Caroboo secures Holland & Barrett listing for its dairy and caffeine free chocolatey bars 

Caroboo, a family-run business and producer of vegan and caffeine-free chocolatey bars, has secured a major new listing with the UK’s leading health and well-being store, Holland & Barrett. Caroboo’s mint, orange and salted caramel nutty bars will go on sale in 329 stores this month.  The new listing will support 150% growth year-on-year for the brand.

The bars contain carob in place of cocoa which provides a delicious mild, sweet chocolatey taste, as well as fibre, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals and importantly, no caffeine, which can cause anxiety, insomnia and headaches.  

Caroboo is the only major supplier of carob bars in the UK and is set to take advantage of a significant growth opportunity.  Indeed, consumer demand for caffeine-free products has contributed to the growth of the global carob chocolate market, which was valued at US$ 801.8 million in 2020 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.4% from 2021 to 2028. 

The bars are also the first in Caroboo’s range to use an innovative new 100% recyclable paper wrapper, replacing the home-compostable packaging the brand currently uses.  Unlike conventional paper packaging which often contains polyethylene, consumers can dispose of the new Caroboo wrapper in their normal kerbside recycling collection along with their other paper recyclable items. Significantly, if littered, the new wrapper does not produce harmful microplastics when it breaks down which cause serious damage to the environment and animal health.

Charlotte Miller, co-founder of Caroboo, said, “It is fantastic that our bars will be available to consumers in Holland & Barrett, one of the UK’s best-known health and wellness brands.  In addition to providing a vegan and caffeine free alternative to cocoa-based chocolate which taste delicious, the bars are in 100% recyclable paper packaging which supports our strong focus on sustainability – something we know our customers also value.  We are really excited to be one of the first brands to take advantage of this innovative new material and will be switching all our products to the paper packaging over the next three months.”

100% kerbside recyclable paper wrapper

The new paper wrapper provides a functional and environmentally friendly alternative to current snack and confectionary packaging which, over the past 30 years, has become complex with the development of light weight multi-layer structures.  This has driven efficiency and shelf life, but the complexity makes them impossible to deal with at end of life. This is compounded by consumer consumption, which is often on the move, making littering a bigger problem than other formats.  The other factor is that small units using a complex combination of materials makes recycling and recovery options currently limited, resulting in landfill with no circularity option.

Developed by EvoPak, a manufacturer of sustainable paper based flexible packaging, the new paper wrapper (known as RCM) uses the same environmentally friendly technology as the world’s first fully recyclable crisp packet – the innovative polymer, Hydropol, developed by Aquapak, which is used in place of conventional plastic.  

To keep the carob bars fresh and in good condition in transit and on the shelf, the packaging needs to provide protection from oxygen, seal well on standard packaging equipment and must be easy to print on. Hydropol provides all this functionality as well as offering multiple safe end-of-life disposal options for consumers and brands who want to help eliminate harmful plastic pollution. 

Hydropol allows paper to remain fully recyclable and compostable and is even compatible with anaerobic digestion. Thanks to its solubility it doesn’t interfere with the recycling process and can allow up to 100% paper fibre recovery in standard mills. 

Furthermore, if unintentionally released into the natural environment, Hydropol – which is proven to be both non-toxic and marine safe – still has a safe end-of life and will dissolve and subsequently biodegrade.  It does not break down into harmful microplastics either in the paper mill or if packaging it is not disposed of as intended. It is already being used in products such as crisp packets, chocolate and garment bags. 

The wrappers have been certified as recyclable in standard paper recycling mills by OPRL, the only evidence-based on pack recycling labelling scheme.  This means they feature the green recycle logo and can be disposed of in consumer kerbside collections along with other paper material, unlike other wrappers.