Lindt originated in Switzerland over 175 years ago, and since 1994 Lindt Canada has operated as a fully owned subsidiary. They are a lead in the premium chocolate market, recognized for innovation and craftsmanship, back by global production facilities and distribution networks spanning multiple countries. Lindt Canada is the Canadian arm of a longstanding Swiss chocolate powerhouse, committed to premium product quality, innovation, a strong workplace culture, and social responsibility.[1]
Lindt Classic Milk Chocolate is a traditional milk chocolate bar made primarily with sugar, cocoa butter, milk ingredients, and cocoa mass. Sugar provides the sweetness and contributes to the smooth texture, while cocoa butter gives the chocolate its creamy mouthfeel. The soya lecithin additive acts as an emulsifier to blend the ingredients smoothly and the artificial flavouring is used to enhance the flavours of the chocolate.
Lindt's No Sugar Added Milk Chocolate is a sugar-free alternative, replacing sugar with maltitol. Maltitol is a sugar alcohol that provides sweetness with fewer calories. The chocolate bar maintains a similar creamy texture as it uses cocoa butter and milk ingredients as well. Similarly to the classic milk chocolate bar, soy lecithin is used as an emulsifier, while artificial flavouring can help balance taste differences caused by the sugar substitute.
Identification of Substitutes and Additives and their Roles
Classic Milk Chocolate Bar
No fat substitutes
No sugar substitutes
Additives:
Soya lecithin: An emulsifier that ensures smooth mixing of fat and water components and improves snap and melt.
Artificial flavour: Fine-tunes and standardizes flavour from batch to batch.
No Sugar Added Milk Chocolate Bar
No fat substitutes
Sugar substitute:
Maltitol: a sugar alcohol that provides sweetness with fewer calories and a lower glycemic impact. Also helps provide bulk and contributes to the smooth texture similar to sugar.
Additives:
Soy lecithin: An emulsifier to keep the chocolate smooth and stable.
Artificial flavour: Used to adjust and enhance the flavour, especially since sugar is missing and maltitol alone does not replicate the exact taste.
Less sweet, sometimes mild cooling effect common with alcohol sugars (RS of 68)[4]
Calories & Sugar
Higher sugar and calories
Lower sugar and calories
Glycemic Impact
Higher (contains sucrose and lactose), sucrose has a glycemic index of 65, lactose has a glycemic index of 46[5]
Lowers (maltitol has a lower glycemic index of 35)[6]
Flavour Agents
Barley malt extract & artificial flavour
Artificial flavour only
Flavour Complexity
Traditional chocolate flavour with malt notes
May have slightly different aftertaste from maltitol, needs artificial flavour to mimic the traditional taste
Texture Agents
Cocoa butter and milk ingredients provide creamy, rich mouthfeel
Cocoa butter, milk ingredients. The same agents used to maintain similar mouthfeel despite sugar removal
Emulsifier
Soya lecithin
Soy lecithin (same function)
Consumer Focus
Classic taste and indulgence
Sugar-conscious consumers or diabetics
Key Points of Interest
The classic bar uses sugar as the primary sweetener, with additional sweetness from lactose and barley malt extract, while the no sugar added bar uses maltitol as the only sweetener.
Due to the use of maltitol instead of sugar, the no sugar added bar has slightly lower calories in comparison (53 calories per 10g vs 52 calories per 10g)
The ingredient list for the classic bar lists soya lecithin compared to the no sugar added bar listing soy lecithin. However, they refer to the same substance, a mixture of phospholipids extracted from soybean oil.[7]
Both rely on cocoa butter and lecithin to preserve the smooth creamy extract.
The no sugar added bar has less ingredients in the list (no lactose or barley malt extract added).
Labels
Provide detailed description of the information found on the labels
Indicate whether the information complies with the regulatory requirements as outlined in Lesson 04.
Lindt Classic and No Sugar Added Milk Chocolate Bar
Nutrition Facts
Both products show calories, fat, saturated fat, sugars, fiber, protein, and sodium per serving. The no-sugar-added version will indicate significantly lower sugar content.
Ingredient List
Declared in descending order by weight, which complies with Canadian labeling regulations.
Allergen Information
Clearly states presence of milk and soy; may mention possible traces of nuts or gluten, depending on manufacturing.
Claims
The no-sugar-added product may use claims such as "No Sugar Added" or "Lower Sugar," which are permitted under Health Canada regulations provided they meet specific criteria. As per the Government of Canada, "the food contains no added sugars-based ingredients or ingredients containing sugars-based ingredients (2024)".[8]
Bilingual Requirements
Both products meet Canadian bilingual labeling requirements (English and French)
Naming Regulations
Both chocolate bars follow the regulation to be deemed milk chocolate as the Government of Canada Canadian Food Compositional Standards, 2025[9]. Additionally, as they are a solid chocolate bar (not just coated), they can be labelled as such (Government of Canada, Labelling requirements for confectionery, chocolate and snack food products, 2025).[10]
