The New SKU
Chocolove is returning its limited-edition Pumpkin-Shaped Bites to retail this fall with a three-SKU lineup that adds a new Milk Chocolate Apple Cider flavor alongside the returning Pumpkin Spice in Milk Chocolate and Peanut Butter in Dark Chocolate varieties. The Boulder, Colo.-based premium chocolate brand — now in its 31st year — is positioning the individually wrapped, festive standup-bag format as an elevated play for seasonal candy bowls, gifting occasions, and everyday fall indulgence.
The new Apple Cider Bites center on a milk chocolate shell filled with a blend of real apple purée and cinnamon, a formulation designed to tap consumer appetite for harvest-season flavor profiles beyond the now-saturated pumpkin spice corridor. "The combination of creamy milk chocolate, real apple purée and cinnamon will transport your taste buds to a cozy and nostalgic apple orchard," said Sara Famulari, VP of Marketing at Chocolove. The Pumpkin Spice variant features pumpkin purée and a classic warming-spice blend of ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, while the Peanut Butter dark chocolate option rounds out the set for shoppers seeking a year-round flavor anchor in a seasonal format.
Distribution Footprint
The Pumpkin-Shaped Bites are available for a limited time — while supplies last — across a broad mix of natural, specialty, and conventional grocery banners. Confirmed retail partners include Whole Foods Market, Kroger, Albertsons, Safeway, Harris Teeter, Hannaford, Hy-Vee, Natural Grocers, New Seasons, Raley's, Sprouts, and Stop & Shop, in addition to CVS in the drug channel and direct-to-consumer via Chocolove.com. The multi-banner footprint spans natural/specialty, conventional supermarket, and drug channels — a distribution mix that signals meaningful ACV coverage heading into the fall selling season.
For category managers, the standup bag format and pumpkin-shaped bites position the SKUs well for end-cap and seasonal aisle planogram placement, where turn rates on limited-edition confectionery items tend to spike during the Halloween and harvest merchandising window. The festive format also lends itself to floor stack and in-store display programs that drive incremental basket ring beyond the standard chocolate bar fixture.
Category & Competitive Context
The seasonal chocolate and confectionery category sees its most competitive planogram battles between Labor Day and Halloween, with brands competing for limited shelf real estate against both national brands and growing private-label seasonal sets. Chocolove's premium positioning — Rainforest Alliance Certified, Non-GMO Project Verified, and free from artificial preservatives — differentiates the line in a segment where clean-label credentials are increasingly influencing retailer buying decisions and shelf placement alongside natural and specialty channel programs.
The brand's 50-SKU year-round portfolio, anchored by bars, cups, and bites across formats, provides category buyers with a complementary everyday assortment to merchandise alongside the seasonal push. Cross-merchandising opportunities with year-round sellers such as Dark Chocolate Almonds & Sea Salt and Milk Chocolate Pistachios & Sea Salt could extend the brand's planogram presence beyond the seasonal aisle and into the core snacking and gifting sets.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
