A month ago, Eesti Ekspress criticized the fact that the composition of Estonia's most famous milk chocolate had been changed without informing the broader public. In the new chocolate bars, the cocoa content was reduced while the amount of sugar was increased. Cocoa now makes up 28 percent instead of 30 percent and there are three grams more sugar per 100 grams than before. Critics argued that Kalev had put a worse-tasting chocolate on sale and misled consumers with a sweet tooth.

Kärt Kontram, head of product development at Orkla Snacks, which produces sweets under the Kalev brand, explained that the company periodically reviews product recipes as both raw materials and technology evolve. "It is certainly a very long process and not something done lightly. There are various options on the table and tastings are conducted beforehand," Kontram said.

Among other things, tastings evaluate a product's aroma, taste appeal and how the chocolate melts in the mouth. "There have also been cases where no changes are made because consumer results are not satisfactory," Kontram confirmed.

According to Kontram, the changes made to Anneke chocolate were received very positively by consumers. "The result was that the new version was preferred."

ERR TV program "Impulss" had actor Tõnis Niinemets and well-known food taster, "Ringvaade" host Marko Reikop sample Anneke chocolate and guess whether they were tasting the old or the modified version. The blind test showed that the new recipe was more to their liking. Kalev conducted similar tests with consumers and chocolate lovers ultimately favored the higher-sugar Anneke. According to Orkla, the new Anneke has already been on store shelves for a year and before the media attention, they had reportedly received no negative feedback at all.

Cocoa prices on the global market have risen sharply in recent years. Social media posts even point out that, in some cases, a bottle of vodka sold in stores is cheaper than a bar of chocolate.

"The core flavor characteristics of Anneke that consumers love — that melt-in-the-mouth, silky, creamy taste — were actually further refined with this change," said Annika Oja, marketing manager at Orkla Estonia.

"It was not changed because of price," Oja stressed.

The rise in cocoa prices has hit Estonian sweet lovers particularly hard. In the past year alone, chocolate prices here have increased by a third — one of the fastest rises in Europe. While cocoa prices have declined on global markets in recent months, Kalev says uncertainty about the future remains. Oja acknowledged that, as a result, Kalev chocolate bars have become smaller, with larger bars shrinking from 300 grams to 270 grams.

"Similarly, we tested the fact that chocolate is typically eaten piece by piece or bite by bite. The result showed that a 10 percent reduction in weight does not diminish the enjoyment of the taste in any way," Oja said.

But how does the company respond to criticism that Kalev is selling the same product at the same price but with less weight? "We tried to do what we could to keep the price of a single product at a level where consumers would still want and be able to buy their favorite treat. Chocolate is not really a staple food; it's not at the bottom of the food pyramid that we need to consume in certain amounts every day. It is meant for enjoyment and that enjoyment has remained exactly the same," Oja explained.

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