According to forbes.com, Cadbury plans to release a vegan version of its iconic Dairy Milk chocolate bar soon. Its parent company, Mondelēz International, claims it has been developing the product for two years.
The release was scheduled for last month in response to Veganuary, but it appears to have developed some issues creating a nut-free, non-dairy version of the product. A new launch date has not yet been announced.
The original Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate bar contains a glass and a half of milk. With animal-based dairy as one of the key ingredients, it is crucial to the company to create a dairy-free version that will appeal to its consumers.
A study that looked at global search volumes online found that Cadbury Dairy Milk was the most popular chocolate bar in the world. The same study showed it was the favorite chocolate bar in 78 countries and had 466,680 Google searches per year. Nevertheless, Mondelēz International is willing to alter the recipe to give consumers a vegan option.
“We are very aware of the rise in consumer interest towards vegan products. We have a brilliant R&D team who are focused entirely on new products and innovation to enable us to offer more great-tasting choices to consumers. We only launch products when we have achieved the best taste and texture that consumers expect from Cadbury, and there are lots of exciting developments in the pipeline,” a U.K spokesperson told CBS.
Mondelēz International has invested in other plant-based snack companies in the past including gluten and dairy-free, Enjoy Life Foods in 2015, and vegan snack producer, Hu Master Holdings in 2019.
As reported by Forbes, the vegan food market is expected to reach $24.3 billion by 2026, with an estimated 65% of the global population lactose intolerant. Consumer demand for vegan alternatives will continue to rise.
