Palm oil free, Vegan Chocolate made with Natural ingredients and Ethical Cocoa
Chocolate makes everything better. So we made everything about chocolate better. Better Ingredients. Better Ethics. Better Chocolate. Our mission is to make dark chocolate fun. Milk chocolate has had its fun, and now it’s dark choc’s turn. We want to show the world you can have better chocolate, made with better ingredients and better ethics.
BETTER INGREDIENTS-
At Doisy and Dam, we know that less is more when it comes to the best chocolate ingredients. We keep ours low in numbers and high in quality: no additives. No E-numbers. No weird stuff. Just all-natural, properly-sourced, cocoa scrumptiousness (…because healthier chocolate is a thing).
We source all of our cocoa from the unspoiled dreamland of Colombia, where chocolate is famed for its fruity, nutty flavour. Crucially, we’re crystal clear on every stage of our supply chain – from bean to bar – so we can ensure two things. 1) that only the highest-quality chocolate ingredients are being used, and 2) that every one of them is ethically sourced.
‘You’ve mentioned high-quality cocoa twice now’, you say. ‘Show us the proof, chumps.’
At the heart of our supply chain are Luker Chocolate: badass royals of the Colombian chocolate scene, big-time trailblazers in ethical chocolate and much-loved partner of Doisy & Dam. Luker set up one of two not-for-profit cocoa research facilities in the world, and its sole purpose is to learn how to produce the best cocoa possible – promising oodles of quality and flavour – whilst training farmers across Colombia to improve their yields, their profits and their quality of life.
See, there are high-flavour/low-yield cocoa trees and low-flavour/high-yield cocoa trees. The majority of farmers will opt for the minimal flavour/maximum yield approach, because they need to make a living — but that can mean average beans. So the super savvy Luker lot cross-pollinate trees to produce a real-life magic bean: a hybrid bean with great taste and great yield alike.
The result? Cocoa so flibbin’ good the International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO) have given it a fancy classification. All of our cocoa is classed as Fino de Aroma (‘fine flavour’). With only 8% of the world’s cocoa yield reaching Fino de Aroma status, our stuff is among the best chocolate you can get. (At Doisy and Dam HQ, we actually congregate in a circle and chant this at the start of every work day. It’s not that catchy, but it makes us feel good.)
‘And the rest of the chocolate ingredients?’, you say.
We’ll always deliver a high cocoa content in order to minimize room for sugar and fat. As for the other stuff, it’s our promise that we will use as few ingredients as possible and the best possible, and we’ll make sure all of them have at least 30% less sugar than their market alternatives. Told you healthier chocolate was a thing.
So there you have it. Healthier chocolate, happier people. Boom.
BETTER ETHICS-
It’s no secret that social and environmental conscience has become a marketing trend among brands lately. In 2019, it’s cool to care. And we’re chuffed about that — just so long as it’s authentic. When Doisy and Dam founders – AKA two nice blokes called Ed and Rich – set out to change the UK chocolate scene back in 2012, ‘ethics’ was so much more than a buzzword. It was a pillar principle of our business. And in 50 years, when we hope business is buzzing still, that pillar will still stand. Trendy or not.
‘Sure,’ you say. ‘Ethical chocolate. But where’s the proof?’
Doisy and Dam are incredibly proud to be a B-Corp company: a business committed to being a force for good. Our B Corp certification enables us to hold ourselves accountable to social and environmental standards – from source to supply, staff and beyond – so that all this talk of ethical chocolate and sustainable chocolate is backed up in an open, transparent way. It allows us to ensure a model that is, as far as possible, beneficial to people, planet and business — and that leaves behind more than it takes.
Basically, we’re the kind of business you’d take home to your mum.
‘We want more quantifiable proof!’, you say.
Well, crucial to holding ourselves accountable is making sure we’re crystal clear on every stage of our supply chain, from bean to bar. This way, we can promise two things: 1) that only the highest-quality chocolate ingredients are being used, and 2) that every one of them is ethically sourced.
At the heart of our supply chain are Luker Chocolate: badass royals of the Colombian chocolate scene and big-time trailblazers in ethical chocolate. Luker set up one of two not-for-profit cocoa research facilities in the world, and its sole purpose is to learn how to produce the best cocoa possible whilst training farmers across Colombia (over 800 a year, in fact) to quadruple their yields, raise their profits and achieve a better quality of life.
Many of Luker’s cocoa farms consist of land recently reclaimed from drug cartels, and all of them facilitate a solid monthly wage for farmers. This is where Doisy and Dam sources its beans. We buy through cocoa cooperatives instead of the stock market, which means more money going back into the community. Plus, Luker are passionate supporters of social and educational causes within the areas they work, dedicated to providing vital community regeneration.
Writing doesn’t do justice to the amazing work Luker do so take a look for yourself.
So you could say the proof of our ethics is – quite literally – in the pudding. Healthier chocolate, happier people.
And what’s more, we are working really hard on we’re rolling out recyclable products across all of our packaging. Boom.
BETTER CHOCOLATE-
Remember when you were a kid and everything was really exciting despite the fact that, actually, it was a-little-bit-slash-very crap? Disney gel-pens that didn’t work. Plastic dolls pushing wildly unrealistic body proportions. Chocolate so inviting in its shiny wrapping and sheer variety that an obscenely high sugar-to-cocoa ratio couldn’t be lower down on your non-existent list of troubles?
At Doisy and Dam, we understand that you – the very grown-up British public – have come a long way since those days. You own house plants now. A Keep Cup. You bought sourdough once, even kept it on a questionable-at-best shelf that you put up yourself.
The point being, you are sophistiqué: you have a social and environmental conscience. Refined taste buds. And you look at the mass confectionary market and, like us, you feel sad.
We all crave the excitement we used to feel when browsing supermarket shelves of sweet treats. Not just the bars, but the buttons, the balls, the sugar-coated drops!We want this kind of excitement…The thing is, when we – the very grown-up British public – want, say, ethical chocolate, lower sugar chocolate, vegan chocolate, better chocolate… We’re left with very little choice. So we thought we’d do something about it.
Imagine a world where all of your favourite childhood chocolate treats were even better than you remember. Chocolate that still has the power to magically fix a crap day, with a smorgasbord of unique flavours, fun forms and irresistable textures — except in this world, cocoa farmers are fairly paid. Cocoa content is high. And no one’s losing out in its production or ingredients. Palm oil free chocolate? Check! Vegan chocolate? Check! Delicious chocolate? Check!
That’s a world we want to live in. A better world, filled with better ingredients, better ethics, and better chocolate. Welcome to the world of Doisy and Dam.
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