Cadbury gears up to release new chocolate bars with 75% less sugar

Cadbury are set to release brand new chocolate bars with 75 per cent less sugar, and bosses are adamant they will taste just as good as the original.

The British chocolate giants have made a major change to the recipe using plant-based fibres, which will also cut up to 75 per cent fat.

And bosses believe the new trend of healthier chocolate could one day become just as popular as diet soft drinks – even if they admit it doesn’t quite taste exactly the same.

Dirk van de Put, chief executive of the British brand’s US owner Mondelez, told The Sun: ‘It’s going to be a bit like diet drinks and grow very slowly, but we need to keep it on the market.’

‘It’s going to take a while before the consumer really takes to that because it still is not quite exactly the same taste – although it is getting close.’

Although Van de Put remains optimistic about the future of low sugar chocolate, he added that the brand is prepared to put in the hard work to steer the population’s taste buds.

He said a love for healthier alternatives will be a very slow build alongside the release of more healthy options.

The news comes as Cadbury recently launched a range of 91 calorie chocolate bars called the 91-calorie Delight range.

The healthier range costs £1.25 for a box of five and are filled with nougat and caramel and coated in chocolate.

They come in orange, hazelnut and salted caramel options, which Cadbury say will meet the growing demand for ‘mindful self-treating’.

Cadbury insists that the snacks are not supposed to be a healthy low-sugar bar, but is aimed at those looking for a lower calorie treat without compromising on taste.

Cadbury recently launched a range of 91 calorie chocolate bars called the 91-calorie Delight range

Duane Mellor, a registered dietitian and researcher at Aston Medical School in Birmingham, told MailOnline that while Cadbury has made moves to reduce sugar, the new range is ‘still a chocolate bar’.

So the bars can be consumed as part of an occasional treat but perhaps not as a daily routine, he said.

Mr Mellor added: ‘The advantage is that it comes individually wrapped, which can help some people to limit themselves to one bar.

‘But if this can be done with a square or two of your favourite chocolate, this is unlikely to be any better.’

Other confectionary giants, such as Mars, have already jumped on the trend, bringing out slimmed-down versions of much-loved chocolate.