Building on its recent success and launch on Ocado.com, fresh chocolatier and former Dragons’ Den winner Russell & Atwell has initiated a fundraising round to raise £700,000. This move is designed to strengthen the brand, presence and experience primarily to accelerate Direct-to-Consumer business with a longer-term goal to expand more broadly into retail.
Co-founders Steve Russell and Giles Atwell bring together over a century of chocolate heritage and 40 plus years of collective industry experience. Leading the brand’s product development and innovation is Russell, a seasoned chocolate scientist with more than two decades of experience at major names like Cadbury, Milka, Green & Black’s and Godiva. Atwell, who spearheads the company’s commercial growth and strategy, is a veteran marketer formerly of Unilever and Cadbury/Mondelez, having held international roles across four continents prior to joining Godiva.
Atwell, co-founder and chocolatier at Russell & Atwell, says: “We are establishing a category for delicious fresh chocolate using real foodie ingredients and bold flavours as shoppers shift away from ultra-processed options. While fresh chocolate is gaining traction in the US, our goal is to introduce it to UK consumers, with our sights set on a 10% share of the £6 billion UK chocolate market because, simply, we know that fresh tastes best!”
Following the lead of categories like desserts, pasta and orange juice that have successfully adopted a ‘fresh’ approach, Russell & Atwell are on a mission to establish the fresh chocolate category in the UK and move chocolate from traditional ambient shelves into the fridges of both supermarkets and consumers.
The perfect after-dinner treat, each flavour of Russell & Atwell fresh chocolates are crafted for a multi-layered tasting experience. Utilising the highest quality sustainable ingredients from small ethical, predominantly British producers, their award-winning recipe avoids palm oil entirely and includes responsibly sourced Fino de Aroma cocoa, fresh organic British cream and butter, Essex Borage and Salisbury Plain wildflower honey and Dorset Sea Salt.
Famous for their ‘double crack’ bite sensation, each chocolate has a thin outer chocolate shell that once cracked open, leads to its smooth and creamy centre packed with flavour, finishing with a deeply indulgent bottom layer of chocolate. It’s a recipe for success that has driven continuous growth since the brand’s launch in 2020, recently culminating in a major milestone of 100,000 orders.
Russell & Atwell continues to grow its retail footprint, having been stocked in Booths’ refrigerator aisles next to desserts since March 2023. Expanding further, the brand commenced a six-month trial on Ocado.com this May, introducing three of its signature flavours: Smooth Dark, Creamy Milk and Dirty Blond. Following this round of fundraising, the goal is to begin expansion within the retail sector from 2028 and onwards.
With wildflower British honey a key ingredient in their chocolate, Russell & Atwell also supports the Buglife charity, so by purchasing a pouch you’ll be helping them plant vital wildflower B-Lines for bees and other pollinators.
Russell & Atwell fresh chocolates are available from russellandatwell.com, Ocado.com and Amazon.co.uk.
