Hotel Chocolat, the British chocolatier and omni-channel retailer, has revealed it saw group revenues increase 37% during the 13-week period ended 26 December 2021.
It said that total group revenue for H1 has also been “strong”, increasing 40% compared to the prior year, and by 56% compared to the equivalent period in the financial year ended 28 June 2020, the last equivalent period prior to the impact of Covid-19.
In the UK, it said its strong brand position and multichannel model enabled growth of 38%, with new customer acquisition campaigns resulting in 38% more active customers.
In the USA, the digital-led strategy delivered growth of 150%, with active customer database growth of 119%.
As such, it revealed its board now expects trading to be “marginally ahead” of management’s expectations for the current financial year.
Angus Thirlwell, co-founder and CEO, said: “These results demonstrate that the Hotel Chocolat brand is connecting with more customers, as we invest continually
in new product creativity, driving growth across channels and categories, and in our ‘gentle farming’ initiative supporting cacao-farming families.
“All of our six growth drivers are behind the acceleration in sales: Velvetiser in-home drinks system, VIP Loyalty rewards, and Digital, whilst the USA, Global Wholesale, and the Japan joint venture are finding the formula for sustained growth, and our UK domestic market still has huge potential.”
He added: “Our Velvetiser in-home drinks system was a star performer during the period. The majority of our subscription customers are now coming from our popular hot chocolate and coffee machines and drinks. We invested in refreshing our key chocolate gift ranges in the period and that resulted in an immediate and strong uplift in sales, particularly the higher price-point categories.
“We are incredibly grateful to both our new and long-established direct customers who support us and there’s been an exceptional team effort from the worldwide Hotel Chocolat family, who made these results happen, whilst always upholding our Hotel Chocolat values.”
