A Christchurch chocolatier has attracted international backing with her organic, fair trade, chocolate products.
Lucy Bennetto was approached by a Swiss manufacturer, and the collaboration has taken her company's chocolate production to the next level.
The teacher by trade has been working with the sweet stuff for seven years.
"It's been a passion, that I just haven't been able to give up," she said.
She's turned that passion into her own business - Bennetto Natural Foods.
It's now attracted the attention of one of the chocolate heavyweights, a Swiss manufacturer.
"We met in Australia at a trade show, they approached our stand, really loved the branding, and also the ethos behind our products," she said.
She added to her range of drinking chocolate by adding other chocolate products.
The 100 gram blocks are fair trade, vegan, organic and made entirely in Switzerland with kiwi chocolate lovers in mind.
"It is actually quite a different range to what they're used to dealing with, and that's because it's created for an Australian and New Zealand palette so quite generous flavours," Ms Bennetto said.
While all of the eating chocolate is made in Switzerland, Ms Bennetto uses the test kitchen at the back of her house, to keep making their drinking chocolate powders and bars, and keep experimenting.
With just a small team working in Christchurch the backing of the Swiss manufacturer makes the process more efficient.
"They know chocolate so well, they know chocolate," Ms Bennetto said.
Sharing passion and expertise to take recipes from a small kitchen to the country, and maybe soon the world.
Newshub.
