Expert Roundup: The Women Behind the Chocolate

16 March 2026
Chocolatarium

Get ready to discover the inspiring women driving change in the chocolate industry. We’re revealing the often-overlooked stories of the women behind your favourite chocolate bars by asking female leaders about their biggest day-to-day challenges.

Women in Chocolate

Chocolate is adored by many people across the globe, but did you know that women are the biggest demographic for buying chocolate? They have the largest purchasing power when it comes to sweet treats, but beyond that, women make up a huge number of the workforce behind the actual growing of cacao in the chocolate industry, as well as the businesses that bring chocolate to our shelves.

In Africa, there’s an estimated 70% of the workforce of cacao farms being women; however, women overall only receive about 20% of the income, according to the African Development Bank (2015). Like many industries, women are discriminated against and paid a lower wage than their male counterparts.

Many chocolate makers have tried to improve the growing situation for women in cacao farming. For example, Ocelot sources chocolate from the Femme de Virunga scheme in Eastern Congo, a women-led cooperative behind the cacao used in their bars. Still, a huge gap persists across the industry.

And when it comes to the business side of things, women are making more of a splash than it may seem. Many of the brands we stock at The Chocolatarium have female founders and leaders. We’re proud to say that 50% of the chocolate companies we sell products from were founded fully or in part by women.

In this expert roundup, we’ve gathered just a few of these women leading the charge in the chocolate industry.

The Experts: What is your biggest day-to-day challenge?

“Running our own business is both rewarding and demanding. Juggling family life and deadlines, especially around busy periods such as Christmas and Easter, can be quite a challenge, but I hope that I'm setting an example of resilience, hard work and determination for my girls.”

Fran Guppy

Co-Founder of Guppy’s Chocolates

“As a soletrader, working from a home-based workshop, having to do everything in the business on your own, including those things that you know you aren’t very good at or feel inadequate at; with no-one else to bounce ideas with, to reassure you that you are doing OK, or to point out that you are making a mess of something!”

Charlotte Flower

Founder of Charlotte Flower Chocolates

“Most people might assume that my biggest day-to-day challenge is not constantly eating chocolate, but the reality is a little more layered than that. In addition to aromatherapy-based chocolates, the JustBe range includes skincare, candles, soaps and wellbeing gifts, so no two days are ever the same. The one constant is a 6.45am gym class at One Spa in the Sheraton, which helps me reset and carve out time for myself before the day unfolds. From there, I might be blending fresh products surrounded by natural aromas, packing / delivering orders or switching into business mode with admin and social media updates. The real challenge is balancing the practical demands of running a small business with the positive intention behind the range. Everything I create, whether chocolate or skincare, is designed to support emotional balance and wellbeing, so being aligned to that purpose, even on the busiest days, is something that I return to again and again. And yes, it can be challenging to not ‘sample’ the range.”

Gail Bryden

Founder of JustBe Botanicals

“Some days the challenge is simply doing everything - creating new flavours, hand-painting bonbons, tempering chocolate, packing orders, and still finding space to think creatively. But chocolate is emotional - it brings comfort, joy, and connection - and being part of that never stops feeling special.”

Ann Dunning

Founder of The Third Sin Chocolates