6 Grocery-Focused Chocolate Candy, Cookie Innovations

New chocolate candy and cookie varieties are making a mark within the grocery channel—in-line, at checkout stations and supported by elaborate end cap displays.

Several newer releases verify the robust new-product pipeline activity, including the Oreo Blackout Cake, Dove Milk Chocolate Molten Lava Caramel Promises and Hershey’s Kisses Milklicious.

Dove Milk Chocolate Molten Lava Caramel Promises are inspired by the classic and decadent Molten Lava cake, bringing “a multi-texture experience to fans. They can be enjoyed as a dessert at home or as an on-the-go treating moment,” said Martin Terwilliger, senior director at Mars.

“We’re consistently looking for new ways to deliver new, exciting experiences to our fans through our flavor innovations,” Terwilliger said.

Inspired by the “special tastes of childhood,” Hershey’s Kisses Milklicious candies feature a rich and creamy chocolate milk filling that “unlocks fond memories of drinking chocolate milk for the whole family,” said Katie DeCapria, brand manager at The Hershey Co. “We’re excited to bring Kisses brand fans the chance to enjoy a filled product variation year-round.”

Click ahead for a look at five recent chocolate candy debuts.

In late March, Mars introduced a limited-edition flavor in M&M’s White Chocolate Marshmallow Crispy Treat, regarded as a “new seasonal flavor combination delivering moments of happiness with our products at the center of consumer celebrations,” says Tim LeBel, president of sales at Mars Wrigley. M&M’s White Chocolate Marshmallow Crispy Treat features a sweet and crunchy rice crisp center coated with rich white chocolate in festive, pastel-colored candy shells. Another variety that joins the multi-SKU rollout includes Dove Milk Chocolate and Dark Chocolate Bunnies & Egg shapes and M&M’s Pastel Milk Chocolate and Peanut Candies.

The Oreo cookie brand is becoming more decadent with Oreo Blackout Cake, a double layered, rich and chocolatey limited-edition cookie. Oreo Blackout Cake features a classic chocolate base cake with a layer of chocolate cake flavor cream stacked on top of a layer of dark chocolate cake-flavor cream.

Hershey’s Kisses Milklicious chocolates in 9-ounce share packs builds on the permanent Kisses portfolio with a distinctive treat wrapped in light-blue foils and adorned with small glasses of milk, providing a playful cue to the new flavor.

Dove Milk Chocolate Molten Lava Caramel Promises are filled with a rich Molten Lava-flavored caramel center and cloaked in silky-smooth milk chocolate. The new variety joins the brand’s permanent portfolio of Dove Chocolate Promises, with other varieties including Dove Promises Dark Chocolate & Almond, Dark Chocolate & Sea Salt Caramel and two others in 7.61-ounce stand-up pouches.

Snickers Rockin’ Nut Road is packed with roasted almonds and marshmallow-flavored nougat, paired with silky caramel and covered in rich dark chocolate. Snickers Rockin’ Nut Road is available in single (1.41-ounce), share-size (2.82-ounce) and sharing-size pack (7.70-ounce) sizes.

Undercover Snacks introduced an Undercover Dark Chocolate + Sea Salt variety packaged in 2-ounce bags. Certified gluten-, peanut- and tree nut-free, Undercover snacks are All-Natural, Non-GMO Project Verified, Rain Forest Alliance Certified Chocolate and Certified Kosher. Two other flavors are available in 2-ounce bags: Milk Chocolate and Dark Chocolate + Blueberries.