Sustainability

When we had our lightbulb moment on a family holiday in Spain to promote chocolate can have health benefits that us doctors truly believe in. The next time you eat a piece of chocolate, you may not have to feel so guilty about it. Despite its bad reputation for causing weight gain, a number of health benefits may be associated with this delicious treat. We had already worked out the ideals with which we would run a business; should we ever be privileged enough to do so.

Those ideals were simply an extension of our personal values. We set out a goal to use that our business will look after its customers, suppliers, people, the environment or anyone else it came into contact with while focus on profits, but not solely on it. It seemed obvious to us that our business should also be a fun and rewarding place to work, also to do everything in our power to minimise our impact on the environment.

We are steadily improving controls as well as introduced many new ideas, we will always be working towards improving the way DrChoc’s does business.

OUR PRODUCTS

COCOA SOURCING

If chocolate is your guilty pleasure, why would you want to compromise on its quality, taste and flavour? Today we’re proud to say that DrChoc’s cocoa is sustainably sourced and use only organic ingredients.

We also know that there are major problems of poverty, slavery and child labour in some cocoa-producing countries and that we have a massive responsibility to ensure we don’t turn a blind eye. Ethical cocoa sourcing has always been a core philosophy for us.

We work with a number of suppliers to ensure that all our ethically sourced chocolate meets stringent ethical criteria and certifications. Our priority is to buy the best tasting responsibly sourced cocoa to make our chocolate.

Ultimately, we would love all our cocoa to be fully traceable back to the farm or plantation source and we are working with suppliers to achieve this. However, it’s a massive and complex project but one that will protect the lives and livelihoods of the key people in the supply chain – the farmers.

RESPONSIBLE INGREDIENT SOURCING

We do not, and will never, use palm oil in our products. We know others use it because it’s much cheaper than cocoa butter but we will never compromise on quality or taste.

It is our policy not to develop any new products containing artificial colours, flavours and preservatives.

OUR PACKAGING

It’s a mammoth task but we are making steps to remove any plastics from our packaging and only have eco-friendly materials from products wrappers, boxes, tapes and any postal materials. We set out the goal to have only recyclable & compostable packaging by 2024, while we sell through our existing & historical stock.

OUR CUSTOMERS

We make extraordinary chocolate for our customers every single day! But we’re human and if we ever fail, we work hard to put it right. Every customer should leave our store with a bigger smile than when they arrived. This was one of our founding principles and remains true to this day. Exceptional customer service is the norm in our stores and being offered a chocolate tasting is a given. In the rare case of a complaint, we make it our mission to show that a bad situation can be turned into a good one. Normally it’s not hard, we have chocolate on our side!

OUR TEAM

It has always been of the utmost importance to us to have a fun and rewarding work environment. Happiness is crucial to a high-performing team. We nurture all our people and always look to promote from within.

We currently pay over the National Living Wage for all of our team, regardless of age. You’ll be paid for the job you do, not the age you are.

DrChoc’s is proud to be an equal, diverse and inclusive workplace where everyone’s differences are embraced and celebrated. What matters most to us is that you can be “yourself” at work without compromise or fear.

OUR CHARITY & COMMUNITY

We have worked with 30+ schools in the regions when they asked if regularly offer products and workshop vouchers for their Charity Events, similarly to any other local organisation who approach us. In our world, everything starts with chocolate!