Forest Feast dates

Source: Forest Feast

The NPD will roll into Tesco on 8 August (rsp: £3.20/140g)

Forest Feast has unveiled Peanut Butter & Milk Chocolate Dates – a category first, according to the fruit and nut snacking brand.

The NPD (rsp: £3.20/140g) comprises “delicious, chewy” north African deglet nour dates, coated in smooth peanut butter and “a generous drenching of Belgian milk chocolate”.

It will roll into Tesco on 8 August, followed later in the year by other retailers and wholesalers.

The premium new snack was developed after similar “clean treat” recipes proved popular on Instagram and TikTok, said Forest Feast.

The brand’s marketing director, Bronagh Clarke, added: “We noticed that people were making their own at home, and we knew that with our capability we could crack it in-house on a larger scale.”

She also noted that take-home value sales of chocolate were growing at the slowest pace since pre-Covid. The higher cost of living and health trends meant shoppers were being “more selective” about the treats they chose and were “actively opting for quality over quantity”.