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ORGANIC AND FAIRTRADE AT COCOA LOCO

Sarah Payne, Founder of Cocoa Loco (©AAH/Alan Wright)

In 2005, Sarah Payne turned her passion for making brownies into a business. She founded Cocoa Loco, with a focus on organic, Fairtrade chocolate. It wasn’t long before the fledgling company outgrew the kitchen of the Payne family’s Partridge Green home, with production moving to a small industrial estate in West Grinstead.

Sarah is now a West Sussex County Councillor, representing Henfield, and a Governor of the Sussex NHS Partnership Trust. Commitments outside of work have meant that day-to-day operations at Cocoa Loco are now led by her husband, Rory, although Sarah still conjures moments of inspiration.

‘We’re very different people,’ said Rory. ‘Sarah has a creative mind, while I’m logical and organised. She will come up with an idea for a recipe and envisage how we might market the product. I will consider the technical aspects of her idea: sourcing ingredients, assessing allergen risks, working out packaging specifications and compliance issues, to find a cost-effective way of making it. Sarah doesn’t necessarily need to be here every day to do what she does best, as inspiration can come at any place at any time.’ 

CHOCOLATE SPOONS

There have been many wonderful concepts since the company’s formation. Some have been limited editions or seasonal treats, while others have become regular bestsellers. Bags of chocolate couverture are ideal for home bakers, as they offer a creamy flavour thanks to the high percentage of cocoa butter. The truffles (including milk chocolate sloe gin, named in Forbes’ list of the 10 finest truffles from around the world) pack incredible flavour, while slices of dried mango dunked in dark chocolate are surprisingly moreish. 

Classic bars include white chocolate lemon drizzle, dark chocolate with chilli & lime, sea salt, and dark chocolate with cocoa nibs & hazelnut. Hot chocolate spoons have become a family favourite too, as they’re great for melting into a hot mug for a fun and indulgent treat. 

Sarah said: ‘The cornerstone of the business has always been quality. If it doesn’t taste good, we don't go any further. Our milk chocolate bar has only five ingredients: cocoa mass, cocoa butter, sugar, whole milk powder and vanilla. Each bar has a minimum of 37% chocolate, from single origin cocoa beans from the Dominican Republic. Pick-up the best-selling chocolate bar in a supermarket and you’ll see it has 20% chocolate, only a fifth of the bar. The difference is made up with palm fat, flavourings, raising agents and emulsifiers. We have no desire to be that kind of business.’ 

 MARBLED INTERIOR

The chocolate spoon range includes one with a marbled effect – a combination of dark, milk and white chocolate. This has become one of Cocoa Loco’s signature products, with the marble bar also a firm favourite. This Easter, solid marble chocolate bunnies and a giant 1.25kg marbled chocolate egg have been added to the range. This comes after the 225g version was named 2023’s ‘Best Milk Chocolate Easter Egg’ by Good Housekeeping magazine. Easter’s selection also includes a lemon drizzle egg, and a Bakewell chocolate egg, decorated with blanched almonds and sour cherries.

Rory said: ‘The giant eggs are heavy, almost like a rugby ball, and because we make them by hand, we can put chocolate buttons inside. We first pour the chocolate into a mould, then allow it to set slightly for ten minutes. We then scoop out the insides, leaving a beautiful, thick shell with real substance to it, before allowing it to properly set. Because it’s hand-made, eggs often weigh quite a bit more than the minimum 1.25kg, especially after the buttons have been placed inside.’ 

‘A proper Easter egg should be hiding treats, in my opinion. When I see mass-produced eggs on the supermarket shelves, with thin, hollow eggs made to within a gram or two of its minimum specification, and separate chocolate bars amidst excessive packaging, I don’t see much excitement for the consumer.’

FASTER PRODUCTION

Casting an eye around the Cocoa Loco kitchen, several products are in the midst of production. One member of the team coats Champagne truffles with milk chocolate flakes, as another dips mango slices into melted dark chocolate. Elsewhere, white chocolate is being efficiently ‘piped’ across a tray of hot cross bun truffles, while chunks of fiery ginger are being set into egg moulds at the next table. Attention to detail has served Cocoa Loco well, but the business has also turned to technology to increase production of certain products and complement its hand-made range.

Rory said: ‘Being a chocolatier is rewarding, but it doesn’t feel that way when you’re having to make thousands of “thins” over several days. The dark chocolate and mint thins are among our bestsellers (there’s also milk chocolate and orange thins) but making them can be laborious, and we’ve had to turn away large orders to preserve the sanity of the team! Instead, we’ve invested in state-of-the-art equipment which provides a degree of automation.’

‘Some things cannot be done by machine, such as our marble chocolate bars, but it can speed up the production of plain chocolate bars and thins. The other significant recent development is the introduction of plastic-free packaging across our range, which is an extension of our commitment to sustainable resources, which Sarah implemented from the very beginning.’

ORIGINS AND ETHICS

The business has recovered well from the disruption of Covid, when Cocoa Loco had to adapt to a changing marketplace. Fortunately, the business was already geared towards online sales, and saw increased orders from its website, especially at Easter 2021, when people couldn’t meet with loved ones and chose to send eggs or chocolate slabs with personalised messages in the post instead.  

However, Cocoa Loco also works with select stockists including National Trust gift shops, Oxfam and Abel & Cole. With non-essential stores closed during lockdowns, one major customer had no choice but to cancel a large Christmas order. Sadly, Cocoa Loco had already begun making its festive range, including chocolate soldiers, penguins and polar bears. On a more positive note, farm shops like Weston’s in Itchingfield were busier than ever. Now, as chocolate companies recover, they have resorted to tried and tested products.  

Rory said: ‘Pre-pandemic, the market was leaning towards short-term novelty products. Leading brands were introducing an array of flavours and I remember Sarah being frustrated about the matcha tea flavoured KitKat, as she’d launched a matcha green tea white chocolate bar some years before that! But launching a new product requires a huge investment, with fresh artwork, packaging and marketing, not to mention all the compliance and testing required. So, Covid largely put a stop to that.’ 

‘We’ve also seen leading brands stepping back from commitments to organic products. When people first started to look for – and even demand – organic produce, lots of companies launched an organic range, but they stopped when there was an economic downturn. When Sarah founded this business, she was ahead of the game when it came to environmental issues and social responsibility, and compromising that has never been up for a discussion. It was the right thing to do and that remains the case, so we have stayed true to our origins and ethics.’

KING’S TRUFFLE

Cocoa Loco continues to innovate, focusing not just on its packaging but on perfecting new recipes too. One product that is soon coming to market is the Earl Grey and honey truffle, coinciding with the coronation of King Charles III, who is known to add a splash of honey to his favourite tea.  

Although costs are rising across the business, from cocoa beans to sustainably-sourced cardboard, consumer demand from overseas is increasingly. Cocoa Loco appears prominently in online searches for organic and Fairtrade chocolate, attracting orders from Europe, America and Asia, while the growth of websites like notonthehighstreet.com has opened up other sales avenues. 

While the cost-of-living crisis means we’re all counting the pennies, Sarah believes there will always be a market for high quality chocolate. She said: ‘Cost is a factor, of course, but there are people who want sustainably and ethically sourced produce made with love.’ 

‘After 18 years in business, it’s easy to forget the journey that you’ve been on. It has been a rollercoaster, but our passion for chocolate is as strong as ever. We still have the same excitement when it comes to launching a new bar or truffle. Now, the challenge is to make sure we don’t get complacent and continue to innovate and remain relevant.’ 

WORDS: BEN MORRIS / PHOTOS: ALAN WRIGHT

Further information: The Chocolate Barn at West Grinstead is not open to the public, so orders can be made online at www.cocoaloco.com

Local stockists include Crates Local in Horsham, Kinsbrook Farmhouse and Meadow Stores in Thakeham, Weston’s Farm in Itchingfield, Parham House & Gardens near Storrington, Bolney Wine Estate (Bolney’s gin and sparkling wine is used in some of Cocoa Loco’s range), The Village Larder in Washington, and The Milk Churn in Rudgwick.

Article 1st published on 1st March 2023