Mars Chocolate Bark Could Be The Next Big Thing For 2023

How do you like to enjoy your chocolate? This much-loved treat comes in a plethora of forms, after all. You can devour it as a bar, add chips of chocolate to cookies, or pour chocolate syrup over your ice cream. Heck, you can even drink it in a glass of chocolate milk. One other way to enjoy this decadent sweet is to gnaw on a chunk of bark. Yes, bark. 

Even if you're familiar with the more common peppermint bark, you may have never encountered chocolate bark. Baking Bites describes it as a "sheet of chocolate that is usually covered with nuts, dried fruits, candies or even additional pieces of chocolate." While the name "bark" doesn't exactly set one's mouth a-drooling, it does accurately describe its appearance. As All Recipes contends, this treat's uneven surface "resembles the craggy surface of a tree." And even when it's "craggy," chocolate tastes good. While the origins of this treat are about as clear as cocoa, The Nibble notes that some believe that they originate from mendiants, a Christmas confection that represented the robe colors of the monasteries. It's unclear when chocolate bark came to North America, but an advertisement in the St. Petersburg Times shows that retailers were selling "pretzel or peppermint bark" as early as 1966. 

And now, chocolate bark is about to get a complete makeover thanks to the folks at Mars. 

Candy blogger Markie Devo recently posted on their Instagram account to explain that in the weeks leading up to the Sweets & Snacks Expo, new sugary offerings will come on the scene and attempt to create "an interruption in the food matrix." Devo contends that the "first runner-up" for a solid place in "the future of candy" is Mars Wrigley's new candy bark. Devo explains that it will come in four new flavors — Twix, Snickers, M&M's, and Dove dark chocolate. They won't officially hit store shelves until anywhere from the middle of October to sometime in November, but you can mark it on your calendar if you don't want to forget. 

Last year's edition of Chicago's famed candy expo saw the introduction of a plethora of new goodies. PR Newswire notes that some of 2022's most innovative new products included Lindt's Classic Recipe OatMilk, Jelly Belly's Harry Potter Butterbeer Barrel, Reese's Snack Bar, while the "Best in Show" award was bestowed upon Trü Frü's "Natures Strawberries Hyper-Chilled Fresh in Ruby Cacao." Perhaps Mars' novel renditions of chocolate bark will also take home top honors. This year's expo takes place from May 22 to 25, so keep your eyes and ears peeled.