Baking & Snack - October 2009 - 97

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NEW PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT

OPTION
Qbel wafer bars and rolls provide
an all-natural alternative to
conventional candy bars.

ahram Shirazi, founder of
Qbel, Nyack, NY, set out to
create an all-natural candy bar after his son came
home from school and inquired why his
parents had never given him a candy bar.
The Shirazi family is one of a growing number of parents looking to reduce the number of preservatives and
artificial colorings and flavorings their children consume. Mr. Shirazi had long witnessed the migration of
organic and natural product into the mainstream market,
and with that, the improvement of the natural and organic products' flavor and texture.
Inspired by his wife's commitment to provide their
family with all-natural food choices, Mr. Shirazi combed
the aisles at Whole Foods and other health foods stores
looking for all-natural candy bars. Finding a significant
offering of chocolate bars but few candy alternatives, he
saw an opportunity to create a candy bar free of artificial flavors and colors, preservatives, high-fructose corn
syrup and hydrogenated oils.
The product name is a tribute to his wife Isabel's passion for bringing the highest-quality ingredients into the
family's life. With quality and taste as the No. 1 goal, Qbel
wafer bars and rolls contain chocolate made with cocoa
butter, real peanut butter and cane or beet sugar.
"There were no candy bars that a household with a natural pantry like ours could enjoy," Mr. Shirazi said. "A lot
of what goes into a candy bar is focused on reducing cost

BAKING & SNACK / October 2009

and extending shelf, and it has nothing to do with flavor."
The wafer rolls are produced in the US and have a
crunchy and sweet profile that is similar to a traditional candy bar, according to Mr. Shirazi. The wafer bars
are produced in Europe. The wafer rolls are filled and
enrobed in milk chocolate or semi-sweet dark chocolate, and the wafer bars have creme filling with Belgian
chocolate enrobing.
Chocolate and peanut butter were chosen as flavors
that would be immediately appreciated and understood
by a wide audience. Additional flavors will be launched
in the future.
The 26-g wafer rolls contain 120 to 130 Cal, and the
32-g wafer bars have 170 to 190 Cal. Retail prices are 99c
to $1.89. The peanut butter variety has an 11-month shelf
life. All other varieties have a 12-month shelf life.
"When I sized the product, I was looking for fulfillment after consuming them, but I also wanted to leave
consumers yearning for more," he said.
After its introduction at the 2008 Fancy Food
show, the product was picked up by Whole Foods and
introduced nationally by the company in January.
The introduction has been supported by demos and
quarterly promotions.
"Qbel delivers all of the crispy, creamy, chocolatey
satisfaction that commercial candy bars do, but with
less sugar, fewer calories and no preservatives," Mr.
Shirazi said.
- Jennifer Barnett Fox

Baking & Snack - October 2009

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