• The New York Times, Thursday, September 14, 2006 12:01 PM

Mars Inc., which has been marketing CocoaVia dark chocolate snacks as a "heart healthy" product with flavanols and plant sterol additives that can reduce cholesterol and improve blood flow, is adding milk chocolate varieties to the mix. Mars says its scientists have figured out how to retain the same level of flavanols--naturally occurring chemicals in cocoa that have antioxidant qualities--in milk and dark chocolate. Some nutritionists are skeptical. "Adding a milk-chocolate version is just a way of expanding sales," says Bonnie Liebman, nutrition director for the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Robert J. Gamgort, president of Mars's North American division, says the move to produce CocoaVia with the more popular milk chocolate was "not an admission that we can't sell" the dark chocolate variety, but he declined to offer sales figures for the line. U.S. sales of Mars chocolate products grew by 1.7 percent over the past year, while Hershey's sales rose by 4.9 percent, according to Information Resources. But over the last 12 weeks, Mars has seen a turnaround, with chocolate sales up 8.3 percent versus Hershey's 1.2 percent gain, excluding sales at Wal-Mart.

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