The Limited Edition Cheesy Chocolate Bars We Can't Believe Were Real
Releasing limited-edition food combinations be a fun way for brands to engage with consumers, celebrate special events, and collaborate among each other. While some of these mashups sound delicious from the start — like the limited-edition Oreo with churro-flavored creme — others aren't so easy to wrap your head around. The latter is the case with Tayto's Milk Chocolate Bar with Cheese & Onion Crisps.
You read that right, and you're not the only one to question this odd combination. Originally launched in 2013 by Tayto, the leading potato chip brand in Northern Ireland, the cheese and onion-flavored chocolate bar was the result of consumers' requests. The company had received thousands of social media posts and emails asking for a combination chocolate and chip bar. Only 100,000 bars were made at the time, but as of 2022, the company had produced 480,000, some of which were being sold for triple their original price on eBay.
In the chocolate bar, which the company made in partnership with Butlers Chocolates, are bits of Tayto's popular cheese-and-onion potato chips. The bar is crunchy, and the cheesy onion taste lingers. On social media, people who tried it either loved or hated it. Those who loved it praised the subtle flavor and enjoyed the new take on savory and sweet, while others described it as disgusting, horrible, or vile.
Other cheesy chocolates
Surprisingly, Tayto isn't the only company to combine chocolate with unconventional flavors. In 2014, Tirol Choco Co. in Japan released limited-edition, cheese- and pizza-flavored chocolates in small bags of individually wrapped candies. Both flavors featured a cracker covered in mild white chocolate, and they smelled cheesy. The pizza one also contained basil and real tomato sauce and smelled like pizza. While most enjoyed the cheese flavor, the pizza flavor was largely an acquired taste and liked by few.
In May 2023, Kraft Heinz teamed up with Compartés Chocolatier to launch Velveeta chocolate-cheese truffles dubbed TruffVels. The yellow, shell-shaped white chocolates were infused with cheese sauce, and they were packaged in small boxes of five candies. Only available until the supply ran out, some consumers enjoyed the combination of salty cheese and sweet chocolate, while others said that the cheese flavor was off-putting and felt that there was too much cheese filling.
Located in Austria, bean-to-bar company Zotter Chocolate makes a bar of dark milk chocolate filled with cheese and mango chutney. Within the 60% cacao shell, the soft cheese layer is made with a grappa liqueur and walnut praline, while the layer of mango chutney is made with wine and a blend of spices; both elements are smooth in texture. It's the only one of these unusual chocolate bar flavors that you can still try for yourself.