Sweet taste of success for ethical Choc Affair

The business is passionate about seeing lives transformed through education and employment as well as producing delicious, high-quality chocolate.

Choc Affair which is nominated for the Socially Responsible Business of the Year award works both locally and further afield with organisations to provide a safe and nurturing environment that encourages life skills, offers support and helps build confidence.

A key element for it has been partnering with local agencies to provide opportunities for all, especially those who may have some difficulty gaining access to work:

It has a policy to be a workplace of second chances, and through an informal relationships with external agencies, aims to restart people in employment, then support them to move onto a career of their choosing.

The firm has worked with the probation service, Askham Grange prison and In2Out, offering work experience and paid positions to individuals seeking to get back into the workforce.

It has also worked with Changing Lives, to support individuals struggling with addiction, and with Blueberry Academy, to provide work placements for a number of young adults with learning difficulties.

Some of these young people have graduated from supported work experience to secure independent paid positions at Choc Affair.

As a chocolate producer it carefully sources ingredients, teaming up with a supplier in Colombia, to financially support people-centred projects for cocoa farmers and their families.

Closer to home, the firm is committed to supporting other British businesses, and made the decision to purchase all packaging in the UK.

They said: “Winning this award within our local city of York would be an incredible achievement for us as a team, and it would further affirm the decisions we are making within our business as well as being socially responsible and engaged ethically within the wider community.”