Why Nestlé Is Cutting the Sugar in Its Chocolate by Nearly Half

You can't have your cake and eat it, but you could be one step closer to having your chocolate and scoffing it without the added guilt that comes from ingesting a week's worth of calories in Ferrero Rocher form.

Swiss food giant Nestlé says it has figured out a way to make its chocolate using 40 percent less sugar—and without impacting on that sweet chocolatey flavour.

The company, which produces Kit Kat, Aero, and Smarties, claims to have hit upon a scientific breakthrough that will allow it to alter the structure of sugar so that it dissolves more quickly, meaning less needs to be used. It will be patenting the findings and hopes to start using the new sugar across its range by 2018.

Nestlé chief technology officer Stefan Catsicas called the discovery "truly groundbreaking research."

He told Bloomberg: "We want people to get used to a different taste, a taste that would be more natural. We really want to be the drivers of the solution."

The Nestlé announcement comes as many food and drink companies attempt to reduce sugar in their products following growing public health fears over the danger of high-sugar diets. PepsiCo recently committed to lowering sugar and fat content in new ranges of its snacks and beverages.

We'll have to wait until 2018 to see if sugar-reduced chocolate is anything more than a bittersweet fantasy. In the meantime, just half a Kit Kat can't hurt.