Raising the bar
Lucy Bennetto’s journey to creating a global chocolate brand – a story that mirrors many Kiwi success tales – began in a humble extension of her garage.
In 2010, when Lucy was a high school teacher, her diet led her on a new path. “I really love chocolate, but I always got migraines from it, and I have sensitivities to foods. So, I tried to make chocolate healthier.”
“So that’s how it started; I actually tried to make chocolate healthier because I discovered that the cocoa itself has got a really high percentage of antioxidants.”
Following experimentations, Lucy started by making “raw chocolate as a functional health product” for herself. In 2013, she began selling bars at the Christchurch Farmers’ Market, and Bennetto Natural Foods Co was born.
As the products developed further, Lucy scaled up, and her products developed into more of a classic treat food, but organic, vegan, and with the idea that ‘less is best’ in mind.
Lucy mentions that the intention with Bennetto Natural Foods was never to stay within a small niche.
“The whole idea was to build something to scale up that had a platform for impact.”
Now, in 2024, Bennetto is on the shelves of retailers throughout New Zealand, Australia, the UK, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. The product is made by Switzerland’s leading sustainable chocolate manufacturer, and product development is still happening at her St Albans home.
An unexpected side effect of growing her chocolate brand was the development of a deep passion for cocoa. Lucy travelled to some of the places of origin of her cocoa, like the Dominican Republic, and several trips to Peru.
“I just found everything about cocoa really interesting. The social side of it, the supply chain is interesting, the taste is interesting, the fact that it’s so universal.”
While overseas, she saw how ethical sourcing from an organic and Fairtrade cocoa supplier was aligned with her vision of making chocolate and how these practices improve lives and the quality and flavour of cocoa.
“Fairtrade was why I started in the beginning. When I saw it on the ground and listened to the farmers and their raw stories, I found happy farmers. Fairtrade supported them with education for their families, financing, and post-harvesting techniques. It has many positive aspects that cover cocoa’s social, environmental, and financial aspects.”
The packaging nods to these places of origin. Each flavour is adorned with bird artwork by Auckland-based artist Henrietta Harris, each bird native to the country where the cocoa was grown.
Knowing the positive impact chocolate could have, Lucy has remained steadfast in growing a transparent, ethical brand.
Getting a B Corp certification seemed like a natural step to Lucy.
“Something inside of me was just never comfortable with making claims without backing them. We want people to trust us. We decided to get verified. We’ve done everything we can to ensure that our supply chain and products are as clean as they can be, and we’re creating a good impact rather than a negative one.”
Since certification, Lucy has aimed to improve their B Corp score year after year.
“Now that we’re aware of the changes we can make, we’re constantly adjusting.”
Lucy has hopes to grow the brand further, with more natural foods in the pipeline, no doubt with those planning stages beginning in her garage.