Our guiding principles
When we started Choc Affair, we didn’t know how successful we would be, but early on we dedicated ourselves to giving back to our communities, no matter how big or small the impact would be. Now, after several years in the industry, we’ve been able to support and drive key initiatives in both our York and Colombian based communities to create opportunities for all.
Eating chocolate feels good, but knowing that each bite helps to support our community feels great.
Chocolate & Co
Giving marginalised people a fresh start
We’re really proud to have played our part in helping to establish Chocolate & Co, a community café in York, which opened its doors on 12th September 2023.
Our mission is to offer employment and training opportunities to individuals facing life challenges such as addiction or to those who have a history of offending, or those experiencing homelessness. With their focus on serving delicious drinking chocolates (of course!), light lunches and homemade cakes, the team at Chocolate & Co have created a nurturing atmosphere for those navigating their path towards health and wellbeing.
Chocolate & Co has the unwavering commitment of Choc Affair’s founder, Linda, who’s full-time dedication is sustained by the profits generated from Choc Affair chocolate sales.
Chocokids
Contributing to the future of chocolate production
As part of The Chocolate Dream initiative, Choc Affair passionately supports ‘Chocokids‘, a dedicated program, run by our Colombian cocoa bean supplier Luker Chocolate. Its mission is to inspire and empower the next generation of cocoa farmers. We go beyond conventional practices by paying an additional 5% per kilo of cocoa beans. This financial contribution enables us to invest in the future of young adults through leadership and educational programs, enabling them to carve out better employment prospects within their local communities, rather than migrating to urban areas in search of work.
Moreover, our voluntary contribution through Choc Affair extends to funding crucial initiatives, including a reforestation project in Necocli, a significant cocoa bean growing region in Colombia. We have also been actively involved in the construction of a new local fermentation centre, as well as the provision of donkeys as a means of transport for school children living in remote areas to help them get to class.
By reinvesting in these regions, we ensure that we continue to contribute positively to the local ecosystem and community. In this way, we make sure that what we take out of the region, we are committed to putting back in, fostering sustainability and growth every step of the way.
The Blueberry Academy
Preparing for adulthood
Since 2015, Choc Affair has been partnering with the Blueberry Academy to provide workplace opportunities that enable young people with learning differences and other social, emotional and mental health needs to build their communication skills and employment experience.
Working alongside the wonderful Blueberry Academy team, we have been able to offer many young people internships and workplace opportunities at our factory in York to help them prepare for adulthood. From our own team’s side, we’ve thoroughly enjoyed being on hand to train and coach our interns and team members from the academy.
More recently, our Business and Enterprise workshop sessions included showing how our chocolate products are made, and inviting Blueberry Academy members to make them themselves. The sessions also offered students the opportunity to design bespoke chocolate bar packaging for our Blueberry Academy Limited Series for 2023, which you can read more about here.
Our pledge to rePurpose
Removing and recycling plastics
One of our top priorities is to help reduce global plastic pollution. We use recyclable packaging whenever possible across our entire range. When plastic packaging is necessary to maintain the quality and aesthetics of our products, we proactively offset the potential for this negative impact by partnering with plastic action platform rePurpose Global. For every packet of our plastic-packaged Hot Chocolate and Chocolate Buttons sold, we pledge to remove 10 pieces of plastic from the environment.
We have focused our pledge on Project Nuevo Ciclo, which responsibly collects and recycles plastic, transforming it into ‘eco wood.’ This eco wood is used to build schools and homes in the communities around Medellín in Colombia, the home of our sole supplier of cocoa beans, Luker Chocolate.
Read more about our commitment to Project Nuevo Ciclo and its impact here.
As business owners, we empathise with the daily hurdles that life and work present. We believe in seizing opportunities as a means of reciprocating the support we’ve received. At Choc Affair, our dedication to local communities is unwavering. Stay tuned for updates on our latest initiatives by following us to discover what exciting ventures lie ahead!