NewTree, a Belgian company that started a US division about two years ago, sells chocolate bars infused with fruit and plant essences that promise well-being. For example, the company sells a “Tranquility” milk chocolate bar flavoured with lavender from Provence that smells like soap and retails for about $ 4.50. “We try and create flavors that have a different spin,” said Louis Brouillet, the chief executive officer of NewTree America Inc. based in San Anselmo, California. It was high-end chocolatiers who first experimented with spices like chili and cardamom in candy, Brouillet said.

Next on the menu may be a bar flavored with black pepper, she said. Research has found that dark chocolate, like red wine, is rich in antioxidants, which benefit the heart by dilating vessels and improving blood flow. This health fact is not lost on chocolate marketers, who have introduced all manner of “good for you” confections.

Bissinger’s, a St. Louis-based company founded in 1863 in Paris, was at the show to tout its line of “spa” chocolates that are high in antioxidants. They contain ingredients said to be healthful, including dried blueberries, almonds, sunflower seeds, green tea and soy nut butter. There’s even something for the weight-conscious. Fairytale Brownies in Chandler, Arizona, has developed a sugar-free brownie, but company co-founder Eileen Joy Spitalny said she sticks to proven flavors.

<B>Anna DRIVER</B>