Demand rising for artisan chocolate products from the conscious consumer

A quiet revolution has been simmering as a growing band of award-winning chocolate makers are taking a bigger bite out of the market.

Over the last decade a quiet revolution has been simmering, dedicated to changing Australians’ chocolate eating habits and attitudes.

A growing band of award-winning Australian artisan chocolate makers and chocolatiers are taking a bigger bite out of the market, especially among conscious consumers — those foodies who look beyond the label.

Metiisto Artisan Chocolate owner Trevor Smith is on a mission to educate Australians about chocolate, or rather let it be regarded in the same realm as a bottle of wine.

“There’s a lot of things that slide in chocolate that would not slide in the wine industry,” he said.

“If you pay $100 for a bottle of wine most people would want to know where the grapes were grown and how it was made. If you walk into a chocolate shop and buy a bar you don’t ask: Where does the cocoa come from and from who? What was the chocolate making process?

“So we’re trying to educate people about the difference between what we do and the chocolate you buy in a supermarket, which is very important.”

Trevor and Magdalena Smith of Metiisto Artisan Chocolate,

Mr Smith started in the business in 2012 in Sweden where he met his wife Magdalena He and his family returned to Australia in 2018 where they operate a chocolate factory and outlet in Toowoomba,

With a swag of Australian awards behind them, Metiisto is one of the few Australian chocolate businesses that is a true “bean to bar” enterprise.

Mr Smith sources the beans from select farmers in the Solomon Islands and the whole chocolate-making process can take up to a month before it’s ready to be sold to local and offshore high end retailers or direct to the conscious consumer.

“We do the whole thing from scratch which is very rare in Australia,” he said.

“The big companies buy the ingredients mix and sell it cheaply in supermarkets. It’s a difficult market to be in because there is such a huge grey area that people don’t know about.”

Curatorial: Chocolates’ Bridget McDonald and Michelle Wade.

However, chocolate lovers’ prayers may soon be answered with the launch of a new website which brings Australia’s finest artisan chocolates to the one place,

With a background in marketing, former workmates and self-confessed chocolate lovers Bridget McDonald and Michelle Wade have launched Curatorial: Chocolates after discovering a gap in the market for fine chocolate lovers like themselves who wanted to indulge in gourmet chocolates which have a high cocoa content, low sugar and no additives.

The pair scoured the best chocolatiers and chocolate makers around Australia before deciding on a select group of suppliers from Queensland and NSW, including Mr Smith from Metiisto.

The criteria is that the chocolates have to be handmade, ethically-sourced chocolate and local ingredients which people can order online and delivered.

Ms McDonald and Ms Wade are very choosy about whose chocolates they sell.

“With every chocolate we know what’s in it, we know where the cocoa beans have been sourced, and we’ve picked the very best high-end chocolate from artisan chocolatiers and chocolate makers from around Australia,” Ms McDonald said.

“When evaluating chocolate it has to pass the big five — look, smell, texture, sound and taste — and it has to have that really creamy texture and, of course, the highest-quality cocoa.

“And we prefer the family-owned small businesses if we can, even though we have a couple on our site that are a bit bigger but they’re still owned by families.”

With each chocolate comes advice on the perfect pairing combination to experience it with — whether that be a specific red or white wine, whisky, beer or champagne — and even which cheese goes best when creating the ideal cheese board.

They kicked off the business with a target of $60 per order and from the first week they hit an average of $98 per order. Their current sales are split between the general public and corporate gifting market.

The conscious consumer looks beyond the label.

Ms Wade said some of the bestsellers so far included the dark chocolate, hazelnut and sea salt block, Gold Digger Honeycomb milk chocolate, fig, Nib Coconut, and gin and tonic dark chocolate.

“For true foodies and those who choose chocolate over every other dessert, we wanted to give them something they could savour and truly indulge in,’’ she said.

“Nowadays we’re much more aware of conscious eating and what we’re putting into our bodies so we wanted to offer a high-quality chocolate that you could have a small amount of — even everyday if you wanted to — but not feel entirely guilty about because you know it’s the absolute best quality.”

Kokopod Chocolate owner Brigid Woolnough,

Kokopod Chocolate on the Sunshine Coast was founded by Brigid Woolnough about eight years ago, although for the first two years it was a hobby.

Since then it has grow 12 staff, working in a Buderim factory selling wholesale to about 300 stockists and has now formed a relationship with Curatorial: Chocolates.

The former schoolteacher, who started selling her chocolates in markets, believes there is a growing demand for “hands on” chocolate making.

“Conscious consumers care about what they eat. They care about who makes it and how they make it. They want to know where their money is going, right down the line, not just the point of purchase,” she said.

“They are also very conscious about what they put into their body.”

Originally published as Demand rising for artisan chocolate products from the conscious consumer