The Creation of Catherine's Originals
Catherine, has been vegan since age 12 and every year she would miss out on her fave chocolates.The kind of chocolate that makes your eyes close in bliss, the kind you unwrap with anticipation on birthdays, holidays, and those "just because" days. But being vegan, she found herself stuck with chocolates that were, well… a bit of a letdown. The good stuff, the kind that makes your taste buds dance, was always off-limits. And that, my friends, was simply unacceptable. So at age 18, the story of Catherine's Originals begins...
The Lightbulb Moment
December 2020
Catherine, age 18, had a a burning desire to one day run her very own business. Stuck in a rut, and couldn't find her way out, quite literally found herself under the Christmas tree analysing a tin of the Christmas classics we have grown up fighting over.
"Catherine, whatever are you doing playing with chocolates. You're too old for that" Catherine's Mum asked in a confused manner.
"It's been 9 years Mum! It is about time I can enjoy a dairy free selection once more. There must be so many like me missing out... I am going to make chocolates Mum" Catherine explained with excitement.
She danced her way into the new year, excited for the adventures to come. April 21st 2021, Catherine's Originals was founded.
That year consisted of trying lots of chocolate and getting messy in the kitchen. Jamie, life partner joined the madness full-time and it was all hands on deck to get 30,000 chocolates wrapped by hand in just 10 days, just in time to introduce to the delectable selection to the market for the first time ever.
Our First Customer
December 2021
The month of November was a challenging one. Catherine had been planning behind a screen for the past 10 months and it was now time to test her dream with the public.
650 boxes sold swiftly, during 3 rainy weekdays in December. The team couldn't believe the demand was so big.
"What now?" The team thought.
Demand grew and grew. They found themselves overwhelmed, working late nights and early mornings to keep up. After hours of handcrafting each piece, Catherine and Jamie faced a big decision: continue making chocolates by hand or take a leap and expand their business into something bigger.
Raising The Funds
January- December 2022
It was time to scale.
Catherine, uncompromising, decided to build her own factory., Rather than teaming with a company who's values don't align. Product too tricky to co-manufacture, it was fundraising time, to get their very own production in full-swing!
Winning The Deliveroo Big Pitch and welcoming onboard our first investor (shout out Mark) allowed Catherine and Jamie to bring forward their factory visions sooner than expected. With support from the LoCase and Invest4 grant, as well as our wonderful community, with a successful Kickstarter campaign, they invested into our The Catherine's Originals Factory.
Diving In Deep
May 2023
After countless days, viewing units across Sussex, Jamie and Catherine found their perfect space in Arundel. Not far from where the pair met. A deposit was put down and it was time to build a factory!
To cap off an amazing 2023 we won three (yes three!) awards at our local business awards. We took home New Business of the Year, Green Business of the Year and our founder Catherine won Entrepreneur of the Year at the Arun District Business Awards 2023, all reassuring signs that they made the right decision.
Last Christmas...
December 2023
By December Catherine, Jamie and brother Will had built the factory, perfected the recipes, and got in the swing of production. What happened next, no one could've predicted...
Word got out on social media about the revolutionary chocolates, and suddenly an influx of orders hit our website in December. The worked tireless to fulfill all of the orders and even filled vans to the brim to make sure everyone got a box!
New Products & The Future
The now team of 7 have launched many new products, are shipping products daily across the UK, to Europe and The USA and have many, many exciting plans and launches coming in 2025.
Catherine's Originals are made with plants and made for sharing. Now, no one missed out!
The Adventures of Building a Factory
"Did we actually just build a factory?"
At Catherine's Originals, we've worked hard and raised funds to keep everything in-house without compromising our product, values, or quality. We're eager to expand our team and business, and would love to hear your feedback and thoughts. Join us on this chocolatey adventure!