California-based confectionery company, Angell, has introduced the first-ever line of Fair Trade Certified, organic candy bars. 

 Appearing at the Natural Products Expo West 2011 from March 10-13, the bars will be available in three different flavors: Angell Crisp, a Gluten-free variety with a milk chocolate outside and crispy center; Snow Angell, which features white chocolate and coconut and a vegan variety named Dark Angell that combines organic dark chocolate and almonds with a cocoa filling.  

The certified Kosher product contain less than 200 calories and only five to seven "kitchen simple" ingredients."  

Started by a husband-and-wife team, Christopher and Suzanne Angell created their candy brand to fill what they considered a hole in the industry. They wanted to produce a product consumers could not only enjoy, but feel good about eating for its high-quality ingredients, sustainable production and reasonable price.  

“As we got older and started becoming more conscious of what was in the bars we grew up loving, we found ourselves unable to buy or eat them anymore,” says Christopher Angell. “We were pretty sure we weren’t the only people whose values had grown up, but whose taste buds still wanted to enjoy the same sorts of treats we grew up with. So we decided to make our own.”  

The process wasn’t easy. It took Christopher and Suzanne three years to perfect their ideal bar: one without preservatives or artificial ingredients, that is certified organic and that doesn’t use chocolate made from cocoa grown using slave or child labor.  wanted to eliminated   

The organization’s product has been molded by the motto Eat no Evil, meaning that the company tries to be as environmentally friendly as possible. The candy makers use recycled materials whenever they can and run their website servers on renewable electricity.  

“Anything we thought we could improve without compromising the experience of eating a candy bar, we did.” Says Christopher Angell. “In order for us to put as much of ourselves into these bars as we have to make them succeed, we have to be able to look in the mirror and be proud of the work we’re doing.”   Their new bars continue to embrace this philosophy, with 1% of gross sales being donated to environmental organizations.  


Ingredients (Angell Crisp): Milk chocolate*† (cane sugar *†, whole milk†, chocolate*†, cocoa butter*†, soy lecithin† (an emulsifier), natural vanilla†), tapioca syrup†, brown rice crisp† (brown rice flour†, honey†, calcium carbonate), vanilla extract*†, sea salt. *Fair Trade CertifiedTM. †All ingredients CERTIFIED ORGANIC except for sea salt.
S.R.P (1.3-oz bar): $2.49

For more information visit www.angellbars.com

 -G.W.