I still remember the anticipation, excitement and joy I felt as a child when my parents would buy me a special treat – a chocolate with a small toy!

 

Now as a parent I still enjoy chocolate as much – if not more! – than ever, but have become more health conscious about what we as a family eat. I was determined that sweet does not have to mean unhealthy. My kids (being my kids…!) love chocolate, and while I have learnt about the benefits of cocoa I also know about the nasty health effects of refined sugar. To get the best of both worlds I started experimenting with chocolate recipes at home using only the highest quality organic ingredients, and NO refined sugars. Sebastian, my eldest, my husband Dominic and myself are lactose intolerant so my recipes also had to be dairy free.

 

 

It took a while and we had lots of fun taste testing, before I eventually developed a delicious chocolate recipe we all fell in love with. It so happens that it is vegan, organic and made out of just 3 natural ingredients: cocoa beans, coconut and vanilla.

 

They say the best things are the simplest, and I can only agree.

 

With a background working in design and teaching, after a Masters degree in Scenography at Central St Martins, I gave myself a challenge of designing a playful, fun, educational and eco conscious toy. 

 

With kids growing up so quickly I’ve been reflecting more on the world we will be leaving to them. I became more aware of the dangers to our planet from discarded plastic waste which ends up in our oceans, woods and environment. This has motivated me to design a series of fun, educational, self-assembled toys made entirely from 100% recycled, biodegradable card – including the packaging. In this way I hope to excite children about our planet through play.

 

Combining my love of chocolate and nature I came up with Playin Choc.

 

When trying out my recipe with family and friends it turned out that the parents enjoyed it as much as their kids, so I decided to offer ‘a grown-up version’, the same delicious chocolate without the toy (sorry grown-ups – you get more chocs inside!)

 

Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

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Our Philosophy

 

Joy + Health + Planet

 

These three words are at the forefront of our thinking. How we enjoy life and what we can do to get the most out of it, what we put in our bodies and how it makes us feel,

and what we can do to protect and preserve this place we inhabit and share with the natural world.

 

Joy 

For us ‘Joy’ means enjoying the moment, the excitement that comes from learning, exploring and using imagination – allowing our kids to escape into a world only children can inhabit.

 

Health 

Health means organic foods sustainably and fairly sourced. It means no refined sugars. And it means a delicious taste that makes us feel great.

 

Planet 

Keeping our planet alive and thriving for our children means learning about the natural world and what we can do to protect and preserve it for future generations. For us this means using bio-degradable, recycled and recyclable packaging and educating our children about the harmful effects of plastic waste on the natural world.