Forest Foods greengrocer’s shop in Barton reopens at The Chocolate Trading Co.

A COUPLE who taught themselves to make chocolate during Covid lockdowns have transformed their former greengrocer’s and deli in Barton.

Robert and Carley Wheeler had been running Forest Foods in Southern Lane since December 2021, but various challenges over the years prompted them to look again at the business and start up The Cocoa Trading Co earlier this year.

“The business started out really well,” said Robert. “But then the cost of energy shot up and we couldn’t keep our prices competitive - we certainly couldn’t compete with the likes of Lidl up the road.

“When locals lost the winter fuel allowance, they started looking elsewhere to shop, which is completely understandable - we had to start looking at which parts of the business were working and which weren’t.

We sold chocolate in the shop, and while this was never front and centre it had always been popular because our customers were prepared to spend money on it in a way they wouldn’t on other products; so we made a decision to focus on that.”

Carley had learned to make chocolate during lockdown after Covid essentially shut her’s and Robert’s snack company supplying hospitality and airlines overnight.

“We ran the business from a shed in our garden,” said Carley, who lives with Robert and their six-month old son Regtt in Lymington. “I managed to get a very small grant from the Solent Local Enterprise Partnership while on furlough in 2020, which enabled me to buy a machine to make chocolates.

“I learned by watching YouTube videos and lots of mishaps, and we managed to get our produce in a few shops; but it was just a sideline and it went on the backburner when we opened the shop.

“We then realised it should take centre stage, and Solent Chocolate has now become The Cocoa Trading Co.”

As well as various treats including chocolate coated pretzels, marshmallows and honeycomb, drinking chocolate, New Forest-branded bars, truffles, and chocolate cremes and novelty lines, the store sells local produce from The Garlic Farm Isle of Wight, Sylvan Apiaries Honey, Forest Edge Coffee, the New Forest Tea Company and Dorset Tea.

“We’ve come to realise people seem to really want good quality chocolate and they want to support local businesses,” said Carley. “Those who can afford it want a product they can’t get in the supermarket.

“We’ve expanded our range based on what our customers want, and that really varies between wholesale and retail.

“Locals favour dark chocolate, because it’s less sweet and is perceived to be more healthy; while for wholesale the demand is for white and milk chocolate.

“And if a customer comes in the shop and wants something specific and we’re not drowning in orders, we’ll do our absolute best to do something bespoke for them that they can’t get anywhere else. We enjoy the challenge.”

The couple are making big efforts to push the wholesale side of the business in order to ensure a solid foundation to keep a shop front and cafe for locals, who they say they “want to give back to”.

“We are currently in Stewarts garden centre in Christchurch and some local shops including Ellies Farm Shop in Christchurch and Paiges of Lyndhurst, as well as shops further afield.

“We really need to strengthen the wholesale side of the business so we can keep supplying our local customers.”

Carley, who has a regular stall at Lymington’s Saturday market, said their products are often compared to Hotel Chocolat, which she takes as a “massive compliment”.

“The great thing about Hotel Chocolat is that it’s a quality product that’s still affordable for a lot of people,” she said. “That’s what we, too, are trying to produce.

“All of our truffles and cremes, bar the caramels, are handdipped - it’s a very time consuming process.

“Definitely these, along with our coated pretzels, marshamallows and honeycomb, are the best sellers - we cannot make them quick enough.”

The shop also sells a great variety of pick ‘n’ mix sweets, which changes with the trends.

“Some of my fondest memories are of going to get pick ‘n’ mix, so it was always something I wanted to sell,~” said Carley. “We have children coming in with their parents and grandparents, and it’s really lovely to see that trradition being kept alive.”

Robert is also involved in chocolate making, and family provide “generous support” with labelling products.

The Cocoa Trading Co. opens between Wednesday and Saturday, from 10am until 4pm.

For more information, visit https://cocoatrading.co.uk/