Love Cocoa secures £4.25m investment

The investment was funded by author and entrepreneur Richard Koch, whose venture successes included Grind, Plymouth Gin and Betfair.

Love Cocoa planned to use the funding in three key areas: Opening up bricks and mortar stores under the Love Coca Brand; further increasing the distribution of its H!P Chocolate brand; and growing its senior management team with the appointment of a new finance director and head of marketing.

From challenger to powerhouse​

Commenting on the investment, founder James Cadbury said: “I’m delighted to have Richard and his team’s backing. I’m excited to be working with him on driving the strategic development of both Love Cocoa and H!P Chocolate, helping propel them from challenger brands to chocolate industry powerhouses.”​

“Retail is moving to an omnichannel approach and we see the opportunity to innovate with our new stores offering unique, experimental moments. Alongside that, consumers are wanting to come back to the high street and that gives us the opportunity to deliver sensory chocolate experiences that simply can't be achieved shopping online. We see this as a real game changer for the business and can't wait to open our first store.”​

Founded by Cadbury – the great-great-great grandson of the original Cadbury’s chocolate brand founder – the business is made up of the luxury chocolate brand Love Cocoa and plant-based oat milk chocolate H!P Chocolate.

Brand value​

The combined value of the two brands is a reported £10m and the company has achieved growth of 300% in the past two years.

Love Cocoa chairman Giles Brook added: "For James and the rest of his team, it’s fantastic to secure such strong backing, particularly at this current time where the business has momentum through both Love Cocoa and H!P brands. ​

“Love Cocoa continues to rise and rise, becoming one of the leading luxury chocolate brands, whilst H!P is making a name for itself as the standout vegan-based chocolate brand winning on taste and importantly (non) milky texture, where it is replicating its dairy counterparts incredibly."​