GIGANTIC! Better-for-You Candy Bars Are the Answer to Your Chocolate-Loving Prayers

Value: 18/20
Functionality: 20/20
Quality: 20/20
Aesthetics: 20/20
Taste: 19/20

Total: 97/100

You told yourself 2021 would be the year that you gave up chocolate. Let us be the one to tell you: That was your first mistake. Your second mistake was thinking you can’t have chocolate—let alone caramel—without subjecting yourself to a boatload of sugar and calories. Don’t believe us? Behold, GIGANTIC!, a line of better-for-you candy bars that are low on sugar and big on flavor.

We were skeptical at first—until we tried these treats. GIGANTIC! candy bars, which launched in early January, only have 7 grams of sugar a piece (that’s 69 percent less sugar than most traditional candy bars). And they don’t compensate with sugar alcohol or fake sweeteners. Instead, the bars contain a modest amount of brown sugar and are sweetened further with chicory root.

Each bar boasts a core of plant-based caramel dotted with tree nuts or peanuts and a coating of real, fair-trade dark chocolate sourced from sustainable organic growers. They’re gluten-free, dairy-free and totally vegan, thanks to ingredients like coconut milk and almond butter.

GIGANTIC! isn’t available in stores just yet, but you can order variety or single-flavor packs online right this second. Before you load up your cart, here’s our honest take on every flavor.

We’ve never met a candy bar sprinkled with flaky salt that we didn’t like, and this pick is no exception. Peanuts and chocolate are a classic, timeless flavor combination (TBT to noshing on Goobers at the movies as a kid), but the chewy caramel and bits of salt give it a grown-up makeover.

Taste: 18/20

Calling all espresso drinkers. This flavor is slightly bitter yet perfectly balanced à la hazelnut latte, thanks to the addition of coffee extract. Think buttery hazelnuts and roasty, sweet caramel enrobed in slightly bitter, rich dark chocolate.

Taste: 18/20

OK, wow. Remind us again why there aren’t any mainstream banana-caramel candies on the market? This beauty literally tastes like a banana-pecan muffin peppered with chocolate chips. The banana powder enhances the caramelized brown sugar flavor of the caramel tenfold.

Taste: 20/20

Have you ever sipped ice-cold horchata on a Mexican beach? If yes, this flavor *definitely* won’t disappoint. If no, you’ll most certainly want to after your first bite. It hits all the right flavor notes: Rice flour mimics the taste of rice milk, while the additions of cinnamon, vanilla extract and almond butter shine through beautifully.

Taste: 20/20