Protein chocolate brand cocoa+ gains Ocado listing

UK startup cocoa+ has secured distribution at online retailer Ocado for its protein chocolate bars.

Ocado will sell cocoa+ bars - which contain whey protein isolate – for £2.99 ($3.85).

The e-commerce retailer will stock cocoa+ 70 g bars, each of which contain 19 g of protein – roughly equivalent to eating a chicken breast or a can of tuna.

‘Our chocolate can move in to the mainstream’

The company’s head of marketing James Bhasme said: “It’s great to have the opportunity to stock Ocado. They are one of the most progressive retailers in the UK and a perfect fit to launch our protein chocolate in to retail.”

Operations manager Samuel Victor told ConfectioneryNews: “It’s a good sign that our chocolate can move into mainstream.

“Our current sales are 20% retail and 80% e-commerce. We hope retail will add another dimension to our customer reach.”

UK online grocery

Ocado is a UK online supermarket founded in 2000 with revenues of £1.3bn ($1.7bn) last year.

Kantar Worldpanel estimates Ocado held a 1.3% share of the total UK grocery market for the 12 weeks up to April 23, 2017, making it the country’s tenth largest grocer.

Online grocery accounts for around 6% of the UK grocery market, according to IGD.