By J.D. Williams

If you are looking for interesting, surplus novelty items, perfect for add-on sales, consider military-themed chocolates. Surplus Today reviewed two products: chocolate ammunition and grenades made by Chocolate Ammo (www.chocolateammo.com). This is a cool item for capturing the look and feel of armaments in a fun, safe and tasty way. The weapons, made of Belgian chocolate, are rich, although some would consider a bit tart, (but not bitter) if they prefer milk chocolate.

The texture of the chocolate is smooth and creamy.  The .50 caliber half-bullets are bite-sized. Chocolate lovers can find themselves quickly going through an entire five-bullet tray if they aren’t careful. The grenade is hollow, but since it is life-sized, it is big enough for sharing with friends and family. There’s also the comedic value of being able to tell someone that you just ate bullets or a grenade. Or, tell them to “Bite the bullet.” The chocolate also stores well, so there’s no pressure to eat it all up right away. The ingredients are simple, with nothing that is unpronounceable or unnatural sounding, which means no nasty chemicals or preservatives. The chocolate is also relatively reasonable on the calories, with six bullets or a third of the grenade equaling about 100 calories.

chocolate_ammo_grenade

The most unique part of this item is the tin the chocolate comes in. Made of aluminum and painted to resemble actual military storage boxes, the tins are lockable and stackable. Long after the candy is gone, the tins work as excellent storage options for anything from trinkets, jewelry or real ammunition. The main selling point of these tins is the authenticity of the painting and design. It is difficult to tell the difference between the chocolate ammo box and a real one if not for the words “Chocolate Ammo” stenciled onto the tin. The tin for the hand grenade even has packing paper filling the tin, probably like the packing around a real grenade.

These chocolate weapons would make excellent gifts. The popularity of chocolate items in spring, Valentine’s Day, Halloween and winter seasons would be times to feature these products. Military-related holidays such as Veterans Day and Memorial Day, would also be holidays especially meaningful to active military, their friends, families and veterans.

Consider stocking chocolate weapons for holidays or any time. They are a fun enhancement to your store and will be a fitting novelty item for children, gun enthusiasts, military and chocolate lovers with an explosive sweet tooth.