Main Image: Wrapping up all-natural goodness – The floral motif on VitaChocs wrappers is an artistic representation of the natural ingredients used in the bars.
How Two Wellness Advocates Revolutionised Chocolate for a Healthier Lifestyle
Everything that we thought we knew about chocolates has now been redefined with the arrival of VitaChocs, the wellness-inspired, vegan, colouring- and preservative-free snack bar infused with beneficial nutrients to stimulate states of wellness and pleasure. At the heart of VitaChocs are the indulgent health benefits of natural cacao’s antioxidants and mineral properties. Moreover, VitaChocs now offers a plethora of additional delights in its chocolate bars – the likes of essential oils, aromatherapy, relaxation, alertness and heightened sensations.
Attired in elegantly designed wrappers, the bars made their debut at the VitaChocs Grand Launch, on the 19th of October at Fitokio Bangsar, Malaysia’s first and very own Japanese Lava Fitness Studio. Six of the VitaChocs products were introduced, including Peppermint Dark Chocolate, Lemon Dark Chocolate, Grapefruit Dark Chocolate, Tangerine & Almond Dark Chocolate, Relax Peppermint Chocolate, and Relax Lemon Chocolate. All six of VitaChocs’ products are vegan and preservative-free. VitaChocs is currently available online at, www.vitachocs.com for delivery across the nation.
Founders, Penny Choong and Katherine Khoo were inspired to create VitaChocs’ chocolates while traversing their own health and rejuvenation journeys, during which they discovered that ultimate health and wellness are achieved by holistic nutritional choices, as well as by being involved in personal and community engagements. Choong is often heard quipping, “Wellness is everything and in everything.” So, why chocolate? Choong explains, “Stress is a normal part of life, something that we continually have to learn to manage. Chocolate is a popular pick-me-up that helps with relaxation and in the release of endorphins, although there is this common misconception that chocolate is an unhealthy indulgence. We want to change that mindset with VitaChocs – that real chocolate is actually very healthy, and that VitaChocs is genuinely contributing to the community’s wellness.”
Khoo; who is also Choong’s health and nutritional consultant, came on board and elevated VitaChocs to a whole new level. Khoo passionately formulated the chocolate bars that were infused with essential oils and nutrients. Food-grade essential oils like peppermint and lemon lightly flavour the bars, while nutrients like magnesium leverage on the compound’s benefits namely relaxation and dietary supplementation. Khoo is to VitaChocs what an architect is to a building, emphasising, “The formula to create healthier chocolate for wellness purposes is an elaborate process. The farming practices, the fermentation process, the roasting method, the ingredients added to create the final bar and of course, the people who watch over the whole process with meticulous care – are all part of a detailed formula for wellness.”
The health benefits of chocolate are often drowned in the frightful admonishment to refrain from chocolate products that contain excessive added sugar, artificial flavouring, trans fats, and lower cocoa content. However, cocoa in its natural form contains flavanols, which have been shown to support the production of nitric oxide (NO) in the endothelium (the inner cell lining of blood vessels), according to the Nutrition Source (www.hsph.harvard.edu). Nitric oxide helps to relax the blood vessels and improve blood flow, thereby lowering blood pressure.
Lightly flavoured with essential oils, the chocolates offer further benefits such as relaxation and alertness, owing to the additional infusion. Two of the new products, Relax Peppermint Chocolate and Relax Lemon Chocolate are a foretaste to more innovative creations in the future. The Relax Series are essentially functional bars, with each product in this series promoting a particular state of wellness such as tranquillity and energy.
For more information on Vitachocs, please login to www.vitachocs.com.
