Hotel Chocolat

In 1990, Angus Thirlwell and Peter Harris began designing and selling mints under the brand "Mint Marketing Company (MMC)", before moving to chocolates about six years later under the "Geneva Chocolates" brand. Thirlwell and Harris' success led them to expand their business into the catalogue order market under the "Chocolate Express" brand.

In 1998, the Chocolate Tasting Club was launched in Britain; as of 2014, it has around 100,000 members. To date, the Tasting Club has trialled over 1,500 different recipes. As detailed on their website, the Chocolate Tasting Club sends out boxes to customers all over the country each month.

In 2003, Chocolate Express (ChocExpress) rebranded as Hotel Chocolat and launched its first retail store in the centre of Watford. The company then grew initially to having four stores in East Anglia, with stores in Milton Keynes, Cambridge and St Albans opening between 2005 and 2006.

In 2006, the company officially acquired the Rabot Estate in Saint Lucia, and is, to date, the only company in the UK to own its own cocoa farm. This farm is one of the reasons given for the company choosing not to be Fair Trade-accredited, as only smallholdings are allowed.

In 2011, Hotel Chocolat opened its Boucan Hotel in Saint Lucia. The hotel sits on the Rabot Estate which is perched high up between the Piton mountains. The hotel currently has six lodges and a cocoa-inspired Boucan Restaurant.

In November 2013, it opened two UK restaurants, Rabot 1745 in London's Borough Market, and Roast + Conch in Leeds. In August 2017, one year after becoming listed on the London Stock Exchange as Hotel Chocolat Group PLC, it opened its first stores in the Republic of Ireland in Dundrum, Dublin.

In January 2019, British television station Channel 5 aired a two-series documentary as part of their "Inside" series, titled "Inside Hotel Chocolat". Another British television station, Channel 4, aired two documentaries in 2022 also focused on Hotel Chocolat; the first was "Hotel Chocolat at Easter" in April 2022 and the second was titled "Hotel Chocolat: Inside the Chocolate Factory" in August 2022.

In November 2023, Hotel Chocolat agreed to be acquired by American confectionery company Mars, Inc in an all-cash deal for £534 million. Both companies have expressed hope that the deal will increase the brand's exposure internationally. The deal closed on 25 January 2024.

Locations

Hotel Chocolat has 125 shops in the United Kingdom (as of January 2023) and 33 stores in Japan (as of May 2022). The company has twice entered the US market with their first attempt that consisted of five locations in New York having closed in 2022. It continued operation online and through a network of wholesalers before re-entering the US market with two stores in Chicago in 2025.

In November 2024, the company announced it plans on exiting the Republic of Ireland at the end of the year. The exit will result in the closure of two stores in Dublin.

Products

The company produces a variety of chocolate-based confectionery, including regular chocolate bars, blocks, loose chocolates and a variety of seasonal and gift products. It also offers beverages like hot chocolates and alcohol. In 2022, the company launched a chocolate subscription service.

The Velvetiser was released in 2018 as the first, at-home hot chocolate machine, designed to heat & mix (Velvetise) milk, dairy or plant-based, and chocolate shavings to offer a coffee shop style drink at home.