Member Article

Sweet success for York family chocolate firm planning for expansion

York family artisan chocolate business Choc Affair is planning further expansion after securing a grant from the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP).

The £10k grant from the LEP’s Business Growth Programme, which is supported by the government’s Regional Growth Fund, has been used as part of a wider investment by York-based Choc-Affair to invest in new manufacturing premises.

Choc-Affair, which designs and manufactures a range of handmade fairtrade chocolate products, was established by Linda Barrie in 2006.

Following this product development and investment in the business, Choc-Affair has grown to 16 staff but the business needed more suitable accommodation to further its product range.

Supported by the LEP grant, the company has moved to a 2,000 sq ft purpose-built headquarters at Yorvale Business Park from which Choc-Affair supplies prestigious retailers including Harrods and Fenwick as well as supermarket brands including Booths.

Roger Marsh, chair of the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership said: “York has a rich heritage in the art of chocolate making and it is fantastic to see an entrepreneur turning her vision into a healthy business.

“The LEP is pleased to have provided the company with a Business Growth Programme grant to facilitate the move into state-of-the-art new premises as well as creating two new jobs in the region.”

Cllr James Alexander, leader of City of York Council, said: “It is great to see a York family run business benefit from the Business Growth Programme, and that they have invested in new manufacturing premises so that they can expand their business right here in the city.

“I hope this encourages more York businesses to apply to the Programme to help them thrive and grow.”

Linda Barrie, founder of Choc-Affair, said: “Moving to new premises within the York area has enabled the business to have a much leaner manufacturing process, which in turn has facilitated greater efficiency, increased productivity and helped us to increase our product range.

“The Business Growth Programme has been invaluable to help take Choc-Affair to the next level and we are extremely excited about the future of the company.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .