Fresh chocolate specialists, Russell & Atwell have reported a notable success in succeeding with a £700,000 fundraising round designed to boost their retail presence, writes Neill Barston.

The duo of former Dragons’ Den winners have enjoyed significant breakthroughs in recent times, including launching on Ocado.com, and have built a strong following based upon a direct-to-consumer model that has seen their fortunes rise.

Via its online channels, the company has launched its core flavours in the form of Smooth Dark, Creamy Milk and Dirty Blond. It is anticipated the brand will expand into retail markets from 2028. 

As Confectionery Production found previously speaking to the company, its co-founders Steve Russell and Giles Atwell bring have a combined experience of more than 40 years in the industry,

This has served them well in terms of their product development, which has cut through in crowded wider chocolate market, with the concept of delivering fresh chocolate proving a gamechanger. (See our previous exclusive video with the business below). 

For his part, Steve Russell, is considered a seasoned chocolate scientist with more than two decades of experience at major names like Cadbury, Milka, Green & Black’s and Godiva. Giles Atwell, who spearheads the company’s commercial growth and strategy, has gained key experience with Unilever and Cadbury/Mondelez, having held international roles across four continents prior to joining Godiva.

Enthusing about its latest success, Giles Atwell, co-founder and chocolatier at Russell & Atwell, remarked: “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!”

Notably, as the team asserted, it is following in the wake of categories like desserts, pasta and orange juice that have successfully adopted a ‘fresh’ approach, moving  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.

The brand has become renowned for its ‘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.

Significantly, the business has also tried to do its bit in giving back to a worthy cause via its use of wildflower British honey. This supports the Buglife charity, with purchases helping the organisation plant vital wildflower B-Lines for bees and other pollinators.