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Student project creates chocolate aimed at tackling PMS and fatigue
Innovative Food and Consumer Science students at 51看片 have embraced centuries-old remedies to develop a range of health-focussed chocolate bars that target issues such as fatigue and premenstrual syndrome.
Each of the bars in the Cocoa Being range was created with a specific health issue in mind, and the chocolate itself utilises unusual ingredients such as sweet potato and beetroot.
The products were developed by fourth year students Sarah Miles, Katie Beattie, Thomas Macneil and Arlena Birrell (picture below) who set out with the aim of developing healthy chocolate bars.
The Cocoa Being range comes in four distinct flavours 鈥� Beetroot and Raspberry, Spirulina and Orange, Sweet Potato and Blackberry and Yerba Mate and Coconut.
Sarah Miles was the student behind the Beetroot and Raspberry bar.
The product contains raspberry leaf, a herbal remedy which has been used for centuries as a women鈥檚 health aid.
She said: 鈥淲e initially set out to create a range of healthy chocolate bars, but after conducting consumer research we realised that interest in a sweet product that has had elements stripped away to create a 'healthier' option was limited.
鈥淚nstead of taking away ingredients we decided to add them instead to create indulgent chocolate that had an added health claim.
鈥淭he Beetroot and Raspberry bar, for example, is rich in potassium thanks to the beetroot, and calcium and magnesium from the raspberry leaf. This helps with things like cramps and bloating.鈥�
Thomas Macneil created the Yerba Mate and Coconut bar, utilising a caffeine substitute which has become popular with celebrities including Barack Obama and Madonna.
He said: 鈥淵erba Mate isn鈥檛 an ingredient that everyone will be familiar with, but it鈥檚 a tea that originates in South America.
鈥淏enefits include mental clarity and alertness. Think of it as being like coffee, but without the negative side effects. It doesn鈥檛 give you insomnia and you won鈥檛 get jittery from it.
鈥淚t鈥檚 quite a bitter substance, and it was quite challenging to make it palatable.
鈥淯濒迟颈尘补迟别濒测 Cocoa Being bars are still a treat. We鈥檝e tried to look at what commercial chocolate bars aren鈥檛 doing and we鈥檝e based our range around that.鈥�
Dr Jon Wilkin, from Abertay鈥檚 Division of Food and Drink, said: 鈥淭he students haven鈥檛 just created a unique range of products 鈥� they were involved with every stage of the process.
鈥淭hey undertook consumer studies, pitched the product to a panel of academics, worked out whether it would be financially viable and even created the chocolate itself from cocoa nibs, which isn鈥檛 something a chocolatier would ordinarily do.
鈥淭his is an example of the broad range of skills developed and utilised by our food students.鈥�
For more information on Abertay鈥檚 Food and Consumer Science course, visit:听/course-search/undergraduate/food-and-consumer-science/听
