BIGGEST ORDER YET (AFTER THEY INITIALLY SAID NO)!

We Launched Our Summer Range... And WOW.

Honestly? We’ve been totally blown away. Our Raspberry Ripple, Punchy Pistachio, and Summer Selection Box have had nothing but glowing 5-star reviews—and we’re doing a little happy dance about it over here 🍫💃

So many of you have been messaging us, begging for these to become year-round staples. And trust us, we get it. They’re dreamy. But then… they wouldn’t be summer exclusives, would they? 😉

That said, pinky promise—you will see these flavours again. Maybe even on a much bigger scale. But for now, if you think a craving might sneak up on you in mid-October, we suggest a cheeky little stock-up while they’re still here.

Chocolate + Curiosity = My Kind of Day Out

I also popped into my local Hotel Chocolat recently. I call these little trips my “school trips”—a day out with a purpose. Notebook in hand, wandering the aisles, soaking up all the inspo. Because as much as I adore our cosy little choco office, sometimes you need to shake things up and see what the world’s up to!

Admittedly… I do leave feeling a smidge guilty. I’ve definitely spent a good 20 minutes inspecting every product like I’m writing a dissertation, and then walked out empty-handed. I can only imagine what the team behind the till thinks. (“Is she okay??")

What’s Next? You’ll Want to Stick Around.

We’ve got some very cool things on the horizon—like, squeal-worthy kind of cool. So stay tuned, keep munching.

\We may or may not have stumbled upon these little guys recently 👀

And I don’t know about you, but to me? This tiny fella is screaming “Gatwick Duty Free multi-pack!” I mean—tell me I’m wrong. (And if anyone from Gatwick is reading this… you know where I am).

In all seriousness, we’ve had O’Bar Minis on the brain ever since we launched the full-sized O’Bar. It was one of those ‘duh’ moments. Like, of course there needs a mini-me version.

I even posted a little teaser on Insta the other day, and someone commented:

“Honey, I shrunk the O’Bar…”

Honestly? Probably the best comment I’ve ever read. Absolute gold.

If you’ve been scrolling Instagram or Facebook lately, you might have spotted one of our O’Bar ads shouting proudly: “NO PALM!”

So, just in case you didn’t already know—all of our O’Bars are palm oil free. Yep, every single one. Same goes for our Summer Selection Box! 🍫☀️

Now, our little ad did rattle a few cages… some even brought the mafia into it. I know. The internet never disappoints. 😂

But here’s the truth: Catherine’s Originals started with just one selection box—and every single chocolate in that original box contained palm oil. Fast forward to now, and we’ve got many, many more flavours and products… and we’ve been able to reduce what was nine flavours in the box, to just three of them that contain palm oil. And even then? It’s 100% sustainably sourced and segregated.

 

We’re proud of the progress, and we’re always looking for ways to do even better. So yes—no palm in the O’Bars. And no, we don’t have mafia ties!

I know, I know. It’s ridiculous. Mentioning Christmas in June should be officially banned—but here we are. Because I’ve got news, and I had to share it...

🎉 We’ve just signed for a new storage unit! 🎉

We’re expanding, baby!! WOOO!

Okay, it’s not a massive warehouse (yet), but it’s a big step for us. With the way things are growing, we definitely needed extra space ahead of the festive madness. It was either this… or a very questionable, slightly leaky shipping container. So yeah—pretty easy decision.

Remember in my last post when I mentioned Jamie and I driving all over the place for trade shows? Well… here’s the follow-up I didn’t know I’d be writing so soon.

For over two years (yes—two years!) I’ve been working on getting our range into a certain wholesaler. It’s been a bit of a journey. At first, they weren’t too keen—mainly because of our chocolate names (I know… scandalous). There were mixed opinions within their team, and it just wasn’t the right fit at the time.

But fast forward to today, and we’ve just received our biggest single order ever. and it’s from them!

I’m honestly bursting with excitement!

This means you’ll be able to find us in some very lovely garden centres this year, along with a few other national stores (I won’t drop the names just yet—partly because I’m not sure if I’m allowed, and partly because I do love a bit of suspense 😏).

I went out for a bite on Thursday with my mum, an old school friend, and her mum. It was one of those chilled catch-ups, and then—bam—the waitress brings out a vegan chocolate mousse with cherry.

Needless to say, I was very happy. It’s a combo I can fully get behind. 🍫🍒

Amid all the summer launches, “school trip” research outings, long R&D weekends, and prepping for the second half of the year (how are we halfway through already?!), I somehow managed to squeeze in a rare weekend of sunshine and nature.

One 17-mile walk with my brother and dad later… and I’m still standing! 🚶🏼♀️🌿

It was peaceful, a little sweaty, and honestly the perfect mental reset.

Also… probably decent prep for the half marathon I’ve got tomorrow 😳

Wish me luck—I might need it!

📸 A very cool customer-built bunk bed chocolate display. If that’s not the definition of not letting good things go to waste, I don’t know what is.

📸 Jamie, battling hayfever like a hero, sporting a full-on “concentration meets pollen rage” face.

My long-lost cousin—aka Samee—popped home for a spontaneous three-day visit after living in Thailand for the past four years. I’ve only seen him once in all that time, so it was a proper “pause everything” moment.

Sam was actually one of the very first people I ever shared the concept of Catherine’s Originals with (back when it was simply called Originals, pre-Jamie days). He even joined the team in the early stages as a brainstorm buddy and sounding board.

So having him visit the factory for the first time in four years and seeing it in real life was such a wholesome, full-circle moment—one I’ll never forget. (Probably also because he managed to somehow throw his shoe onto the chococabin roof… and yes, we had to climb up and rescue it. Classic.)

Guys, we all know it’s toasty—and none of us are messing around anymore when it comes to this heat 🥵

We definitely learned our lesson last year. Picture this: no AC in the storage unit, chocolate melting like crazy, and us frantically stacking boxes high in the kitchen—the only cool spot we had. Not exactly the sweet life.

Fast forward to now—we’re three AC units deep 💨💨💨 and way more prepared. BUT there’s one thing we still can’t control: the back of the postie’s van. And when it’s pushing 30°C+, your chocolate could end up arriving as a melted blob. Not cute.

So, just a heads-up: we may need to pause shipping during heatwaves.

There’s a banner live on the site to explain everything, and we’ll always keep you updated.

I totally get how frustrating this can be (we feel it too!), but truthfully—we can’t afford to send out gorgeous chocolates we know will get ruined in transit. You’ll be unhappy, we’ll be sad, Royal Mail will get the side-eye, and the sun... well, we’ll have words.

Please just bear this in mind when placing your order—we promise we’ll get the goodies to you the second it’s safe to do so 💛

I found a little more inspiration where the magic happens at the Harry Potter Warner Bros. Studios ✨

Let’s just say… next summer is looking very tasty already.

(And honestly—don’t those shakes look sooo fun?! 😍)

Stay sweet, stay cool,

Catherine 🍫