Disclaimer: None of the information in this article constitutes medical advice, and is just the opinion of the writer(s). We recommend that patients follow their doctor’s guidance in regard to nutrition.
Hu Chocolate, also referred to as Human Chocolate or Get Back To Human Chocolate, is an increasingly popular chocolate bar brand in the US. The brand claims that their process involves “sourcing only simple, clean and responsible ingredients” and that they “put…the human body first.”
But is Hu Chocolate actually healthier than the average chocolate bar? Does Hu contain any questionable additives? Why was the brand sued in a class-action lawsuit? And what was our experience like trying it?
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in Hu Chocolate to give our take on whether or not it’s actually healthier than the average chocolate bar.
We’ll also detail the lawsuit against Hu Chocolate and what it means for consumers, and share our experience trying the brand.
Key takeaways:
- All whole food ingredients
- Much healthier than traditional chocolate bars
- We currently recommend Hu Chocolate
Ingredient Analysis – Is Hu Healthy?
The ingredients in the “Salty” version of Hu Dark Chocolate are shown below:
The simplicity of the ingredient label is definitely a plus, and we know from clinical trials that dark chocolate is associated with improved health.
A 2022 medical review describes dark chocolate as a “functional food” because of its anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties.
Coconut sugar is a healthier and more nutritious alternative to refined cane sugar. A 2023 meta-study on coconut sugar describes the ingredient as a “healthier” sweetener option that has more favorable effects on blood sugar than table sugar.
Based on its simple and clean formulation, we would recommend this product and consider it healthy.
Even the milk chocolate bars sold by Hu are healthy.
The brand uses organic, grass-fed milk as another natural sweetener, and as we documented in our article on is Nutella healthy, grass-fed animal products are clinically shown to be more nutritious than conventionally-raised animal products.
We recommend dark chocolate over milk chocolate due to the lower sugar content.
To illustrate how much healthier Hu is than the average commercial chocolate brand, consider the ingredients in Great Value Milk Chocolate (Walmart’s brand) shown below:
Sugar is the first ingredient, and this bar contains 48 grams (g) of added sugar per bar. We know from medical research that added sugar in excess can increase the risk of obesity and cardiovascular disease.
Natural vanilla flavor fails to describe what specific flavoring agents are used, and a medical review published in the Environmental Health Perspectives journal suggests that some natural flavoring compounds may be toxic.
We consider Hu Chocolate to be much healthier than the average chocolate bar brand like the Great Value Milk Chocolate bar analyzed above.
Is Hu Chocolate Contaminated?
Hu Chocolate is one of several chocolate brands that was hit with a class-action lawsuit over allegations of high lead levels in their products.
According to Top Class Actions, a plaintiff sued Hu Chocolate in 2023 because the products were branded as healthier and good for you, but the plaintiff alleges that they contain lead and the manufacturer was aware of this fact.
The level of lead was not published in the above-linked article.
A Consumer Reports investigation found that Hu Chocolate (Simple Dark Chocolate) flavor contained higher lead levels than the average brand tested (and 15x higher than the lowest-level brand tested, which was Mast Organic Dark Chocolate).
While the report linked above presents the data in a concerning way, this does not prove that the dose is necessarily harmful.
The lead level found in Hu was around 1 microgram per serving, which is still well under the established FDA safety threshold.
Less lead is always better, but there's so much variance batch-to-batch that this isn't enough information for us to change our recommendation of this brand (which we have no affiliation with).
We Tried Hu Chocolate Ourselves
As the author of this article, I wanted to purchase and try Hu Chocolate myself to share my thoughts on its taste and effects.
I purchased the Dark Chocolate and the Almond Butter + Puffed Quinoa bars, and had one of them with an unsweetened black tea for a late evening pick-me-up to give me a bit of energy.
The almond butter and quinoa bar tastes much better in my opinion, and has a more interesting texture. The almond butter on the inside is creamy while the puffed quinoa is crunchy, and that bar was much more enjoyable than the dark chocolate bar which has the same consistency throughout and is a basic chocolate bar.
I did notice a slight improvement in energy thanks to the caffeine and theobromine in dark chocolate, and Hu Chocolate could make for a good evening energy boost when it's too late to consume coffee.
Both bars tasted better to me than the average chocolate bar like Hershey's, but I likely wouldn't purchase either again because I personally try to avoid added sugar as much as possible in my diet.
Overall, I'd rate this brand 7/10.
Where to Get the Best Price
Hu Chocolate is sold at a variety of online retailers. Here’s a price breakdown at the time of publishing this article, standardized to per-bar-price:
Hu Dark Chocolate
Brand website: $6 (plus shipping, link)
Amazon: $6 (plus shipping, link)
Target: $5.49 (plus shipping, link)
Walmart: $4.99 (plus shipping – link)
Walmart has the best price on single orders of Hu Dark Chocolate, and Amazon and the brand's website currently have the best price for bulk orders at Hu.
Hu Milk Chocolate
Brand website: $6 (plus shipping, link)
Amazon: $6 (plus shipping, link)
Target: $5.49 (plus shipping, link)
Walmart: $4.48 (plus shipping – link)
Walmart has the best price on a single order of Hu Milk Chocolate, and Amazon and the brand's website currently have the best price for bulk orders.
Customers Rate Hu Chocolate
Amazon is a better resource for honest customer reviews than a brand’s website in our opinion.
Hu Chocolate has been reviewed over 5,000 times on Amazon with an average review rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars.
The top positive review from a verified purchaser comes from a user named “Dr Eric Shapira” who likes the chocolate and its health effects:
“Great product. Terrific taste and good in general. Does not raise my blood sugar. I enjoy all the Hu products and cannot get enough of them!!! Highly recommend this product.”
The top negative review from a verified purchaser is written by a user named “Carol B.” who dislikes how little sweetness the bars offer:
“When they arrived we test tasted one and found them to be uneatable. We let another son taste them and he returned the bar with only a small portion eaten. He too found them to be awful. They are not sweet, but have a salty taste to them. The bars I am referring to are the almond crunch chocolate.”
Our Clean Chocolate Picks
Lindt Excellence Dark Chocolate is our top overall chocolate pick.
It’s a dark chocolate (70%) with only 12 grams of sugar per serving.
Like Hu, this product is free of questionable additives and is flavored with natural ingredients like bourbon vanilla beans. We consider dark chocolate to be healthier than milk chocolate due to the lower sugar content.
For chocolate lovers who are focused entirely on health and care less about taste, Baker’s Unsweetened Chocolate is the healthiest option because it contains no added sugar at all. The only ingredient is 100% cacao beans. This makes it quite bitter but it pairs well with fruit.
Hu Chocolate Pros and Cons
Here are the pros and cons of Hu Chocolate as a brand in our opinion:
Pros:
- Zero unhealthy additive ingredients
- Healthiest milk chocolate product we’ve reviewed
- May provide health benefits
- Relatively low in sugar
Cons:
- Had higher-than-average lead levels in a Consumer Reports test
- Expensive
- May contain some heavy metals (but nearly all chocolate does)
