Gluten-free chocolatier wins first export sales

Gluten-free chocolatier Cobden and Brown has secured its first retail sales outside Northern Ireland. The artisan enterprise, formed in 2012 by Northern Ireland chocolatier Caroline McArdle and a recent winner of two Great Taste Awards from the UK Guild of Fine Food, has begun supplying its handmade chocolate bars, which are both wheat, gluten and egg-free, to independent retailers in the Republic of Ireland.

The small enterprise, based at Lurgan in county Armagh, also produces dark chocolate which is dairy-free.

The first business in the Republic follows an extensive marketing drive there which targeted independent retailers in the greater Dublin area.

Caroline McArdle says: "Targeting the Irish Republic is a logical development for us now that we've established good business in Northern Ireland particularly with diet conscious consumers through our network of delis and small retailers.

"The recent Great Taste Awards for our 70 per cent Single Origin Ecuador and 85 per cent Cocoa bars have given the business a tremendous boost and encouraged us to take our first steps to sales outside Northern Ireland," she adds.

The enterprising artisan business has identified a significant market opportunity developing from the demand for 'free-from' products from those with coeliac disease and other intolerances.

Mrs McArdle originally started the business to enable her son, who has celiac condition, to enjoy chocolate.

She began researching and developing her own recipes particularly for chocolate. The end result of research over three years is a range of 'free from' chocolates and desserts from quality ingredients including cocoa sourced directly from farms in Ghana.

A key feature of Cobden and Brown chocolate bars is that they are made without processed ingredients. The chocolates are handmade in small batches to recipes she has developed and are fully tested as being gluten-free by a fully accredited laboratory.

"What this means is that chocolate lovers can count on the products being completely gluten-free and on the provenance of all the ingredients. We have total control over the sourcing of ingredients and the entire production process," she adds.