Award winning chocolate business expands product range

Refuge Hot Chocolate in Northern Ireland, a winner of three major awards at this year's Blas na hEireann, the Irish National Food Awards, has launched two new artisan products.

Based in Belfast, Refuge has developed a vegan version of its multi-award winning luxury hot chocolate as well as a protein chocolate and peanut butter spread. The RRP of the vegan hot chocolate in 190ml containers is £3 and the spread in100ml jars is £4.

Formed as a social enterprise by Tara Mullan (31) in 2017 to raise funds to counter human trafficking, the small batch producer was recently listed by leading German discounter Lidl for more than 100 stores in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Tara's decision to explore opportunities in hot chocolate production followed a ski trip to Andorra during which she enjoyed the beverage.

"The new products are a logical development of my existing luxury hot chocolate which is proving extremely popular and has attracted several major awards at Blas na hEireann in Dingle, county Kerry," Tara says. "I saw the need to develop new chocolate products to expand the business beyond the original hot chocolate," she adds.

The small company gained the Best Artisan, Best Start Up and the gold award in the Hot Beverages category.

"Winning the awards at Blas na hEireann was fabulous and has given my small business a tremendous boost in a market, the Republic of Ireland, that I've targeted for growth.

"The Lidl listing has introduced the hot chocolate to the market there, and the new products enable me to offer retailers a wider product option," she adds.