As chocolate holds a cherished place in people’s lives, transcending age, gender, or geography, its tasting experience represents a comforting reward, soothing the hardships of everyday life.
According to recent research commissioned by Australian Macadamias and led by independent consumer insights agency GALKAL on a group of Western and Asian consumers, macadamias are well-positioned to disrupt the chocolate category.

While consumers have long been familiar with Nuts and Chocolate,
this pairing has remained somewhat commonplace and expected for being mostly dominated by hazelnuts, almonds, and peanuts.In particular, from all the chocolate products globally launched in 2019, 14% contained hazelnuts, 4% peanuts, whereas only 0.5% contained macadamias.
So macadamia nuts, apart from being not often included in chocolate products, can just bring that element of intrigue and novelty, especially for the premium category like fine chocolate.
Macadamias are,
in fact, already perceived by consumers as a ‘healthy’ snack in the nut category with an aura of refined sophistication, which means they can add a new element of ‘accessible luxury’ and ‘permissible indulgence.’Given their unique smooth texture and buttery flavor, macadamia nuts would additionally work well with innovative chocolate developments, balancing out both sweet and savory notes in the fine chocolate product.
Lastly, fine chocolate brands can tie the prestigious origin of Australian macadamias with the quality and authenticity of the chocolate product, thus uplifting the nuts and chocolate category as a whole.
Did you know about this finding as a chocolate maker/brand? As a chocolate lover, could you mention a brand featuring macadamia chocolate products that you enjoyed?