Twenty Years of Choc Affair – The Chocolate, The People and The Journey In Between

 By Linda Barrie, Founder & Chief Taster

This week Choc Affair turned 20. Writing that feels surreal, emotional and incredibly humbling all at once.

When I first began melting chocolate in my kitchen in 2006, I wasn’t starting a business plan or chasing a dream of building a company. I was simply a mum trying to solve a problem. My daughters had developed an intolerance to milk, which felt devastating for children who loved chocolate. Back then, dairy-free alternatives were virtually non-existent, so armed with determination and a lot of soy milk, I set about creating a hot chocolate they could enjoy.

They became my first customers, and their excitement led to our very first product – a dark chocolate stirrer designed to melt into warm milk. That little stirrer marked the beginning of everything and, to be honest, discontinuing it years later was surprisingly emotional. It wasn’t just a product, it was where our story started!

As demand slowly grew, my kitchen became a chocolate workshop, then my garage became a production space, and family members became unofficial employees. Eventually, several of them became official ones and to this day Choc Affair truly remains a family business, with husband and wife, brother in law, siblings and extended family all working side by side. People often say never mix family and business, and while it hasn’t always been easy, somehow, through resilience, humour and a shared determination to make it work, we built something incredibly special together.

There have been times when we have risked everything. Times when sleep was scarce and worry was plentiful. We have had suppliers who stood by us during darker periods, showing patience and belief in us when we needed it most. We still proudly work with the same print company that produced our very first packaging twenty years ago, and as we’ve grown, they’ve grown alongside us, and along the way business relationships have quietly become friendships.

One of the things I am proudest of is the team we have built around us. Many of our team members have been part of Choc Affair for years, which I think speaks volumes about the heart of the business. They support one another, celebrate together, and care deeply about what we create. They are friends as much as they are colleagues, and that sense of belonging and looking after one another has become part of the very fabric of Choc Affair.

Our belief in people has also shaped our relationship with Blueberry Academy. Over many years, we have been privileged to offer work placements to their students, creating opportunities for young people to gain confidence, experience and skills in a real working environment. One of those placements led to Jake joining our team as an employee, which is exactly why partnerships like this matter so much to us.

In 2014, I travelled to Colombia, a trip that changed how we saw chocolate forever. I had the privilege of staying on the plantation itself, where I sat outside in the early morning with my hot chocolate and arepas, watching farmers begin to arrive for work – some on donkeys, others on motorbikes, and others walking. Seeing first-hand how Luker invested in these communities, I knew we needed to honour this story in everything we do. That commitment to ethical sourcing and the relationships behind our chocolate continues to shape who we are today.

One of the most unexpected and beautiful parts of the journey of Choc Affair has been the people we’ve welcomed through our doors. We have employed individuals from all walks of life, and it is through these relationships that some of the most meaningful chapters of our story have been written. Two of those people, Claire and Damo, walked into Choc Affair as employees and quickly became friends. When we tragically lost them both to their addiction, their legacy inspired the creation of Chocolate & Co, our charity café based in York. While the charity sits alongside Choc Affair rather than within it, the business gave me the space and support to help bring it to life.

We’re proud to be part of York’s rich chocolate-making heritage. When people ask what I do for a living and I say I work for a chocolate company, they invariably reply, “Nestlé?” We may not be Nestlé or Terry’s, but we like to think we’re carrying forward York’s chocolate legacy in our own way – one small batch of delicious chocolate at a time.

Some of our biggest successes have also come from listening. Our now extensive library of flavoured chocolate bars began when a customer asked us to create a selection for their brand. Seeing the possibilities in this, we created more for ourselves and watched as they continued to go from strength to strength. There’s a lot of pleasure in the team break room as we work on fresh new flavours for each season!

Over twenty years, we have certainly made mistakes, learning lessons the hard way, and at times, we’ve been unsure about the future. But we’ve also laughed endlessly, celebrated incredible team achievements, supported each other through challenges and shared pride in what we have built together. Looking back, Choc Affair has never really been just about chocolate. It has always been about people.

As we celebrate this amazing milestone, we would love to hear from you. If Choc Affair has ever been part of a celebration, a comfort, or a special memory, we would be honoured if you shared it with us. And as we look ahead to the next chapter, we want you to know that every bar you choose, every gift you send, every moment you share with our chocolate – that’s what makes this journey possible. You are the reason we continue to innovate, create and care so deeply about what we do.

The next chapter of Choc Affair will continue to be built on the same values, but with new creativity, new opportunities and new stories yet to be written, all with you as part of them.

With love

Linda