Cocoa-flavoured hampers and advent calendars helped to lift sales at Hotel Chocolat over the Christmas period, with revenues up by 15 per cent.
The upmarket confectionery brand said that sales had leapt in the 13 weeks to December 31, with about 6 per cent of the growth driven by new stores.
Angus Thirlwell, co-founder and chief executive, said that the figures underscored the value of the brand, which is known for the high cocoa content in its premium chocolates and its cocoa plantation in Saint Lucia.
After opening ten more stores over the period, the retailer has a hundred outlets in the UK and abroad. Its combined shop and café stores, where customers can buy chocolates and consume hot chocolate drinks, have proved popular.
Hotel Chocolat began life in 1987, selling corporate-branded mints, and floated on Aim, London’s junior market, in May 2016, triggering a multimillion-pound payday for its founders Mr Thirlwell and Peter Harris.
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The company said that its luxury £500 hampers had proved popular over Christmas and that it had sold out of advent calendars. Mr Thirlwell said the falling value of the pound had pushed up costs but the company had not raised prices because of efficiencies driven by new factory machinery.
Its shares closed 15p lower at 330p.