Artisan confectionery brand, Fudge Kitchen, has switched chocolate suppliers as part of their wider sustainability strategy examining the environmental impact of everything they do. The move to Colombian chocolate supplier, Luker Chocolate, means they have more visibility on supply chain ethics & sustainability practices used.
Luker Chocolate is fast becoming the supplier of choice for many confectionery brands, due to its sustainable community initiatives, transparency across the entire supply chain and the superior cocoa they produce. Luker Chocolate have been recognised for their work supporting cocoa growing communities in Colombia, recently receiving a sustainability honours award.
Sian Holt, MD of Fudge Kitchen, says “During the pandemic, we began challenging ourselves to actively do more to minimise our environmental impact and give back wherever possible. As well as changing chocolate supplier, we are also switching from cane sugar (grown overseas) to beet sugar grown in Norfolk.”
The business is practically zero waste when it comes to the ingredients they use, and a recent rebrand has also seen them move to completely recyclable packaging, and where possible compostable Natureflex film.
Head of Sales, Rupert Allinson, says “There’s a responsibility for all businesses to play their part in tackling the climate emergency. We don’t want to just do ‘enough’ to keep in line with government rules and legislation, instead we want to pave our own way, going above and beyond to minimise the impact we have.”
Fudge Kitchen will be using Luker Chocolate across a range of their confectionery products, including chocolate flavoured and chocolate decorated fudges, chocolate enrobed caramels, chocolate brittles and chocolate covered honeycomb.
The crafted at origin chocolate is made using Cacao Fino de Aroma, a special type of cocoa classified by the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO). It was extremely important to artisan confectioners at Fudge Kitchen that the quality of the chocolate was the same if not better than their previous supplier. Sian says “It was a big decision for us to change the chocolate we use. We wanted more transparency from our supplier but we didn’t want to compromise on the quality and taste that we pride ourselves on. Being an artisan confectioner and supplying to many luxury department stores and hoteliers, it was vital that we maintained our superior taste.”
Luker Chocolate are a family-owned business that work directly with farmers, to process the cacao from bean to bar. The company started The Chocolate Dream, a unique collaborative sustainability plan with a long-term vision to improve wellbeing within the cocoa-growing communities in Colombia.
Fudge Kitchen may be a small confectionery brand, but they are passionate about making good business decisions that benefit people and the planet in the long-term. Sian says “We can’t turn a blind eye to where and how our ingredients are produced. It’s time all businesses, big and small, take responsibility for their true environmental impact”.
Read more of the latest news and developments here: February 2022 Single Issue form – International Confectionery Magazine (in-confectionery.com)
Media contact
Roshini Bains,
Editor, International Confectionery
Tel: +44 (0) 1622 823 922
Email: editor@in-confectionery.com
