When Australian Darren Litton arrived in the UK, the memory of his grandfather’s delicious hot chocolate drink followed him.

However, he couldn’t find anything like it – where the product is made not from powder but from premium chocolate – in the UK.

So in 2012 he set up a kiosk at Brent Shopping Centre testing out his product and the success prompted him to open his first Cocoba café at the Lower Rose Gallery, Bluewater, a year later.

Mr Litton said: “The Cocoba concept is to combine the nation’s love of chocolate with its love of coffee houses and put the two together in the form of a chocolate café.

“In addition, we have a strong retail range of products to be sold in the store as well as wholesaling to other department stores and shops.”

He said the guiding principles were to offer the finest-quality ingredients in everything including “strong, attractive and recognisable branding, excellent packaging and exceptional service”.

He said: “The aim is to exceed the customer’s expectations.”

Employing 18 local staff, there is a large range of premium chocolate bars, truffles, pralines, chocolate-coated coffee beans, salted toffee truffles and much more for sale. From 90% dark chocolate bars to chocolate-
covered ginger, there is a chocolate for every customer.

Cocoba also makes more than 50 chocolate retail products in store, including 28 chocolate bars.

Mr Litton said: “Success has meant the need for expansion and the company is setting up an industrial unit also in Dartford, where it can efficiently manufacture and pack our chocolate products to substantially grow the wholesale, corporate and online parts of the business.”

The Dartford and Gravesham Business Awards are supported by the Messenger and each entrant gets a free profile in our papers and online.

If you would like to enter this year’s awards, enter online at www.dgbawards.co.uk. The deadline has been extended to Friday, August 19.

This year’s sponsors are: Barnes Roffe, Dartford council, Gravesham council, KM Media Group, Lloyds Bank, Thomson Snell and Passmore, University of Greenwich.