Easter Trends I’ve Noticed
It seems as though there are more delicious and unusual Easter eggs on the market this year than ever, (and I’m told that we Brits buy some 80 million of them each year ) but I’ve done some of the hard work for you, and checked out the better ones.
And it’s interesting to note that three trends have emerged this year: chocolate orange; pistachio and letterbox friendly flat eggs:
Chocolate Orange
Let’s start at the lower end of the market, and it seems that chocolate orange is THE flavour combo this year.
I was pleased to see that Tesco has a strong range (many on offer for Clubcard holders too) including Cadburys Mini Eggs Orange, and the Maltesers Mini Bunnies Orange Chocolate Bag, starting from just £1.50 .
And there is also a fabulous Citrine Egg by Chococo (see later)
Galaxy Value
Or you could go all out this Easter with showstoppingly great value new eggs such as the Galaxy Milk Chocolate Caramel Giant Easter Egg (£12.00) from Tesco
Vegan Eggs
If you are looking to buy an egg for a vegan friend or family member, then the range has been expanded considerably in recent years.
But don’t forget that most dark chocolate eggs are vegan anyway.
For milk chocolate fans, Ombar Oat M’lk range is vegan chocolate with sustainability at its core. This smooth and creamy all-round ‘good egg’ is made with the Oat M’lk Chocolate OG, which has less carbon emissions and 40% less sugar than ‘regular’ milk chocolate
It uses organic and gluten-free British-grown oats. Plus, for every Ombar Oat M’lk Egg sold, 5p goes towards reforestation projects in Ecuador where they sustainably source their precious cacao.
Available from Selfridges, Planet Organic, Amazon, Ombar.com and the best independent health food shops nationwide. RRP: £9.99
Letterbox Friendly
Another trend this year is the ‘postbox’ egg – by necessity it’s flat! It’s a great idea and there are a number of companies producing them.
If you want a vegan one, then HAPPi is a good choice. HAPPi’s deliciously thick, Easter egg-shaped bars are available in three flavours that are sure to please any chocolate fan; Plain Milk, Salted Honeycomb and White Raspberry. HAPPi’s Easter Bars (RRP £6.49, 140g bars) and HAPPi’s Easter Eggs (RRP £10.70, 170g) are available from Waitrose and Amazon. To buy online and find out more, please visit happichoc.com.
Ticking the Fairtraid and postbox-friendly boxes, new for Easter 2024 is Divine’s range of flat eggs.
The Divine flat egg is not only palm oil free but also more environmentally friendly, with over 40% less packaging compared to a boxed egg. It’s the ultimate chocolate-lovers letterbox gift!
Available in vegan dark chocolate with raspberry, and milk chocolate, caramel and crunch. £5 rrp from: Waterstones, Ocado, Oxfam, Divine Webshop, Amazon, independent stores.
Fairtrade
Fairtrade brands and retailers have launched their own fair firsts this Easter. Co-op, Divine, Tony’s Chocolonely and Waitrose are all releasing cracking additions to their Fairtrade egg selections while supporting farmers in low-income countries. Right now, non-Fairtrade farmers only earn around six percent of each £2 chocolate bar.
Climate change, unpredictable weather, new pests, and crop diseases make it harder for farmers to grow the cocoa, but when we choose to Fairtrade eggs we help support hundreds of thousands of cocoa farmers and their families to improve their livelihoods and tackle the impacts of climate change.
Another Fairtrade star is The Cracking Pistachio Egg from Waitrose. Inside a shell of Waitrose & Partners No. 1 blonde chocolate hides an indulgent pistachio flavoured egg speckled with pistachio nibs.
This new treat looks like a pistachio with the chocolate coating perfectly imitating the shell.
Available from: John Lewis, Waitrose rrp £14. Fairtrade changes the way trade works through better prices, decent working conditions, and a fairer deal for farmers and workers in low-income countries.
Fairtrade International is an independent non-profit organisation representing two million small-scale farmers and workers worldwide. It owns the FAIRTRADE Mark, a registered trademark of Fairtrade that appears on more than 30,000 products.
Pistachio on Trend
Pistachio is another popular flavour this year, with Venchi, the local chocolate shop in Richmond, offering a Chocoviar Pistachio Chocolate Egg, with toffee crunch, nibs, and pistachios.
It looks amazing, as do all their eggs, including a 75% Chocoviar Egg that also has crunchy cacao nibs.
They aren’t cheap, at just over £50 for a 350g egg, but oh my, they do look very special indeed!
If you want to go the ‘whole hog’, do visit the shop as they have a wonderful selection of spectacular eggs. https://uk.venchi.com/
Hand Crafted from Dorset
A brilliant British multi award-winning chocolate company is Chococo, based in Dorset.
The company produces a delicious range of hand crafted, sustainably sourced, chocolate Easter eggs and gifts.
Celebrating its 20th birthday, it still cares as much about great taste, sustainability, provenance and its environmental impact, as it did at the start. The Easter range is presented in plastic-free, recyclable packaging.
Chococo is now sourcing sustainable chocolate made with fino de aroma cocoa beans from Luker Chocolate in Columbia. The new signature 47% milk chocolate made exclusively for Chococo has a wonderfully deep, yet creamy, chocolate taste but contains just 30% added sugar.
The Half & Half egg to share ((£45/500g) is 47% Colombia milk and vegan friendly 72% Ecuador dark. Half is mlk and the other dark with a selection of delicious chocolates hidden inside.
There is also the orange flavoured Citrine Egg £20 for 250g filled with chocolate orange gems. Beautifully decorated with a dusting of shimmer, they’re fabulous. Chococo.co.uk
Belgian Indulgence
Another rather special chocolate company is Pierre Marcolini, the Belgian chocolatier (with a few shops in London and an online presence). 
This year, the company is promoting its praline eggs in six flavours. The shells are made from chocolate, carefully coloured and filled with retro flavours such as sablé breton (shortbread cookie), brownie biscuit or speculoos, pistachio, pecan nuts and soft almond paste.
A box of 12 eggs is £23 or £39 for 30.
Danish Delights from Lakrids
Regular readers will know I’m a fan of LAKRIDS BY BÜLOW and the unique chocolate coated licorice ‘ÆGGS’ this year are in Crunchy Toffee and Crispy Caramel flavours.
Defying tradition and typical chocolate eggs found at Easter time, the LAKRIDS BY BÜLOW Easter flavours are so good: Crunchy Toffee features a delicious outer layer of soft milk chocolate and crunch caramel made with French butter and cream, and a salty liquorice core. Crispy Caramel boasts a speckled light brown shell with dulce chocolate and sea salt flakes, containing a core of soft liquorice.
The flavours are available in regular jars as well as these beautiful limited edition ÆGGS, which now come in special illustrated stands featuring a magical spring wonderland.
This limited edition range is available to order online and in-store at John Lewis, Selfridges, Fenwick, lakridsbybulow.co.uk, and at the new LAKRIDS BY BÜLOW stores in Canary Wharf and Monmouth Street.
Drink Your Egg with Egg Royale
And if a conventional chocolate egg doesn’t appeal and you fancy giving something a little more sophisticated, you could always give a bottle of this wonderful chocolate cream liqueur. The Egg Royale is a chocolate egg like no other. An indulgent and rich chocolate alcoholic cream liqueur made from fine cocoa and vanilla and blended with real cream packaged inside a beautiful glass egg. It’s been developed by Gravity Drinks – the team behind the cult favourite Christmas Globe Gin Liqueur and Sixpence Pud Gin Liqueur – Egg Royale has become another seasonal favourite. The glass egg can be found sitting in an art-deco style box and it’s delicious served straight over ice, in a cocktail or even to add a boozy kick to your Easter dessert – or just pour over vanilla ice cream for an easy treat. 17 per cent ABV £29 for a 70cl bottle from Harvey Nichols and Amazon
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