Hotel Chocolat: building a chocolate empire.
Each week we dig deep into the brands we love and share their stories, planting seeds of inspiration to help grow your business.
Credit: Hotel Chocolat
Hotel Chocolat was founded to make people happy. Co-founders Angus Thirlwell and Peter Harris built the brand on three unwavering values – Originality, Authenticity and Ethics. These values underpin all business decisions and ensure that ethical cocoa production is never compromised.
The brand identity was influenced by escapism and accessibility, how chocolate, like luxury hotels, have the power to transport to a different place. This is felt in every single aspect of their brand- through their package, in the retail experience, on the website. Now valued at over £340m, Hotel Chocolat has 170 stores, an actual luxury hotel and a cocoa plantation in St Lucia.
The Hotel Chocolat growth strategy has been centred on the democratisation of chocolate. With a price range that starts from as little as £1, Hotel Chocolat wants to open up the brand to as many people as possible. Rather than investing its time and energy into securing retail distribution via third parties, Hotel Chocolat owns its own distribution channels via bricks and mortar stores. Shops are found across major high streets and high trafficked train stations nationwide. Its stores act as billboards, a continuous presence, that invite customers in.
Credit: Hotel Chocolat
Upon entry to a store, customers are invited to trial the latest product. This creates an experience and increases the likelihood of customers purchasing.
Hotel Chocolat knows the importance of forging a strong relationship with its customers, and understands the power of loyal and repeat purchase. In 1998, it launched its Chocolate Tasting Club, a paid subscription service that has now grown to over 55,000 members. Each month they receive a selection of the latest recipes and product news direct to their door. The subscription product gives the brand a regular opportunity to trial new product innovations, get feedback on what customers love and dislike and share stories with its customers, meaning they become even more deeply connected with the brand.
This approach has been extended into the creation of unique brand experiences (chocolate making and tasting), that create further opportunities for people to have a deeper connection with the brand.
Credit: Hotel Chocolat
When it comes to product innovation the brand is a big believer that there is no such thing as failure, only lessons to be learned. Operating with this growth mindset means that the brand is constantly evolving and can pivot quickly. And this is something that they needed to do when Covid hit.
Prior to 2020, the majority of sales were made via retail stores and its online presence minimal. Overnight, Hotel Chocolat had to shift its entire business focus to digital, and within weeks had launched an e-com strategy in time for Easter it’s one of its most important trading periods.
Hotel Chocolat is an amazing example of a brand who put their customers first.
Although Sprowt has no direct affiliation with Hotel Chocolate other than an obsession with their ‘Champaign truffle balls’, we do work with purpose-driven product brands to help them stand out and scale. If this sounds like you, get in touch.