Hotel Chocolat

Infobox_Company
company_name = Hotel Chocolat UK
company_
company_type = Private
company_slogan =
foundation = 1993
location = United Kingdom
key_people = Angus Thirlwell, Founder
Peter Harris, Founder
num_employees =
industry = Chocolate Manufacturer
products = Luxury Chocolate
revenue =
homepage = Hotel Chocolat UK [http://www.hotelchocolat.co.uk] ,Hotel Chocolat US [http://www.hotelchocolat.com]

Hotel Chocolat is a British owned luxury chocolate manufacturer founded by Angus Thirlwell and Peter Harris in 1993. The company began as a catalogue-based business known as Choc Express. In 2003 Choc Express rebranded as Hotel Chocolat and launched their first retail store, after purchasing the ‘Rabot’ estate, a cocoa plantation in St. Lucia, West Indies, in 2004. Today the company has 27 retail shops around the UK, a transactional website and a mail order catalogue. Hotel Chocolat was recently awarded Emerging Retailer of the Year by Retail Week and nominated as one of the UK’s CoolBrands [http://www.superbrands.uk.com/programmes/issues/7/cb06_hotelchoc.pdf] . Hotel Chocolat launched online in the United States in September 2007.

Products

Chocolate Slabs

Hotel Chocolat’s giant “Chocolate Slabs”, measuring 250x170mm, are made with premium chocolate and natural ingredients. The 500g slabs come in white chocolate, milk chocolate, or dark chocolate, and can be paired with high roast Italian coffee, cocoa nibs or roasted almonds and hazelnuts.

Liquid Chocolat

Hotel Chocolat’s version of hot chocolate contains less sugar and milk than normal hot chocolate.

The Purist

Classic dark chocolate recipes designed to put fine flavour cocoa firmly centre stage. Dark chocolate varies from 72% dark chocolate up to a whole 100% cocoa range which can be found in the 'Purist' Range

Rabot Estate

The 140 acre Rabot Estate is in the South West of St Lucia, near Soufrière –the original French capital. St Lucia lies in the cocoa belt which girdles the earth, plus or minus 20 degrees latitude from the Equator. The estate is divided up into 16 different cortès or areas of terroir, with names steeped in history, such as L’ Hermitage, Ti Jardin, Marcial, Mathilde and Rameau.The cocoa trees of Rabot Estate are primarily Trinitario species rich in Criollo genes, and with new trees continually being planted, record quantities of cocoa are being harvested.

The Rabot Estate is part of Hotel Chocolat’s Engaged Ethics Cocoa Programme. Over a hundred new jobs have been created since the estate’s opening, and with prices guaranteed to be 40% above those previously achieved, local farmers are provided with a secure income.

External links

* Hotel Chocolat UK [http://www.hotelchocolat.co.uk]
* Hotel Chocolat US [http://www.hotelchocolat.com]

Notes

* Products [http://www.hotelchocolat.co.uk/Product-CHC_PRODUCT/]
* Rabot Estate Story [http://www.hotelchocolat.co.uk/Rabot-Estate-ARabot_Story/]