CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: Thanks to their heavy calorific value and excessive sugar, desserts often receive stepchild treatment from health/ fitness enthusiasts. Giving up chocolates can be really hard, but with GATSBY Chocolate you can now happily indulge in your guilty pleasure without any guilt, thanks to their extremely low calorie and sugar content!
The founder of GATSBY Chocolate- Doug Bouton alongside his brother/ chief marketing officer of the brand, Ryan Bouton, will be pitching for their delicious chocolate bars in the upcoming season 15 episode 1 of 'Shark Tank'. While we will have to wait and watch to see if the Sharks- Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner, Kevin O'Leary, Daymond John, and guest Shark Candance Nelson, will want to take a bit of their sweet deal, in the meantime, you can learn all about GATSBY Chocolate and its founder here.
What is GATSBY Chocolate?
With half the calories (compared to other chocolate brands), 75% less sugar, and gluten-free & vegan chocolate bars, GATSBY Chocolate's offering might seem too good to be true. But the brand has really managed to deliver on its claims without compromising on taste while offering a wide array of flavors from their bestselling fudge brownie to oat milk sea salt extra dark flavor chocolate bars!
If you're wondering what's the secret behind GATSBY Chocolate's low-calorie count, and low sugar recipe, then their premium, all-natural ingredients get the credit. In an interview, Bouton explained how by cutting out cocoa butter and incorporating sugar replacements like allulose helped the brand zero in on their USP. He explained, "The main thing is to not only cut the sugar but also to cut the fat. Chocolate has been made with cocoa butter for hundreds of years, and the industry really took it for granted. We wanted to look at that fresh and ask, could we not only cut the sugar but also cut the fat? Fat is 9 calories per gram compared to 4 calories per gram for sugar so that was a big breakthrough for us. Our ingredients are all-natural, and we use sugar replacements like allulose as well as fiber."
Who is the founder of GATSBY Chocolate?
Doug Bouton is the founder of GATSBY Chocolate. Prior to launching GATSBY Chocolate, Bouton was the co-founder of Halo Top, one of the first ice cream brands to combine low-calorie with great taste. In an interview with The Local Moms Network, Bouton explained what prompted him to launch GATSBY Chocolate. He shared, "After selling Halo Top in 2019, I – along with a bunch of other Halo Top team members – were trying to figure out what to do next. We looked at different food categories and settled on chocolate because there were no other low-calorie chocolates; literally none. There were some low-sugar chocolates like Lily’s but even they still had almost as many calories as brands like Lindt, Ghirardelli, Hershey’s, etc. So we founded Gatsby Chocolate, which is basically the Halo Top of chocolate: 1/2 the calories, 1/4 of the sugar, but somehow still tastes just like decadent, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate. We launched on January 1, after spending more than a year developing the recipe. We’re ecstatic with the result and can’t wait to share it with everyone."
Considering his massive success in the food industry, you may peg Bouton for either someone from a food technology background or an MBA, but his law background comes as a surprise to many. Before venturing into the lucrative world of entrepreneurship, Bouton worked as an associate at a law firm, before founding his own law firm- Bouton Legal in 2013. But in 2016, owing to immense work-related stress, bouton decided to quit his law career and venture into entrepreneurship after meeting his former business partner, Justin Woolverton, the founder of Halo Top, who also created the original Halo Top ice cream recipe in his home kitchen.
Bouton currently runs GATSBY Chocolate with the help of his brothers- Matt and Ryan Bouton.
What is the cost and how to buy GATSBY Chocolate?
After reading all about these delicious, low-calorie, and low-sugar chocolate bars, if you're itching to pick up a bar of GATSBY Chocolate or peanut butter cups, then we got you covered. A 6-pack of their delicious chocolate bars retails for $29.99, while a 6-pack of Peanut Butter Cups costs $24.99. As part of the 'shark Tank' promotional sale, the brand is currently running an offer of buy 2 GATSBY Chocolate bars, and get 1 free from your local retailer! You can get more details about this offer here.
Unfortunately, at the moment you can pick up GATSBY Chocolate only from a brick and mortar store and not online. But the good news is they are available across the country in all major retail stores such as Kroger, Ralphs, Mariano’s, Fred Meyer, Dillons, Smith’s, Fry’s, QFC, Hy-Vee, Lowes, Stop & Shop and City Market, and online at gatsbychocolate.com. To find a store near you, visit gatsbychocolate.com/pages/store-locator.
The brand's website is filled with rave reviews from its customers appreciating the delicious taste and texture of the chocolates and peanut butter cups offered by the brand. One of the reviews states, "Wow. Best chocolate I have ever had that is that low of calories. They set the chocolate in an insulated package which kept the chocolate cool durning transport. If you’re a dark chocolate fan, I highly recommend the sea salt extra dark but if you like more milk in your chocolate, I think this one is the one for you. Either way, can’t go wrong. It amazes me still."
So what are you waiting for, head to your nearest grocery store and pick one of GATSBY's delicious chocolate bars and enjoy it guilt-free!
Where is GATSBY Chocolate now?
Following the success of its low-calorie and low-sugar chocolate bars, GATSBY Chocolate took the chocolate industry by storm when it introduced their vegan-friendly chocolate bars made from oat milk. Marketed as the "first and only" vegan and low-calorie oat milk chocolate collection on the market, these oat milk bars are currently available in two variants- Oat Milk Crunch Bar and Oat Milk Salted Almond.
GATSBY Chocolate took to its Instagram to make this exciting announcement while also highlighting the standout qualities of these plant-based chocolate bars. "The FIRST and ONLY vegan and low-calorie Oat Milk Chocolate Collection from GATSBY Chocolate. Two delicious flavors are now available on our website (check out the link in the bio) -- ✨Oat Milk Crunch Bar and Oat Milk Salted Almond✨
✅½ the calories
✅¼ the sugar
✅keto-approved
✅4g net carb per serving
✅plant-based & vegan"
In an interview with Forbes, Bouton further revealed his ambitious plans for the brand, "In the near term, we will be coming out with new products that not only have the nutrition play but will really surprise and delight everybody with something that's very new in terms of flavor and format."
Who will steal the deal?
The new guest Shark Candace Nelson seems like the best fit for GATSBY Chocolate pitch. Although the brand's sales numbers and profit margins will ultimately be the major deciding factor for the sharks on whether to invest in the business or not. So, we will just have to wait and watch to see if the Sharks even make a deal.
'Shark Tank' Season 15 Episode 1 airs on ABC on Friday, September 29, 2023, at 8 pm ET. Catch the latest episode featuring products like GATSBY Chocolate, Pie Wine, Worthy Brands, and Gently Soap.
Missed an episode? Been wanting to catch up? Episodes can also be viewed the next day on demand and on Hulu. Not just that, you can also watch old seasons and episodes on Amazon Prime Video and iTunes.
