Opportunities open around the world for master chocolatier
A MASTER chocolatier from Wakefield is looking to double his international activity in the next two years.
David Greenwood-Haigh, who trades under Coeur de Xocolat, is looking to help grow revenue as a result of exporting from 40 per cent to 80 per cent by 2020.
The company distributes a ‘chocolate factory in a box’, a shipping container that holds all the equipment needed to launch a production facility.
Mr Greenwood-Haigh recently went out and set up a chocolate factory in São Tomé and Principe off the West African coast known as the ‘chocolate island’ for its cocoa farming.
Coeur de Xocolat is also seeing interest in the Caribbean with Mr Greenwod-Haigh recently visiting Haiti to meet potential buyers and to consult on cocoa farms.
To support growing international trade, he is hiring another permanent member of staff locally to support UK activities. The firm has had much help from the Department for International Trade.
He said: “It’s an exciting time for the chocolate industry worldwide. Consumers are becoming more interested in premium chocolate, and are increasingly conscious of where their chocolate comes from.
“We’re now seeing a similar trend to the explosion of barista-made coffee, or how craft beer has taken off in the UK and abroad. It’s being coined as the dawn of craft chocolate! It’s creating a lot of opportunities overseas for me in my consultation work, and for corporate events, too.
Mark Robson, Head of Regions, Yorkshire and The Humber, said: “David’s work proves how revered British food artisans are worldwide.”