Plamil Foods Love Hamper Review

When living with food allergies there are many limitations you find yourself facing. One of those is that when you feel in the mood for something sweet it's not as simple as going to a shop and picking up any bar of chocolate that catches your eye and you think sounds tasty, it involves a lot of checking the ingredients for the allergen/s itself/themselves and in some cases watching out for any "may contain" warnings on the produce as well. Oftentimes you're left feeling disheartened upon picking up something that looks super tasty only to find that it contains the thing/s you're allergic to. Very few companies exist which are dedicated to catering for those who live with allergies. I have come across a few in my years of living with allergies and anaphylaxis and one of those is a company called 'Plamil Foods'.

About Plamil Foods

From their website Plamil Foods say:

"We passionately believe in producing food that is made to the highest standards possible. We are more than a 'brand', as we actually make products in our own factory, giving us control over every aspect of production resulting in tasty food for all, supplying consumers, retailers, wholesalers and food catering / manufacturing facilities worldwide.

We think our customers should be able to enjoy food, knowing that every care is taken whilst in production, but also have complete assurance about both the purity of ingredients that goes in to making a product, as well as assurance that no other ingredient is present as well."

Plamil Foods makes a variety of different products including: 

• Chocolate that is free from: dairy, peanuts, nuts and gluten 
• Chocolate spreads that are free from: dairy, peanuts, nuts and gluten 
• Soya milk that can be used as an alternative to dairy products 
• Mayonnaise that is free from: dairy, eggs and gluten 
• Chocolate hampers featuring a variety of their products 
• Seasonal items (i.e. Easter Eggs) that are free from: dairy, peanuts, nuts and gluten

Reviews of items received

The packaging that the 'Love Organic Hamper'
comes in

Upon enquiring with Plamil Foods they were a very friendly company who decided to do a collaboration with myself on some of their products. The item in particular I was sent was their 'Love Organic Hamper'. Their website states that the product is "perfect for Birthdays, Anniversaries and Valentine's". The product came in a white box and upon opening it the inside was purple with their logo, it also contained lots of red shredded tissue paper which really amplifies the idea that this box would make the perfect gift for someone you love, particularly for Valentine's. The hamper is free from: dairy, milk, gluten, peanuts and nuts.

The inside of the 'Love Organic Hamper'

Upon lifting the tissue paper I was greeted with a multitude of different products. Before being sent the hamper I was unsure of what it contained and was pleasantly surprised with the amount of products contained within the hamper. The hamper contains:

• Love heart gift box of milk alternative chocolate hearts 
• 2 chocolate spreads (milk alternative and dark chocolate)
• 7 chocolate bars (milk alternative, white alternative, tropical orange, intense mint, perfectly dark, extra dark and coconut blossom) 

The first thing I tried was their 'So Free Milk Chocolate Alternative Hearts'. These are free from: dairy, milk, gluten, peanuts and other nuts. The outer packaging was really colourful in nature and was tied together at the top with a little gold ribbon which was a really cute touch. Absolutely perfectly themed for Valentine's Day, or even just sending to someone you really appreciate in life. Opening the box there was a plastic bag inside it, I appreciated this as I feel it would help keep the chocolate for longer. There were approximately 15 - 20 chocolate hearts inside which were roughly 1 inch in height in the shape of a heart. On trying the chocolate hearts they were easy to bite into, a good consistency, not too hard but not soft either. They tasted really nice. The issue with some free from products is they don't taste anything like normal milk chocolate however I personally felt these had similarities to normal milk chocolate and were something that I definitely felt I could enjoy. They were nice to sit melting in the mouth and didn't become too cakey like some chocolates can when eating them. They definitely had a moreish taste to them and my only problem with them is I wanted to sit and eat all of them in one sitting!

The next item I tried was their 'So Free Organic Milk Alternative Chocolate Spread'. This product is free from: dairy, milk, gluten, peanuts and other nuts. The first thing I noticed is the jar is 275g which is a really generous size. As soon as I opened the jar I was hit by the lovely smell of the spread, I was very keen to taste it after catching the smell. On trying it at first I tried it on it's own but then also tried it on toast, I also decided to mix things up a little and tried some on banana. I feel this is a chocolate spread which really goes with a multitude of different things and tastes great on different things. For being a free from dairy product it has a really lovely taste as oftentimes my problem with free from dairy products is that it hampers the taste of the product but I found this chocolate spread had a very unique taste that tasted lovely. The chocolate spread is very smooth and is melt in the mouth.

The next product I tried was the 'So Free Organic Rich Dark Chocolate Chocolate Spread'.  This product is free from: dairy, milk, gluten, peanuts and other nuts. Like the 'so free organic milk alternative chocolate spread' the product was 275g in total. Similarly to the above mentioned product the chocolate spread was very moreish. I do however feel that you will either love the product or dislike the product, this has nothing to do with the quality of the product but more linked to dark chocolate being an acquired taste. I personally like dark chocolate so found myself really enjoying the chocolate spread. Again the taste did not suffer as the product is free from which is what you really want out of a free from product, you want it to be a safe product for you/your child to consume however you don't want it to jeprodise the flavour of what you're consuming. Similar things applied to this product than the one mentioned above, I just found the product to be s bit richer in flavour than the other one.

The final items I will be reviewing are Plamil's 'So Free Organic Chocolate Bars'. In total their were 7 different flavoured chocolate bars, all different and varying flavours, something to really suit anyone's taste. The chocolate bars are 80g each in total. They are free from: dairy, milk, gluten, peanuts and other nuts. The flavours are: 'So Free Organic Dark Chocolate Sweetened with Coconut Blossom Sugar', 'So Free Organic Dairy Free White Chocolate Alternative', 'So Free Organic Intense Mint Dark Chocolate', 'So Free Organic Extra Dark Chocolate', 'So Free Organic Perfectly Dark Chocolate', 'So Free Tropical Orange Organic Dark Chocolate' and 'So Free Organic Dairy Free Milk Chocolate Alternative'. 

• So Free Organic Dark Chocolate Sweetened with Coconut Blossom Sugar: This personally was my favourite bar out the seven. It tasted so good! The chocolate was very moreish and I ended up consuming the entire bar in one sitting! Despite it being dark chocolate it definitely didn't taste like it, it had a sweet taste (just the right balance of sweet, not too sickly). The chocolate definitely didn't taste like free from chocolate. I usually feel free from chocolate has a very odd often unappetising taste to it however this bar was the perfect mix of milky tasting and coconut. 
•  So Free Organic Dairy Free White Chocolate Alternative: Like the coconut version this chocolate could easily be mistaken as a normal bar of chocolate as it didn't taste like free from chocolate at all. It was very melt in the mouth and tasted very unique however in a good way. The bar was easy to eat and was never to sickly. Only problem was I wanted to eat the whole bar then and there!
• So Free Organic Intense Mint Dark Chocolate: In spite of this being dark chocolate the mint taste very much outweighed the taste of dark chocolate. The chocolate felt very refreshing to eat and like the others was great in taste and wasn't too sweet to eat. I would definitely recommend to anyone who enjoys chocolate and mint. I personally would liken it to an After Eight (as most After Eights unfortunately now carry with them a may contain warning for nuts and peanuts which means those allergies to peanuts and other nuts miss out). 
• So Free Organic Extra Dark Chocolate: I found this chocolate more time-consuming to eat than the previous 3 chocolate bars mentioned above however this wasn't linked to it tasting bad or being of bad quality, it was down to myself finding dark chocolate more difficult to consume in large quantities. In spite of this the chocolate was still very tasty. If you like dark chocolate I would recommend this bar as it tastes just like other brands that sell dark chocolate, once again the free from stance of it does not hamper the taste of it. 
• So Free Organic Perfectly Dark Chocolate: Like the extra dark version of the chocolate I wouldn't recommend this to people who don't like dark chocolate as it's definitely an acquired taste. It's not as strong tasting as the extra dark version mentioned above however it's still a very pungent taste (in a good way). The chocolate was very melt in the mouth and didn't taste like free from chocolate normally tastes of. 
• So Free Tropical Orange Organic Dark Chocolate: In spite of this, again, being dark chocolate, the overall taste that comes through is the tropically orange taste that this chocolate bar has. It's a very nice and sweet tasting bar of chocolate that isn't too sickly and is easy to eat. Would definitely recommend this product to anyone who enjoys tropically orange tasting things. 
• So Free Organic Dairy Free Milk Chocolate Alternative: The free from status of this product definitely doesn't hamper the taste of it. It still tastes very milky and is a melt in the mouth type of chocolate that carries with it a great taste. It's the same type of chocolate as their 'Love heart gift box of milk alternative chocolate hearts' and just like those the product were easy to bite into, a good consistency, not too hard but not soft either. They tasted really nice. The issue with some free from products is they don't taste anything like normal milk chocolate however I personally felt these had similarities to normal milk chocolate and were something that I definitely felt I could enjoy. They were nice to sit melting in the mouth and didn't become too cakey like some chocolates can when eating them. They definitely had a moreish taste to them and my only problem with them is I wanted to sit and eat all of them in one sitting!

Prices

Love Hamper: £26, can be found at: https://www.plamilfoods.co.uk/hampers/love-organic-hamper 

So Free Milk Chocolate Alternative Hearts: £3.49, can be found at: https://www.plamilfoods.co.uk/so-free-seasonal-chocolate/so-free-organic-love-heart-gift-box?cPath=16&

So Free Organic Milk Alternative Chocolate Spread: £3.15, can be found at: https://www.plamilfoods.co.uk/spreads/organic-alternative-to-milk-chocolate-spread?cPath=4& 

So Free Organic Rich Dark Chocolate Chocolate Spread: £3.15, can be found at: https://www.plamilfoods.co.uk/so-free-chocolate-spreads/organic-rich-dark-chocolate-spread?cPath=4&

So Free Organic Dark Chocolate Sweetened with Coconut Blossom Sugar: £2.75, can be found at: https://www.plamilfoods.co.uk/so-free/organic-fairtrade-chocolate-sweetened-with-coconut-blossom-sugar?cPath=15&

So Free Organic Dairy Free White Chocolate Alternative: £2.75, can be found at: https://www.plamilfoods.co.uk/so-free/organic-dairy-free-white-chocolate-alternative?cPath=15&

So Free Organic Intense Mint Dark Chocolate: £2.75, can be found at: https://www.plamilfoods.co.uk/so-free/dairy-free-organic-dark-mint-chocolate?cPath=15&

So Free Organic Extra Dark Chocolate: £2.75, can be found at: https://www.plamilfoods.co.uk/so-free/extra-dark-organic-chocolate?cPath=15&

So Free Organic Perfectly Dark Chocolate: £2.75, can be found at: https://www.plamilfoods.co.uk/so-free/fair-trade-organic-dark-chocolate?cPath=15&

So Free Tropical Orange Organic Dark Chocolate: £2.75, can be found at: https://www.plamilfoods.co.uk/so-free/tropical-orange-organic-chocolate?cPath=15&

So Free Organic Dairy Free Milk Chocolate Alternative: £2.75, can be found at: https://www.plamilfoods.co.uk/so-free/organic-fairtrade-dairy-free-milk-chocolate-alternative?cPath=15& 

  

Value for money 

Overall the hamper costs £26 however buying it as a hamper instead of the individual products saves you £3.04 as in total if bought individually the total price would be £26.04. I personally feel that the hamper is great value for money! Even buying their individual products without the hamper I feel the products are good value for money as free from things tend to be very expensive, I feel that Plamil Foods gives a service in which good quality is able to be obtained for a good price. 

Plamil's website can be found here: https://www.plamilfoods.co.uk/ 

Plamil's Facebook page can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/PlamilFoods/