Hant Blog

Almost everyone grew up with it. A slice of bread, a thick layer of butter underneath, and an equally thick layer of chocolate spread on top. For many children, it was the reason to get out of bed in the morning. For many parents, it was sometimes the easiest way to get their child to eat that slice of bread. But what is actually in that jar we all love so much, where does it come from, and why do we at HANT believe it can be done differently? We explain that in this article, along with a little of our own story. A Jar with a History of Scarcity Chocolate spread did not originate from abundance, but from shortage. The story begins in Turin in the early nineteenth century. In 1806, Napoleon blocked trade between the European continent and Great Britain, with the aim of disrupting the British economy. One consequence was that cocoa, which entered Europe through British colonial trade routes, suddenly became scarce and expensive. In the hills around Turin, meanwhile, there were masses of hazelnut trees, and no one really knew what to do with the abundance. Chocolatier Michele Prochet came up with the idea of supplementing the small amount of cocoa he had with ground hazelnuts. Thus gianduja was born, named after a local carnival character. In 1852, that idea officially became a product: together with Pierre Paul Caffarel, Prochet created the first gianduiotti, the famous triangular chocolates made from cocoa, sugar, and hazelnuts. From Wartime Solution to Nutella Almost a century and a half later, history repeated itself. After the Second World War, cocoa was once again almost unaffordable in Italy. Pastry maker Pietro Ferrero, who worked in the Piedmont region, returned to the same idea as Prochet: supplementing a small amount of cocoa with plenty of hazelnuts. In 1946, he launched Pasta Gianduja, also known as Giandujot. This was not a spread, but a solid block that you cut into slices and placed on bread, much like you would with cheese. According to tradition, the transition to a spreadable version happened by chance. During the particularly hot summer of 1949, the gianduja melted on shop shelves and in warehouses. Instead of throwing the product away, it was poured into jars and sold as a cream. Ferrero refined the formula and called the result Supercrema. In 1962, Italy introduced a law banning superlatives such as "super" from product names, forcing Ferrero to look for a new name. Michele Ferrero, Pietro's son, came up with the name Nutella, a combination of the English word "nut" and an Italian-sounding ending. The name was registered in October 1963, and on 20 April 1964, the first jar rolled out of the factory in Alba. The logo and shape of the jar have barely changed since then. Nutella grew into a worldwide phenomenon and is estimated to hold more than half of the global chocolate-spread market today. From Bread Block to Breakfast Icon What began as a practical solution to a shortage of raw materials grew into one of the world's most recognizable products. The marketing evolved with it: chocolate spread was no longer sold as a treat, but as part of a "balanced breakfast," with a glass of milk and a slice of whole-wheat bread included in the advertising image. There is even an official World Nutella Day, celebrated since 2007 on 5 February. That framing as a breakfast product is precisely where the problem lies, because when you look at what is actually in a jar of classic chocolate spread, it has far more in common with a dessert than with a healthy breakfast. What Is Actually in That Jar? On most ingredient lists for mainstream chocolate spreads, sugar is clearly in first place. In Nutella, for example, sugar accounts for approximately 56 to 57 percent of the weight, followed by vegetable oil, usually palm oil. Only after that come hazelnuts, which make up approximately 13 percent, and cocoa, accounting for around 7 percent. The rest consists of skimmed milk powder, whey powder, emulsifiers such as soy lecithin, and synthetic vanillin. In practical terms, this means that a single 15-gram tablespoon already contains around 8.5 grams of sugar, roughly as much as a large portion of a donut. If you generously spread two tablespoons on a slice of bread, you consume more sugar than in one and a half donuts. Nutrition experts therefore classify this type of chocolate spread as a highly processed food, with a nutritional profile closer to a dessert than to a healthy bread topping. That does not make it a forbidden product, and there is nothing wrong with enjoying it occasionally. But it is useful to know exactly what you are eating, especially if it is served on the breakfast table every day. And Yet, So Incredibly Delicious Having said all that, we also understand why it is so popular. Sugar and fat in that ratio literally form a combination that our brains find difficult to resist. Add the nostalgia of the school lunch sandwich, the image of a deliciously thick layer on white bread with another generous lump of butter underneath, and you understand why generation after generation loves it. Chocolate spread is not an accidental success; it is a product that has been perfected over decades to evoke precisely that feeling. Ayse's Story At HANT, this is not an abstract story; it is also our own story. Ayse, our co-founder, was heavily addicted to chocolate spread for years. Every day, sometimes straight from the jar. When she switched to a strict keto diet, with hardly any room left for sugar, she had to break the habit, and after a difficult period, she managed to overcome it. What did not disappear was the desire to enjoy a chocolate sandwich from time to time. That taste, that association with comfort, does not simply go away. When Ayse later became a mother, a new question arose: did she want her daughter to grow up with a jar whose main ingredients were sugar and palm oil, packaged as something healthy? The answer was no. But she did not want to give up enjoying that taste entirely either. That's Why We Created Melicao That search led to Melicao. No long ingredient list, no sugar, no palm oil, no lactose or soy. Melicao consists of exactly two things: raw, unfiltered honey and cocoa. Unheated, organically certified, and free from additives. We do want to be honest about this, because that aligns with how we view food ourselves: honey is and remains sugar. It naturally contains fructose and glucose, with approximately as many calories per gram as regular sugar. So Melicao is not a product you can eat without limits because it contains "no sugar"; that would be a misleading claim. The difference lies elsewhere: no additional refined sugar is added on top of what naturally occurs in the honey, there is no palm oil to make it spreadable, and the ingredient list is one you could recreate in your own kitchen. Raw, unheated honey also retains some of the enzymes, pollen, and minerals that are largely lost in heated, filtered honey, although it is important to remain realistic about how much difference this makes to your health in practice. It is a more honest jar, not a miracle product. For Ayse, and for us as a family, this was the balance we were looking for: that familiar, comforting taste of cocoa on bread, but made with ingredients we ourselves stand behind and can give to our daughter with peace of mind. If you would like to try the same, you can find Melicao here: Organic Melicao, raw honey with cocoa In Conclusion Chocolate spread has a fascinating history, from a wartime cocoa shortage to a worldwide breakfast phenomenon. It is also, let's be honest, simply delicious. But the classic jar has little to do with what marketing has made it out to be for decades. At HANT, we believe you do not have to give up that taste to make a more conscious choice about what goes into your jar, and that is precisely why Melicao exists.