Chocolate Innovation
York Cocoa House create new products with help from PAPI
York Cocoa House (YCH) is a renowned chocolate destination in York, a city famous for chocolate manufacturing. YCH is a multi-channel business with a cafe, shop, education program, online store, and corporate clients creating an engaged customer base.
Since 2014 YCH has embarked on a project to manufacture their own chocolate, directly from cocoa beans, to become chocolatiers using cocoa from the Huila region of Colombia. The company identified that growth in the chocolate industry had been primarily focused on the independent premium market, as a result of market share moving away from mainstream mass produced chocolate and confectionery. YCH experienced a similar trend from consumers and trade customers looking to engage with premium chocolate products of a higher cocoa solid content and demand for traceable, sustainable products.
Innovation
As a result, the business sought to invest in creating a chocolate production facility that would create a manufactured chocolate 'couverture' (chocolate containing high cocoa solids & cocoa butter) to be used by the gourmet hospitality and independent chocolate industry. These investments would enable the business to provide a greater choice of chocolate couverture to trade customers enabling the business to more effectively respond to growth and serve a growing demand. The project would create a small-scale chocolate production line, a collection of specific pieces of manufacturing equipment that can undertake each of the key stages of the chocolate-making process.
York Cocoa House Website
Business growth
YCH were awarded a grant of £12,010. The funds were used to purchase a pilot chocolate manufacturing line including a roaster, winnower, cracker, melangeur and a conch.
As a result of the investment, YCH were able to launch their new chocolate couverture to the hospitality and retail sector, leading to new customers, higher sales and therefore business growth. They also created 5 new manufacturing jobs within the business.
The business created a unique chocolate production method, which meets customer demands for fully traceable & sustainable products.
This also provides an opportunity for customer interaction and further sales in the future.
The PAPI grant allowed us to create our new production line, which enables us to handle traceable, sustainable and identifiable cacao from origin sources to create a fine quality chocolate to serve the changing consumer demands.