Hotel Chocolat is a British chocolate manufacturer and cocoa grower. The company produces and distributes chocolate and other cocoa related products online and through a network of cafés, restaurants, outlets, and factory stores. Hotel Chocolat is the only company in the United Kingdom to grow cocoa on its own farm.

History

In 1988, Angus Thirlwell and Peter Harris began designing and selling mints under the brand "Mint Marketing Company (MMC)", before moving to chocolates about six years later under the "Geneva Chocolates" brand. Thirlwell and Harris' success led them to expand their business into the catalogue order market under the "Chocolate Express" brand. In 1998, the Chocolate Tasting Club was launched in Britain; as of 2014, it has around 100,000 members. To date, the Tasting Club has trialled over 1,500 different recipes. As detailed on their website, the Chocolate Tasting Club sends out boxes to customers all over the country each month. In 2003, Chocolate Express (ChocExpress) rebranded as Hotel Chocolat and launched its first retail store in the center of

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...

. The company then grew initially to having four stores in the East Anglian area, with stores in Milton Keynes,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

and St Albans opening between 2005 and 2006. Today, the company has 125 across the United Kingdom. In 2006, the company officially acquired the Rabot Estate in Saint Lucia, and is, to date, the only company in the UK to own its own cocoa farm. This farm is one of the reasons given for the company choosing not to be Fair Trade-accredited, as only smallholdings are allowed. In 2011, Hotel Chocolat opened its Boucan Hotel in Saint Lucia. The hotel sits on the Rabot Estate which is perched high up between the Piton mountains. The hotel currently has six lodges and a cocoa-inspired Boucan Restaurant. In November 2013, Hotel Chocolat opened two UK restaurants, Rabot 1745 in London's

Borough Market Borough Market is a wholesale and retail market hall in Southwark, London, England. It is one of the largest and oldest food markets in London, with a market on the site dating back to at least the 12th century. The present buildings were b ...

, and Roast + Conch in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

. In May 2016, Hotel Chocolat became listed on the

London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St P ...

as Hotel Chocolat Group PLC. In August 2017, Hotel Chocolat opened its first stores in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

in Dundrum,

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

. In January 2019, British television station Channel 5 aired a two part documentary titled "Inside Hotel Chocolat". Another British television station,

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

, aired a documentary titled "Hotel Chocolat: Inside the Chocolate Factory" in August of 2022.

Corporate affairs

Leadership

Hotel Chocolate is led by cofounders Angus Thirlwell (CEO) and Peter Harris.

Locations

Hotel Chocolat has 125 shops in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

(as of January 2023) and 33 stores in Japan (as of May 2022). In 2022, the company announced plans to close all five locations in North America. It continues operation online and through a network of wholesalers.

Shareholder structure

As of 30th September 2022, major shareholders in the company include its directors Angus Thirlwell (27.1%) and Peter Harris (27.1%), and Phoenix Asset Management Partners (15.34%) and Capital Group Companies (6.23%).

Products

The company produces a variety of chocolate-based confectionary, including regular chocolate bars, blocks, loose chocolates and a variety of seasonal and gift products. It also offers beverages like hot chocolates and alcohol. In 2022, the company launched a chocolate subscription service. Angus Thirlwell

The Velvetiser

Released in 2018, The Velvetiser was launched as the first, at-home hot chocolate machine, designed to heat & mix (Velvetise) milk, dairy or plant-based, and chocolate shavings to offer a coffee shop style drink at home.

Rabot Estate, St. Lucia

Hotel Chocolate owns and operates a estate in the south west of

St Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindi ...

, near Soufrière. Rabot Estate is home to a luxury hotel and a cocoa plantation that is divided into 16 different areas. The cocoa trees of Rabot Estate are primarily Trinitario species. The Rabot Estate is part of Hotel Chocolat’s 'Engaged Ethics' Cocoa Programme (HCCAPEE). Over a hundred new jobs have been created since the estate’s opening, and with prices guaranteed to be 30–40% above the world market price of cocoa, as well as being paid within a week of selling their crops, local farmers are provided with a secure income.

References

External links

* UK * US * Canada {{Official website, https://ca.hotelchocolat.com 1988 establishments in the United Kingdom British chocolate companies Food and drink companies established in 1988 English brands