Pictured above: Louis Barnett, the founder of Chokolit, with
UKTI international trade adviser Maggie Neale.
A South Staffordshire chocolatier, who set up his own business
when he was just 12 to become the youngest entrepreneur in Britain,
is beating the recession through exporting - with help from UK
Trade & Investment.
Louis Barnett, now aged 19, is the founder of Chokolit, which
makes high quality chocolate for specialist food shops,
delicatessens and other retail outlets. The family-run business has
five employees, including his parents, Phil and Mary.
A year ago, the company had to reduce its workforce by half as
demand dropped in the UK but it is now fighting back with new
products - the ethically produced, environmentally friendly Biting
Back bars, which are free from palm oil and artificial colours,
flavours and additives.
The Kinver-based company has signed a deal to supply a US
distributor with 37,000 bars of chocolate after exhibiting the
Biting Back range at the Fancy Fine Food Fair in New York in June
with financial support from UKTI and help through an Overseas
Market Introduction Service (OMIS) report from UKTI's commercial
team at the British Embassy in New York.
Louis said: "The OMIS report was excellent - it gave us lots of
useful information on the marketplace and listed many potential
partners. We contacted about 20 distributors and have now reached
an agreement with one and are in discussion with several
others.
"In addition, we benefited from a free return flight from
British Airways through a partnership with UKTI and have had
excellent advice and support from our local international trade
adviser, Maggie Neale.
"By this time next year, I anticipate that about 70 per cent of
our sales will be to overseas markets. We have just negotiated to
send out a pallet load of chocolates to a distributor in New
Zealand and are also targeting Spain, Portugal and India."
UKTI international trade adviser Maggie Neale, based at Black
Country Chamber of Commerce, said: "This is a perfect example of
how UKTI can support small businesses to achieve success.
"Chokolit has an excellent product, which just needed the
correct route to market. UKTI was able to provide the necessary
information and contacts, and well-earned success soon
followed.
"I look forward to working with Chokolit for a long time to
come."