Matcha, bubble gum, red velvet? No thanks!
We may go gaga over these new ‘cool’ ice cream flavors that crop up every now and then, but we can assure you that there is nothing as fulfilling as classic flavors. One of them being the good old chocobar! Chocobar is a stick ice cream with rich creamy vanilla encased in a smooth chocolate coating.
We tried and tasted 6 popular choco bars brands in India for their taste, creaminess, and chocolate encasing. We rated them on a scale of 0-5 (5 being the highest) for taste, ingredients used, and overall experience. We made sure, all the choco bars cost Rs. 20/- or less. Even in this range, we found some that use actual milk solids to create the creaminess we all expect in our ‘ice creams’. Some brands used hydrogenated oil as a source of fat. (Read the difference below)
For the purpose of our review, we included both FROZEN DESSERTS as well as dairy-based choco bars. If it’s a chocobar (vanilla cream encased in chocolate), easily available, and under 20 rupees, it made it as a contender for our review. Let’s dig in?
Table of Contents
Mishry Reviews – Best Chocobar Brands In India
The Mark Sheet – The Best Chocobar
Scores given on a scale of 0-5
Brand Of Chocobar | Taste | Ingredients | Overall experience | Calories (Per 100 grams/ml) |
Amul | 3.5 | 4.5 | 4 | 344 Kcal |
Mother dairy | 3 | 4 | 3.5 | 253 Kcal |
Kwality Wall’s | 4.5 | 2.5 | 3.5 | 278 Kcal |
Havmor | 3 | 4 | 3.5 | 347 Kcal |
Cream Bell | 2.75 | 3 | 3 | 246 Kcal |
Vadilal | 2.5 | 3 | 2.5 | 235 Kcal |
1) Amul
Amul is one of the most trusted milk brands in India and their ice creams are not far behind. When we tasted the Amul Chocobar, we felt the milkiness of the chocobar, and the enjoyed the chocolate coating. This was not only tasty but also boasts of better quality ingredients, namely milk solids and not vegetable fats! 100 ml of this chocobar provides 344 Kcal of energy.
Thumbs Up
- The chocolate covering is very sweet and quite milky, similar to an Amul chocolate bar.
- The vanilla part was creamy and sweet.
Thumbs Down
- Some tasters felt it was over sweet, so if your palate is used to less sugar, then you may not enjoy this so much.
- There was less crunch in the outer layer.
Mishry Rating (On a scale of 0-5)
- Taste – 3.5
- Choice of ingredients – 4.5 (Best!)
- Overall experience – 4
Amul Chocobar is tasty and boasts off quality ingredients; a combination of these two factors make it our Top Pick. If you are a regular consumer of chocobars and love to indulge in one pretty regularly, then definitely give this one a try.
2) Mother Dairy
Mother dairy ice creams are available at carts and stand-alone booths and are perhaps amongst the easiest to buy. We sourced our tasting choco bars from both stand-alone booths and also from the mobile carts. The ones bought from the stand-alone booths were intact, while the ones bought from carts were broken, due to which vanilla inside oozed out.
A 100 grams of Mother Dairy Chillz Choco Bar provides 253 kcal of energy.
Thumbs Up
- Mother dairy chocobar has a nice chocolaty taste.
- The coating was thin and even.
Thumbs Down
- Very sweet to taste.
- The vanilla flavor feels diluted (watered down). It is not very creamy and rich.
Mishry Rating (On a scale of 0-5)
- Taste – 3
- Choice of ingredients – 4
- Overall experience – 3.5
Mother Dairy Chillz Choco Bar had a good list of ingredients, but was a step down on taste in comparison to Amul. Even though the chocolate part was nice, the watered down vanilla diminished the overall taste.
3) Kwality Wall’s
Kwality Wall’s Chocobar had all of us say ‘YUM’ at the same time for its rich chocolate coating and balanced sweetness. Sadly, its all taste, and very real ‘ice-cream’, as non-dairy sources like vegetable oil/palm oil are used to create the luscious creaminess. 50 grams of this chocobar provides 139 Kcal of energy.
Thumbs Up
- Chocolate covering is thin and smooth.
- The vanilla part is creamy and light.
- The chocolate isn’t too sweet, almost semi-dark.
Thumbs Down
- The list of ingredients has palm oil, vegetable oil, and artificial flavorings.
- After the piece we kept out to see how fast it melted, we noticed that the melted chocobar was foamy and not milky.
Mishry Rating (On a scale of 0-5)
- Taste – 4.5 (Best tasting)
- Choice of ingredients – 2.5
- Overall experience – 3.5
If our review would have been based on just one aspect – Taste – Kwality Wall’s would have been a clear winner. Sadly, the list of ingredients was disappointing and lead Kwality Wall’s to the third position. If not for the ingredient list, Kwality Wall’s would have been our Top Pick for it’s taste, balanced sweetness and texture.
4) Havmor
Havmor is comparatively a new entrant in the market but has been welcomed with open arms. The piece we left out to see how it melted, was not too milky and became foamy after a while. 100 grams of this ice cream provides 347 Kcal of energy.
Thumbs Up
- Outer covering is the lightest.
- Chocolate is very milky and smooth.
Thumbs Down
- Extra sweet – The chocolate and the vanilla are both very sweet and provide no relief to the palate.
- Havmor does not flow like milk but it is a little foamy after having kept it for some time.
Mishry Rating (On a scale of 0-5)
- Taste – 3
- Choice of ingredients – 4
- Overall experience – 3.5
The Havmor chocobar had a great set of ingredients but the let down was the overpowering sweetness. The chocolate and vanilla were individually too sweet as it is, and their combination was just an explosion of sugar. All the tasters unanimously agreed that the sweetness was overbearing.
5) Cream Bell
Cream Bell carts are spread throughout the country and have a wide range of ice creams. 100 grams of this chocobar from Cream Bell provides 246 Kcal of energy. All the cream Bell choco bars sourced by us turned out to be broken.
Thumbs Up
- Balanced sweetness.
- The texture of the chocolate was smooth.
Thumbs Down
- No crunch in the bite.
- Vanilla wasn’t too creamy.
Mishry Rating (On a scale of 0-5)
- Taste – 2.75
- Choice of ingredients – 3
- Overall experience – 3
Cream Bell’s list of ingredients was a mix of both – good and bad. The taste of the chocobar was average and there was nothing striking or appealing. The thin chocolate of the chocobar was a let down.
6) Vadilal
Vadilal has over 150 plus flavors available in carts throughout the country. The piece that melted became milky and not foamy. 100 grams of this ice cream provides 235 Kcal of energy.
Thumbs Up
- The hard outer chocolate covering provided a nice bite.
- Thin, crisp chocolate.
Thumbs Down
- Vanilla was too sweet and not light in texture.
- Chocolate has a weird taste, not fresh or natural. We felt it tasted a bit industrial.
Mishry Rating (On a scale of 0-5)
- Taste – 2.5
- Choice of ingredients – 3
- Overall experience – 2.5
Vadilal’s choice of ingredients was average, and the taste was a let down. All our chocobars had a weird aftertaste which is not something you would go back for.
Ice Cream Vs Frozen Dessert – What’s The Difference?
If you are not an avid label reader, we are sure after reading this you will closely monitor the ingredient list of every packaged food product that enters your pantry. According to FSSAI, frozen desserts and ice creams differ only in one aspect – the kind of fat used to make them.
To lay down the main difference simply – Ice cream is made with milk or dairy fat while a frozen dessert mainly comprises vegetable fat or oils we would usually avoid like palm oil. The packaging is supposed to mention upfront that it is a frozen dessert and not an ice cream if it is made with vegetable fat. We urge all consumers to read labels carefully before making the purchase.
Now, moving on to a crucial ingredient we usually see on the labels – Milk Solids. We often read that an item contains milk solids. Most of us don’t know exactly what are those and why are they used instead of normal milk? Milk solids, to put it simply, is dried up milk. The purpose of drying up milk is to increase its shelf life. As normal milk has a low shelf life, the water content (liquid) of the cow milk is dried up and what remains are milk solids.
While the choice of ingredients did play an important role in our ratings, as always, we did not curate the list of contenders basis this. Our purpose was to pick all ‘choco bars’ sold under INR 20/- and compare them on parameters like tastes, crunch, sweetness, and ingredients.
Our Review Process
One of the things no one anticipated while entering 2020, was the pandemic. All our lives have been brought to a halt due to this, which led to a lot of changes including the way we all work.
Our entire review team was able to get our hands on all the brands of choco bars each which helped in rating these ice creams fairly. Due to the pandemic, all our team members collected choco bars from around their homes and adequate precautions were taken to ensure safety. This review was done over a video call and we all tasted the choco bars one by one, gauging the taste and texture of the ice creams.
Tasting ice creams, as joyful as it may sound, is a hard task. The sweetness can overpower your palette and the difference between then ice creams may diminish. So we were careful to cleanse our palates in between (Our session didn’t look anything like a wine tasting).
1) The Brands We Picked
We picked six ice cream brands that are easily available in most Indian states through ice cream carts or stand-alone booths. All the ice creams were priced the same – Rs 20/-. Some brands also have the option of a mini-chocobar which are priced at Rs 10/-.
We looked for the basic choco-vanilla combination on a stick. We DID NOT consider the physical condition of the ice cream when we opened it. Most ice creams were intact, but some were in a bad state. Owing to the tough times for the vendors, we gave the appearance of the ice cream a miss from our parameters.
- Amul
- Vadilal
- Havmor
- Cream Bell
- Mother Dairy
- Kwality Wall’s
2) Who Is This Review For?
Chocobars are an all-time favorite amongst most Indians for its taste and cost-effectiveness too. Mini-chocobar costs around Rs 10/-, while the bigger version is priced at Rs 20/-. If you love the combination of creamy vanilla and plain silky-smooth coating of chocolate on a stick, this review is for you.
3) The Parameters – How We Reviewed
List of ingredients – What goes into the making of the ice cream is crucial. Does it contain milk solids or is it just vegetable oil? Reading labels can help you choose a product with a better set of ingredients.
Taste – Was the vanilla part of the ice cream even creamy or did it feel icy and grainy? Did the vanilla even taste like vanilla? How did the chocolate taste – smooth and silky?
Overall experience – How well balanced was the overall chocolate to vanilla ratio, the crunch of the chocolate, and how fast did the ice cream melt was all considered. The smoothness, consistency, and thickness of the chocolate was also put to test. The sweetness of the chocobar was the main parameter too. Any spice, seasoning, flavor, or herb when overpowers a dish can ruin the entire eating experience. We wanted to access if the ice cream’s sweetness was well balanced or was it too sweet? All the aspects mentioned need to marry to form a great overall experience.
Results Of Our Review
Each chocobar had some highs and lows. Even though there was no clear winner, we loved some for their taste and balanced sweetness, and some for their crunchy chocolate covering. Some failed miserably due to their over sweetness and some failed because of their ingredient list.
Which one is your favorite ice cream brand?
Team That Worked On This Review
* If you do agree with our review, please give it a thumbs up! And, tell us which one is your favorite from this list. If you don’t, please tell us why!
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* Our reviews are unbiased and all samples used during the reviews were paid for by us. Read our entire ethics statement here.
* No part of this review is sponsored by any brand. All expenses were borne by us.