The USICC is judged by the trade. Our judges work for retailers, wholesalers, distributors and brokers who consider the value proposition of a product when they make buying decisions for their companies. We take the same approach. When you enter the competition, you’ll be asked to choose a category for your product from the list below and provide additional information, including % cacao, MSRP, weight and shelf life. In some categories we’ll ask for additional information about products that are organic-certified, fair trade or direct trade. We believe this will give the judges a full picture so they can evaluate the taste, quality and overall marketability of your product.

Chocolate Bar Competition Categories

  • Plain Dark Chocolate Bars
  • Plain Milk Chocolate Bars
  • Plain White Chocolate and Caramelized White Chocolate Bars
  • Dark inclusion and flavored bars
  • Milk inclusion and flavored bars
  • White inclusion and flavored bars
  • Mixed flavored and inclusion bars made with dark, milk and/or white chocolate

Filled Chocolate Competition Categories

  • Dark chocolate ganache truffles, bonbons or filled bars
  • Milk chocolate ganache truffles, bonbons or filled bars
  • White chocolate ganache truffles, bonbons or filled bars
  • Mixed ganache truffles, bonbons or filled bars made with dark, milk and/or white chocolate
  • Dark chocolate bonbon or bar filled with nut butters/pastes, praliné or gianduja
  • Milk chocolate bonbon or bar filled with nut butters/pastes, praliné or gianduja
  • White chocolate bonbon or bar filled with nut butters/pastes, praliné or gianduja
  • Mixed chocolate bonbon or bar filled with nut butters/pastes, praliné or gianduja
  • Dark chocolate bonbon or bar filled with caramel
  • Milk chocolate bonbon or bar filled with caramel
  • White chocolate bonbon or bar filled with caramel
  • Mixed chocolate bonbon or bar filled with caramel
  • Pâte de fruit and fruit pastes dipped or panned in chocolate
  • Whole fruit dipped or panned in chocolate
  • Whole nut or nut pieces dipped or panned in chocolate
  • Dark, milk or white chocolate bonbons filled with sugar or buttercream fillings
  • Other filled chocolates

Chocolate Spreads

  • Dark chocolate spreads
  • Milk chocolate spreads
  • White chocolate spreads

Cocoa Derivatives

  • Cocoa powder
  • Cocoa butter