Okay, so we’ve all heard of SuperFoods, things like berries, nuts, honey and green foods, but did you know you can get the same kind of health benefits from chocolate? Yes, we said it. Chocolate! The newest trend in confections is functional chocolate.  It’s about time, but it was well worth the wait. Chocolate with added health benefits is showing up all over the shelves, and we haven’t missed a beat.

Good Cacao is a prime example of how to promote overall health and satisfy your cravings for chocolate. They offer bars with coconut and Omega-3. These are all-natural, gluten free and vegan.

Good Cacao also has a Lemon Ginger Dark Chocolate Bar to support Immune health. It’s high in antioxidants and probiotics. Good Cacao is a product you can feel good about buying, with 97% certified organic ingredients and biodegradable packaging.

Xan Confections (pronounced Zan) offers a special collection of satisfying, all-natural chocolates, called CocoXan. They boast products like CocoHeart and CocoBrain, infused with CoQ10, an antioxidant that helps support healthy brain, heart and digestive functions. Xan even sells chocolate to help satisfy cravings while minimizing PMS systems! Hold your applause please, ladies.

Sacred Chocolate is slowly stone ground below 115 degrees Fahrenheit and hand poured in a small, certified organic, vegan, and carbon balanced factory in California. Why, you ask? Because unroasted cacao (raw chocolate) contains countless health benefits and traditional roasting methods can destroy these “sacred” properties.  Sacred Chocolate is loaded with antioxidants and, with flavors like Mint and Coconut & Nibbs, this is one tasty Super Food!

Raw Chocolate by Gnosis is made from ethically sourced Raw Cacao from Bali, Ecuador, Peru, Grenada and Madagascar. These bars are certified organic, vegan, kosher and are free of gluten, soy and dairy.  Because Gnosis chocolate is never headed above 118 degrees, all of its valuable nutrients, antioxidants, and vitamins are protected. At Gnosis, they believe that chocolate is food, not candy, and it should be enjoyed regularly. No arguments there!

German-based Beauty Sweeties makes Pure White Chocolate Bars with Q10, Aloe Vera and Collagen. With flavors like pomegranate/raspberry, acai, and mango/peach, each bar has a purpose, providing Vitamin E, antioxidants and beta carotene. This beautiful treat is all-natural and good for you, and even claims to provide cellular energy and neutralize free radicals. Imagine eating chocolate and looking and feeling better! Guess you really can have it all…

We’re thrilled to announce a local partnership with Lisa Samartino Designs.  Lisa creates award-winning, exquisite stationary, and she has been working with Plum Market to launch a new card line.  It is now available in all stores (stop by the Floral department) so you can top off that perfect gift with a modern or vintage-inspired card that has been creatively designed by our friend, Lisa Samartino. Check out Lisa’s Pinterest page to see what inspires her design: Lisa Samartino Pinterest

We have a fabulous selection of cards for every occasion. Have fun trying to decide:

We’d like to introduce you to our newest friends from Mindo Chocolate Makers.  It all started in 2008 when Jose (Joe) took a trip to Ecuador with a plan to retire.  His entrepreneurial spirit wasn’t prepared to rest, however, and he began roasting coffee and processing cacao on his property.  Soon after, the chocolate-making process was imported to Dexter, Michigan with the help of an Ecuadorian farmer growing  cacao trees intermixed with other plants promoting midge population (cacao pollinators) which also maintains habitat for birds and other animals.

The chocolate is made with 100% Ecuadorian “flavor” beans (these are often mixed with a lower cost and less flavor bean to make other chocolates) and they are never exposed to contaminants, fertilizers or pesticides.  The flavor is pure, smooth, and absolutely decadent.  You can find the Mindo Chocolate in our specialty candy department.

Learn more about the chocolate making process.

See’s Famous Old Time Candies are well known and loved throughout the West where the company was founded in 1921.  See’s uses the finest grade raw ingredients from all over the world.

If you live east of the Mississippi, you can go to an airport or to the mall (only during the holidays) to get See’s Candies.  But luckily we have a special partnership with See’s Candies, so you can head to your local Plum Market store anytime you please and pick up a box of your favorite chocolate varieties like the California Brittle, Pecan Buds, or Toffee-ettes (pictured above).