.

A quality chocolate cannot be considered a sweet treat. It is without a doubt a sweet, however rather than being based on sugar, it is based on cacao. The following chocolate manufacturers are aware of this fact and have made it a priority to base their confections not on low-cost sugar but on high-quality cacao. Therefore, the next time you go down the chocolate aisle at Whole Foods, you will do it with a clean conscience and a particular objective in mind: chocolate of high quality and ethical standards that is also delicious.

Best Chocolate At Whole Foods

Beyond Good Chocolate (Madécasse)

Must Try: Sea Salt & Nibs 63% (dark chocolate)

Price Range: $4-$5USD

Madécasse Beyond Good Chocolate is a firm that was created in 2008 on the island nation of Madagascar. They produce chocolate at origin in Africa using cocoa from Madagascar and now also cocoa from Uganda. Recent years, however, have brought about these changes. Beyond Good chocolate manufacture is presently taking place outside the island of Madagascar as a result of the social instability and conflict that is currently occurring in Madagascar as a direct result of the massive economic dips and surges in vanilla and cocoa prices (still using Malagasy ingredients) .

Unfortunately, as a result of the unrest and theft that was discussed before, the price of Beyond Good vanilla has also increased dramatically over the last few years. As a result of this, anything other than the fake vanilla is practically impossible to get. Consequently, if you are still interested in trying some of Madagascar’s most well-known products, I strongly suggest that you purchase a bar of the Beyond Good brand of chocolate. Their selection consists only of dark chocolates and offers four distinct percentages, ranging from 63% all the way up to 92%.

The latter two kinds of chocolate are exclusively sold in the form of plain bars, although the lower percentage chocolates may be obtained in a variety of unique tastes, such as honey crystal dark bars with honey crystals or mint crunch. Beyond Good chocolate tends to have a fruitier flavor, and even their bars with the greatest proportion of cocoa are still silky and may be consumed without any additional flavoring. The purists among us will appreciate these reasonably priced bars of dark chocolate.

To get the most up-to-date pricing information for Beyond Good bars on Amazon, click here.

Equal Exchange Chocolate

Must Try: Dark Chocolate Orange 65%

Price Range: $3-$4USD

This has been one of my go-to eating chocolates for a very long time. It’s perfect for snacking on or feeding a sweets need without making me feel terrible afterward. Equal Exchange is a well-known business that produces a variety of goods, including coffee, chocolate, and tea; nevertheless, I personally believe that their chocolate product line is the most stunning of all of their offerings.

Equal Exchange is a worker-owned business that began in the 1980s and is still going strong with their model. They maintain fair trade with dozens of co-ops around the world, and I encourage you to read as much as you can about their partnerships on their website. Equal Exchange was founded in the 1980s. In terms of the Equal Exchange chocolate bars on their own, if you are a fan of dark chocolate but have a hard time finding a bar with a high cocoa content that is still enjoyable, I recommend going with either their 80% chocolate from Panama or their 88% dark chocolate mix. If you’re able to discover a place that sells the Equal Exchange milk chocolate minis, consider yourself really fortunate.

You can see the most up-to-date pricing for Equal Exchange bars on Amazon by clicking here.

Raaka Chocolate

Must Try: Vegan Coconut Milk 60%

Price Range: $6-8USD

Raaka Chocolate is a brand you won’t quickly forget, since they are by far the most inventive manufacturer on our list. Not only will you see much more of them in the future, but you also won’t easily forget their name. All of their chocolate is unroasted and vegan, which means that neither the ingredients they use nor the cocoa they use contains any animal products, and the cacao they use has not been subjected to the very high heat that is used to roast the vast majority of cacao. Since they first opened their doors in Brooklyn in 2010, the two-man team behind the brand has been bringing high-quality vegan chocolate to all of New York City and beyond. They have been doing this by gradually building up a lineup of bars and farmer partnerships that are beneficial to everyone in the value chain.

If you check through their standard bar offerings, which are the bars that they constantly sell and not the limited edition bars, you’ll discover that the percentage of coconut milk in their bars ranges anywhere from 60–82 percent, depending on the kind of bourbon barrel they’re matured in. Some of the Raaka bars that tend to stand out on the shelf are the 68% smoked chai bars and the 68% bananas foster bars. These are just some of the Raaka bars that fall into the “in between” category. Before committing to a sample of their complete line-up, it is best to start by sampling the one of their bars that sounds the most appetizing. The earthy undertone that I detect in all of their bars is certainly not something that will appeal to everyone.

Alternately, if you find yourself in Brooklyn on a Saturday or Sunday, you have the option of going to the Raaka chocolate factory in Red Hook for a tour, sampling, and educational experience all in one.

To get the most up-to-date pricing information for Raaka bars on Amazon, click here.

Theo Chocolate

Must Try: The Seattle Bar 45% (plain milk chocolate)

Price Range: $4-$5USD

It is interesting to note that another chocolate firm, Theo, was acquired in 2018, but in a manner that was much less spectacular than the previous transaction. Although the owner has resigned from his position as acting CEO of the firm, he continues to hold a significant share of the business, which is an encouraging indicator that ethical standards will be maintained. Since its inception in 2006, Theo has grown to become one of the largest chocolate businesses that is widely recognized as being among the most open and honest in the industry. They continue to collaborate with cocoa farmers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is where they get a whole seventy percent of their cacao supply.

In addition, they have what you would call an open door policy at their chocolate factory, which is located in Seattle. They provide a range of chocolate seminars in addition to daily factory visits. Their selection of bars has also expanded over the years, with their 45% milk chocolate being the lowest proportion of cacao of all of their products. It is quite remarkable that you are unable to locate a bar of Theo chocolate that has less than 45 percent cacao bean-derived components.

Their milk chocolate has a velvety texture and a deep taste, and they provide a variety of seasonal specialty bars with flavors like horchata and fresh lemon throughout the year. The majority of their bars start with a 70% dark chocolate, which has a pleasant sweetness without an overpowering level of taste. However, they also go up to an 85% dark chocolate. If you’re looking for peanut butter cups, I highly recommend Theo’s since they come in both dark and milk chocolate and are a personal favorite of mine.

You can see the most up-to-date pricing for Theo bars on Amazon by clicking here.

Lake Champlain Chocolate

Must Try: Toffee & Almond Crunch Dark Chocolate (57%)

Price Range: $4-$5USD

If you’ve ever browsed the dark chocolate selection at Whole Foods, you’ve most likely come across a Lake Champlain chocolate bar there. Because this bigger manufacturer offers such a diverse selection of goods, it is possible that you are unaware that Lake Champlain is also responsible for the production of the more diminutive “Five Star Bars®.” The firm has been in operation since the early 1980s and maintains its headquarters in Burlington, Vermont. Although it is not immediately apparent from their packaging, they are in fact accredited as a B Corporation.

This indicates that they have paid for an independent organization to come in and audit how they conduct their business, which will eventually verify that it satisfies specific criteria of social and environmental performance, in addition to accountability and transparency to customers.

It’s possible that, of all the chocolate brands carried by Whole Foods, Lake Champlain has the most variety of percentages, flavors, and kinds of chocolate items to choose from. In my opinion, their hot chocolate mixes and their darker bars with inclusions (non-chocolate substances added for taste) are the most worth it, but they are not my favorite chocolate products by any stretch of the imagination. But you should make your own decision, particularly if one of their various chocolate bars made with delicious flavors piques your curiosity.

Click here to see recent prices for Lake Champlain bars on Amazon.

TCHO Chocolate

Must Try: Mokacchino Milk Chocolate

Price Range: $4-$5USD

TCHO, which has been a mainstay in the natural and organic chocolate industry for many years, was established in the Bay Area in 2005 and later sold to the Japanese firm Ezaki Glico in the middle of 2018. Pocky is the most well-known product manufactured by Ezaki Glico. It is a biscuit in the shape of a chopstick that is covered in a chocolate-flavored coating. Despite my reservations regarding the potential path the company may take under its new ownership, I am willing to continue recommending the company for the time being.

Since more than a decade ago, Japan has been experiencing a boom in its fine chocolate scene, and companies that seem to be imported from other countries are unquestionably dominating the competition and steadily expanding their share of the chocolate industry. TCHO has established its reputation on producing chocolate that highlights the many tastes that are naturally present in cacao. From this foundation, the company has developed a line of flavored bars, which is an approach that I believe is appealing to chocolate enthusiasts from all over the globe. The “fruity” and “earthy” bars that you may have been able to buy a half decade ago are no longer part of their product lineup. However, they continue to provide “nutty” and “chocolatey” bars in their selection.

Now, I believe that you will be amazed by how kid-friendly their milk chocolate varieties are, despite the fact that they are still manufactured with a foundation of 53% cacao (the majority of milk chocolates have less than 30% cacao). Despite the fact that I have a weakness for sweets, the pretzel crunch and the snickerdoodle are two of my all-time favorite flavors. Check out their newly introduced “Maker’s Series” bars, which have single origin and one-of-a-kind flavor combinations; however, it seems that you can only purchase these bars online at the moment.

To see the most up-to-date pricing information for TCHO bars on Amazon, click here.

Alter Eco Chocolate

Must Try: Dark Velvet 55% (milk chocolate)

Price Range: $3.50-$5USD

Long since a favorite of mine, Alter Eco has recently undergone a packaging rebrand, and I think it’s for the worse; the new bright colors make the products look cheap. However, the chocolate inside is still worth investing in, and each bar is made with organic cacao sourced from farmers said to be working to re-forest their land. I’m not generally a huge proponent of organic certified farming, considering how expensive the certification process is.

But with a company as big as Alter Eco I can understand the desire to commit themselves in such a way rather than using one specific cacao brand or purchasing their own farms. “Organic” still holds a lot of power for their customer base, and it’s a lot easier to say than trying to explain a direct trade relationship with farmers who practice organic-style farming, sans ceritifcate.

Alter Eco has a wide range of percentages of both dark and milk chocolates, with a nice mixture of inclusions, from butter caramel to sea salt. Try their truffles for something extra decadent.

Click here to see recent prices for Alter Eco bars on Amazon.

Divine Chocolate

Must Try: Milk Chocolate with Toffee & Sea Salt 38%

Price Range: $3-$5USD

Divine is a chocolate manufacturer headquartered in the United Kingdom that sources all of its cocoa from a cacao cooperative in Ghana. A cacao cooperative, also known as a co-op, is a group of farmers that work together to bring cacao to a single, centralized location for collection. This results in higher-quality cacao overall since growers only harvest their crops at the optimal time (in this case, thousands of farmers). In point of fact, the co-op owns a portion of the firm, which only just introduced a whole new product line of bars.

Because farmers control 44% of the company’s ownership, their board meetings are surely some of the most varied in the business. In addition, their chocolate has been awarded the Fair Trade certification, which means that it has also been awarded the organic certification. They also produce some of the mildest and sweetest 70% dark bars that are available, in addition to some of the milk chocolates that have the smoothest texture. Divine Chocolate would be one of the first brands that I would suggest to someone looking for a high-percentage milk chocolate or a dark chocolate with inclusions (ingredients added for taste).

White chocolates are also produced by the firm, but in much smaller quantities, and may be difficult to track down.

To get the most up-to-date pricing information on Divine bars on Amazon, click here.

Unreal Chocolate

Must Try: Milk Chocolate Gems (41%)

Price Range: $4-$6USD

Unreal Chocolate is a relatively recent addition to the chocolate department at Whole Foods. It was founded by two brothers who wanted to recreate the candies that they enjoyed as children, but without the use of any preservatives or artificial flavors. Both the quality of their chocolate and the fact that their goods are soy-free and generally organic have pleased me, and although this is a worthy objective, it is simpler to state than it is to achieve.

They refer to their confections as “chocolate nibbles,” and I have to say that I agree with that description. At this time, they do not produce any bars; nevertheless, their range of nut butter cups and “gems” (high grade M&Ms®) are pretty delicious. Investing in one of their brightly colored packets is the best course of action, particularly for those who are trying to add a pleasant little something to their packed lunches or trail mixes. In addition to that, they may be resealed.

You may see the most up-to-date pricing for Unreal Chocolate items on Amazon by clicking here.

Whole Foods Chocolate Video Reviews

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FAQs

What is the healthiest chocolate you can eat?

The healthiest kind of chocolate is dark chocolate since it is the one that has been processed the least. This means that it retains the maximum proportion of the flavonoid-rich cocoa bean (cocoa).

What is the most popular chocolate bar right now?

Most Popular Chocolate Bars

• Snickers Bar. Chocolate, nougat, peanuts, and caramel come together in the time-honored confection known as the Snickers Bar….
• Kit Kat Bar. …
• Milky Way Bar. …
• It’s a Mars Bar….
• Cadbury’s Dairy Milk with Whole Nuts….
• Joy made with almonds….
• … a Nestle Crunch Bar.
• Toblerone Bar.