Sweetique offers a wonderful collection of chocolates called Sweet Shapes of Nature. These candies are highly natural looking rocks, pebbles, and seashells available in a variety of attractive packages for private enjoyment or in exclusive packaging perfect for wedding favors, fundraisers, corporate promotions, and other custom uses.
Ours are not the only chocolate rocks out there, though. Recently, when we ran into some Brand X chocolate rocks, we decided that we needed to compare them.
Start with a visual comparison. Ours are up there on the left -- you can see that ours are larger and more colorful, while Brand X has quite a bit of "scrap."
Looks aren't everything, though, so we got together half a dozen volunteers for a blind taste test.
The results were so clear that we probably didn't need to bother to make it all so scientific. Ours have more chocolate, and better quality chocolate, so the experience is like eating chocolate. In fact, it is eating chocolate. Brand X has less chocolate and more sugar, so the experience is like eating candy, but it is not really a chocolate experience.
Some of our testers also reported a chemical or synthetic flavor in Brand X chocolate rocks. 100% of the testers preferred ours, and there was no uncertainty. Indeed, testers wanted more, and couldn't be fobbed off with Brand X, but insisted on having ours for seconds.
The surprise? Brand X costs more.
When you next consider private label chocolate rocks, or even chocolate rocks for your own personal use, you should think twice before you choose a Brand X. There's a clear difference.
