Yesterday I went on a Theo Chocolate factory tour with my aunt and uncle who are visiting from New York. It was great fun, an excursion worthy of its own post. The tour got me thinking about chocolate in general and then, about a particular purchase Big Papa and I made on one of our trips to Armenia, namely the ‘Nestle for Men’ bar.

Yes, that’s right, a chocolate bar devoted to men and men only! Who would have thought? Obviously someone in Nestle’s Russian marketing department!  Other than ‘Nestle for Men,’ all the text is in Russian. I presume the assumption is that men who read Russian will be able to ascertain that this bar is for them. A translator read the rest of the wording on the bar which strongly suggests “protecting” this bar from the prying hands of women. No sharing with your gal pal, guys!

Big Papa and I purchased several bars and offered them as gifts to our manly friends. So far, the Nestle for Men bar gets an A+ for novelty. It’s hard not to crack a smile when you see this burly bar. One of my friends has a pre-teen son, who upon seeing the bar asked: Is this for boys too? I suppose so, if you want to put some hair on your chest!

Foodie reviews, however, have been less than favorable. One recipient reported “The chocolate wasn’t that great.” I’m not surprised. The real bang for the buck lies in the packaging, not the flavor. Nestle for Men is a milk chocolate bar with three variations: plain milk chocolate, milk chocolate with almonds or milk chocolate with peanut and raisin. Studies revealed that milk chocolate is where it’s at for men: 48% of men prefer milk chocolate, 37% of men prefer dark chocolate, and 15 % choose other types of chocolate (white and mixed). Though let me tell you a secret, guys, the health and psycho-emotional benefits come with dark chocolate…the darker, the better in fact.

Nestle for Men makes me laugh because, historically, chocolate marketing has been aimed squarely at women. Chocolate stimulates “feel good” serotonin levels in the brain. It’s marketed to help women recover from heartache, celebrate new love, deal with menstrual tension or menopausal woes. Plus, chocolate has anti-oxidants. It’s practically healthy. Some studies show that small amounts of dark chocolate may even lower blood pressure.  And, everyone knows women just LOVE chocolate. What do men get women after jewelry and flowers? Chocolate, of course!

Who knows, maybe Russian marketing is onto something with their macho bar. Here you go boys…dive in. Your very own chocolate bar.

Wanna devour some more? Check out Wanderfood Wednesday!