Chocolate Soup

What Chocolate Soup does

Chocolate Soup is a Canadian B2B employee recognition gifting company founded in 2016 and headquartered in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario. The company sells customized LEGO minifig kits and curated gift box subscriptions to HR and People & Culture leaders at companies ranging from startups to enterprises, serving clients including Auvik Networks, Thinkific, Coder, Trusscore, VueReal, and PVENG. Its core product is a recognition platform combining physical LEGO figurines personalized via an online Teambuilder tool (configurable heads, hats, accessories, and engraved milestone bricks) with turnkey curated gift packages sourced from small Canadian businesses, including handwritten notes and global shipping.

The underlying technology is a lightweight customization and logistics platform rather than a software-first product: the LEGO Teambuilder enables self-serve personalization, while operational infrastructure handles milestone tracking, gift curation, and fulfillment. Pricing is per-employee, structured as either one-time kit purchases ($30–$48 per employee) or tiered annual subscriptions (Brick Only at $30/yr, Brick + Set at $42/yr, Celebration at $180/yr) with a $500 first-order minimum. The company maintains a supplier ecosystem of small Canadian artisans and pursues ESG positioning through carbon-neutral packaging and partnerships with One Tree Planted and Food 4 Kids.

Chocolate Soup operates without disclosed external funding as a private, founder-led corporation. Its go-to-market is consultative enterprise field sales targeting HR buyers, supported by content marketing (blog, email newsletter, LinkedIn/Instagram social presence), case studies, and a "Meet the Maker" supplier series. The company ships globally with regional pricing variation and offers multi-year contracts. Operational scale is modest at 11–50 employees with thousands of LEGO minifigs and gift baskets delivered cumulatively since founding.

Name

Chocolate Soup

Legal name

Chocolate Soup Inc.

Website

https://chocolatesoup.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Chocolate Soup is a Canadian B2B employee recognition company that sells custom LEGO minifig kits and curated gift box subscriptions to HR and People & Culture leaders at companies of all sizes, with global shipping.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Corporate Gifting and Employee Recognition Services

NAICS

Doll, Toy, and Game Manufacturing (33993)

SIC

Games, Toys & Children's Vehicles (No Dolls & Bicycles) (3944)

akta.pro primary industry

Specialty Food Gift Shops & Hampers (CRAHAGAN)

akta.pro secondary industry

Greeting Cards, Wrap & Party Supplies Retail (CRALAJAE)

Keywords

• Employee recognition gifts
• Corporate gifting services
• Custom employee merchandise
• Workplace culture solutions
• Milestone celebration gifts

Headquarters

HQ city

Waterloo

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Custom LEGO Minifig Kits: One-time purchase of customized LEGO minifigs for employees, including personalized name bricks and company logo bricks. Prices range from $30-$48 per employee depending on package tier.
2. Subscription Recognition Plans: Recurring annual subscription plans (Brick Only, Brick + Set, Celebration) that deliver ongoing recognition gifts for work anniversaries, birthdays, and other milestones. Billed monthly or annually with per-employee pricing.
3. Curated Gift Package Subscriptions: Add-on subscription service for curated gift boxes that complement milestone LEGO blocks, featuring products from small Canadian businesses. Supports ongoing recognition throughout the employee lifecycle.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Chocolate Soup designs and delivers B2B employee recognition programs centered on two product lines: Custom LEGO™ Minifig Kits (personalized figurines with engraved milestone bricks) and Curated Gift Package subscriptions (gift boxes filled with products from small Canadian businesses). Companies purchase these via Starter, Growth, or Celebration plans for work anniversaries, birthdays, onboarding, and other milestones, with Chocolate Soup handling customization, curation, handwritten notes, and global shipping.

Product overview

Chocolate Soup offers a recognition gifting platform centered on two primary product lines: Custom LEGO™ Minifig Kits (standalone or subscription-based) and Curated Gift Package subscriptions. Their service uses Starter, Growth, and Celebration subscription plans that deliver personalized, locally-sourced gift boxes to employees for milestones. Custom LEGO minifig programs allow companies to create personalized minifigures with milestone bricks for work anniversaries and achievements. Additional offerings include seasonal gift boxes and new hire programs. The pricing structure is per-employee with monthly payment options, and all offerings emphasize sustainable packaging and support for small Canadian businesses.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Custom LEGO™ Minifig Kit

Quantifiable outcome

• 82% of employees say it's important for their organization to see them as a person, not just an employee
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered supporting and featured.

• One Tree PlantedsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnnual donations to One Tree Planted as part of commitment to creating net positive climate contribution. Partnership emphasizes belief that small acts combined lead to significant positive environmental change.
• Food 4 KidssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnnual support for local organization dedicated to providing assistance to those in need. Part of commitment to giving back to the community that enriches the company's operations.
• Arrow It ForwardfeaturedStrategic or Co-development PartnerCanadian handmade home fragrance products founder Emily Prout. Featured small business partner whose candles and products are included in Chocolate Soup gift boxes. Emily's story of entrepreneurship and growth is featured in the Meet the Maker series.
• EATABLEfeaturedStrategic or Co-development PartnerPremium popcorn infused with wine and spirits, crafted with natural ingredients. Canadian co-founders Charlene and Vince Li. Products featured in Chocolate Soup gift boxes. Partnership described as biggest order for EATABLE at time of their growth.
• Comeback SnacksfeaturedStrategic or Co-development PartnerPopcorn with a mission to help people making a comeback, especially former inmates finding employment. Founder Emily O'Brien's products included in Chocolate Soup boxes. Partnership aligns with values of supporting diverse entrepreneurs.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Fond: Fond is an employee recognition and corporate swag platform with built-in reward delivery and milestone automation. It overlaps with Chocolate Soup's subscription recognition and gifting workflows through its HR-integrated rewards catalog.
• SnackNation: SnackNation is a large, established B2B snack and office wellness subscription provider serving HR and office managers. It overlaps with Chocolate Soup's curated gift box product but competes more on office wellness than bespoke milestone recognition.
• Edible Arrangements: Edible Arrangements is a large-scale food gift retailer offering corporate gifting programs for client and employee occasions. While broader in product mix, it competes in the same corporate gifting/recognition budget category as Chocolate Soup.
• OC Tanner: OC Tanner is an established enterprise employee recognition platform combining service, technology, and awards. As the category leader, it represents the broader incumbent Chocolate Soup would increasingly compete against as it moves upmarket.
• Harry & David: Harry & David is a specialty food and gift hamper retailer with a long-running corporate gifting business. It competes for corporate recognition and milestone gifting budgets, particularly in traditional enterprise segments.

Direct peers

• Caroo: Caroo delivers curated snack and small-business product boxes as employee engagement swag and client gifts. Like Chocolate Soup, it emphasizes small-business sourcing and HR-driven milestone recognition, making it a directly comparable B2B gifting platform.
• Giftpack: Giftpack is an AI-driven corporate gifting platform that handles personalization, curation, and global delivery for employee and client gifts. It overlaps with Chocolate Soup in serving People & Culture leaders seeking automated, personalized B2B gifting at scale.
• Snackmagic: Snackmagic offers curated snack boxes for B2B employee appreciation and client gifting on a per-order or subscription basis. It is the closest direct competitor to Chocolate Soup's curated gift package subscription arm, targeting HR leaders for milestone and culture-driven recognition.
• Loop & Tie: Loop & Tie is a B2B gifting platform focused on curated, sustainable gifts for employees and clients. It competes head-to-head with Chocolate Soup in the milestone-recognition and curated-gift category, often serving HR and People teams at mid-market customers.

Emerging players

• Kudoboard: Kudoboard provides digital group ecards and recognition tools for workplace milestones. It is adjacent to Chocolate Soup's milestone-recognition use case, though focused on digital rather than physical gifting.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/chocolatesoupca

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 Soup