When Short Hills mother, Diana Levy, started Undercover Chocolate Co. (Visit Site) five years ago, it was more of a hobby— one where she made chocolate gifts and party favors for events, like weddings and Bar and Bat Mitzvahs. She soon realized she wanted to create a healthier treat with the same high-quality chocolate she was using, but in a snack, rather than a dessert.

After experimenting with an array of ingredients, Levy came up with a recipe that she was ready to put on the market. At the same time, however, two of her daughters were diagnosed with celiac disease. Levy was back to square one, testing out every ingredient she could possibly think of, determined to create a delicious, gluten-free chocolate snack. (Visit Site)

Levy said for months, she would make between 10 and 20 recipes daily. She would complete spreadsheets, perfecting the creations’ calorie count and protein, fiber, fat and sugar content until she finally came up with her product: Undercover Quinoa—crispy organic quinoa snacks lightly covered in milk or dark chocolate.

According to Undercover Chocolate Co.’s website (Visit Site), Levy and her team “carefully source all-natural, non-GMO, gluten-free ingredients and fair-trade chocolate.”

Launched in September 2016, Undercover Quinoa was only being sold in a few retail locations. Today, it’s being sold in close to 500 stores, with Levy focusing on building Undercover Chocolate Co. into a leading global brand.

The snacks can be purchased in grocery and specialty food stores, such as Kings, Fairway Market, Balducci’s and Whole Foods. They’re also available at Bed Bath and Beyond, on Amazon and in 86 CIBO Express Gourmet Market locations in airports all over the United States. (Visit Site)

Levy said, “We’re starting to slowly make our way nationally and go into other distributors across the country that are…mainly into small to medium-sized specialty food stores and grocery stores that are higher-end.”

As far as future products go, within the next three to four months, Levy wants to release a cookie version of Undercover Quinoa. This will be offered in the same flavors, but will be single serve and individually wrapped, available as a point of sale item in stores. She is still experimenting with other ingredients to create new chocolate covered snacks and Undercover Quinoa flavors.

“We’re really trying to be a better-for-you option with very simple ingredients…but still [use] premium chocolate,” Levy said.