Chocolate Company

What Chocolate Company does

Chocolate Company (CHCO) is a Netherlands-based artisan chocolate manufacturer founded in 2004 by chocolatier Toussaint and headquartered in Joure, with production centralized at its factory in Kerkrade. The company's core product is the Hotchocspoon — a chocolate block mounted on a wooden spoon for making hot chocolate — now offered in more than 60 flavors and complemented by bonbons, chocbars, chocolate fondue, truffles, chocbites, single-estate coffee from Guatemala, and tea. Manufacturing uses Cacao-Trace certified cocoa beans with controlled fermentation, soil and varietal selection, and a farmer bonus of €0.10 per kilogram sold into community projects.

The business operates a hybrid direct-to-consumer model combining an owned multi-language e-commerce storefront (Dutch, English, German; EUR/GBP/USD) with eight CHCO Café locations across the Netherlands — including Amsterdam Central Station, Den Haag, Groningen, Haarlem, Tilburg, Zwolle, and the Mall of the Netherlands in Leidschendam — plus one franchise-operated café at Düsseldorf Airport in Gummersbach, Germany. Per-unit retail pricing ranges from €4.35 for a single Hotchocspoon to €59.90 for the High Choc café experience for two, with free domestic shipping above €35 and same-day dispatch on weekday orders placed before 14:00 via PostNL.

Revenue is generated across five streams: retail product sales (e-commerce + café), café foodservice (lunch, drinks, cakes, experiential High Choc), franchise fees and supply, wholesale/B2B and corporate gifting, and gift vouchers (valid 5 years). The entity operates under Chocolate Company Retail bv, with parent company Doppio Espresso Business Services B.V. (trade name Cavesco Business Services), which also runs the Doppio Espresso and Barista Café brands. Customer segments are primarily individual consumers and gift buyers, with secondary exposure to B2B/wholesale buyers and franchisees; no enterprise anchors or disclosed financials are present in the source material.

Name

Chocolate Company

Legal name

Doppio Espresso Business Services B.V.

Website

https://chocolatecompany.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Chocolate Company (CHCO) is a Dutch artisan chocolate manufacturer and retailer founded in 2004, producing its signature Hotchocspoon and other handmade chocolates in Kerkrade and selling them through owned e-commerce plus eight CHCO Café locations in the Netherlands and one franchise café in Germany, serving individual consumers, gift buyers, and B2B customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Artisan chocolate manufacturing and retail

NAICS

Chocolate and Confectionery Manufacturing (31135), Confectionery Manufacturing from Purchased Chocolate (311352), All Other Specialty Food Retailers (445298)

SIC

Food And Kindred Products (2000), Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

Chocolate & Chocolate Confectionery (CRADABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Specialty Chocolatiers & Confectionery (CRAHAGAH), Chocolate & Confectionery Shops (THAFAGAD)

Keywords

• Artisan chocolate
• Handmade bonbons
• Hot chocolate spoons
• Chocolate cafe
• Cacao-trace sourcing

Headquarters

HQ city

Joure

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices10 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Retail Product Sales: Sale of chocolate products including Hotchocspoons (60+ flavors), bonbons, truffles, chocbars, chocfondue, and other chocolate creations through e-commerce and physical café locations.
2. Café/Foodservice: Revenue from CHCO Café locations offering hot chocolate drinks, coffee, lunch items, cakes, and High Chocolate experiences. Cafés feature extensive lunch menus with sandwiches, salads, and artisan cakes alongside chocolate products.
3. Franchise Revenue: Franchise fees from independent operators running CHCO Café locations. The company offers franchise opportunities for entrepreneurs to open CHCO Café locations.
4. Wholesale/B2B: Wholesale supply of chocolate products to business customers, including bulk orders and corporate gifting solutions.
5. Gift Vouchers and Experiences: Sale of gift vouchers for High Chocolate experiences at CHCO Café locations. Gift cards remain valid for 5 years after issue. Experiences include traditional High Chocolate with fondue, handmade chocolates, truffles, cakes, and toasties.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Chocolate Company manufactures and sells handmade artisan chocolate products — most notably its signature Hotchocspoon (a chocolate block on a wooden spoon, available in 60+ flavors) — along with bonbons, chocbars, chocfondue, truffles, chocbites, specialty coffee and tea. It distributes these products through its own e-commerce webshop, owned and franchised CHCO Café locations across the Netherlands and Germany, and a wholesale channel, with café experiences such as High Choc complementing the retail offering.

Product overview

Chocolate Company (CHCO) is an artisanal chocolate company founded in 2004, operating both an e-commerce platform and physical cafe locations. The core product portfolio centers on the signature Hotchocspoon (chocolate on a wooden spoon in 60+ flavors), complemented by bonbons, chocbars, chocfondue, truffles, and chocbites. The company also offers a cafe concept combining hospitality with chocolate retail, selling coffee (Single Estate from Guatemala), tea, and food items. The business operates through a direct-to-consumer e-commerce channel with same-day shipping and physical CHCO Café locations across the Netherlands and Germany. The product ecosystem is unified around premium artisanal chocolate with Cacao-Trace sustainable sourcing, with cafes serving as both retail locations and experiential venues for High Choc experiences and gifts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CHCO: Company abbreviation and brand name used for cafés and products
• Hotchocspoon
• CHCO Café

Products and services

• Hotchocspoon Signature product — a chocolate block on a wooden spoon that transforms warm milk into hot chocolate. Available in 60+ flavors including milk, dark, white, and deluxe varieties. Sold to consumers via the webshop and at CHCO Cafés.
• Bonbons Handcrafted artisan bonbons sold in collection boxes by piece count or as curated collections, including origin-specific bonbons from Ecuador, Venezuela, Vietnam, Tanzania, and Madagascar. For individual consumers and gift buyers.
• Chocbar Chocolate bars in milk, dark, and white chocolate varieties, including XL variants. Sold to consumers via the webshop and cafés.
• Chocfondue Chocolate fondue products for party service (4–6 persons), including 40% milk, hazelnut caramel, caramel bourbon vanilla, cookie coconut, and 72% dark variants. Produced using professional tempering machines for dipping fresh fruit, marshmallows, and biscuits.
• Truffles Chocolate truffles including pure cocoa nib truffles, champagne truffles, and pure ganache varieties. Sold to consumers via the webshop.
• Chocbites Small bite-sized chocolate pieces for snacking and gifting, sold via the webshop.
• Coffee (Single Estate)

Quantifiable outcome

• 60+ Hotchocspoon flavors available
• +4 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Cacao-TracecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCacao-Trace is a unique sustainability program that focuses on high-quality cocoa beans with better market prices for cocoa farmers. The program includes fermentation centers, farmer training, and quality control. An annual chocolate bonus of €0.10 per kilo of chocolate sold is distributed to farming communities. This partnership ensures ethical sourcing and supports the company's sustainability mission.
• Single Estate CoffeecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSingle Estate coffee sourced from Jorge's farm in Huehuetenango, Guatemala (100% arabica). The company has a direct relationship with the coffee farmer without intermediaries, ensuring quality and supporting the farmer's ability to invest in his plantation and community.
• PostNLminorOthersPostNL is the primary shipping partner for delivering chocolate products to customers. Orders placed before 2 PM are shipped same day via PostNL for next-day delivery within the Netherlands.
• Doppio Espresso Business Services B.V. (Cavesco Business Services)coreOthersCavesco Business Services is the parent company that operates the consumer webshops of Doppio Espresso, Barista Cafe, and Chocolate Company. It is responsible for the business operations including customer service, shipping, and general terms and conditions.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Lindt & Sprüngli: Swiss premium-chocolate manufacturer with master chocolatier cafés (Lindt Home of Chocolate) and a broad praline/tablet range. Comparable product/category overlap but at incumbent scale, with substantially larger marketing and distribution budgets.
• Godiva Chocolatier: Global premium chocolatier with extensive café and retail footprint worldwide. Comparable on the combination of chocolate products and café-format retail, but at materially larger scale and broader geographic reach.

Direct peers

• Hotel Chocolat: UK premium chocolatier combining DTC e-commerce with a large chain of physical chocolate cafés/bars. Most direct channel-structure analogue: vertically integrated manufacturing, retail cafés, gift-card programs, and multi-SKU chocolate product range.
• Neuhaus: Belgian premium-chocolate inventor of the Belgian praline, operating e-commerce, own boutiques and a wholesale gifting business. Comparable on premium positioning, gift-box assortment, and B2B/corporate-gifting exposure.
• Pierre Marcolini: Belgian artisan chocolatier operating own boutiques and e-commerce with single-origin, bean-to-bar chocolates and chocolate-based experiences (high chocolate). Strong analogue in artisan positioning and café-plus-retail experience format.
• Tony's Chocolonely: Amsterdam-based premium chocolate brand built on an ethical-sourcing mission and bean-to-bar production. Closest Dutch peer: similar origin market, premium positioning, sustainability narrative, and broad assortment (bars, gifts, holiday ranges).
• La Maison du Chocolat: French luxury chocolatier selling premium bonbons, truffles and chocolate gifts via boutiques and global online retail. Comparable on gifting-led assortment, premium pricing, and bonbon/truffle hero SKUs.
• Vosges Haut-Chocolat: US-based premium chocolatier with unusual flavor combinations, direct-to-consumer e-commerce and physical boutiques. Comparable on adventurous-flavor product strategy and gift-oriented premium DTC model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/chocolatecompany.amsterdamcentraal
• Instagraminstagram.com/chocolatecompany.amsterdam
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/chocolate-company-retail

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Chocolate Company