Chocolala Shop Launch

Yum!

Update: Tuesday, 28th August 2007. The chocolala blog is now complete! The blog is a perfect complement to the shop launched in June, allowing the chocolala crew to interact with fellow chocolate lovers. Why not leave your best wishes for them to read as they embark on their blogging experience! The chocolala newsletter has also been finished, so you can now keep updated on the latest news and offers at chocolala. And from what we've heard, subscribers may get the occasional chocolatey surprise! Mmm!

The Chocolala shop has been launched!

As I mentioned in the article about the teaser site these guys really do make the most delicious chocolate I’ve ever tasted. Not only that, but the chocolates are all Fairtrade certified, made by hand and Nick and Niladri are exceptionally nice guys too. Check out their Lemon LaLa chocs, or for a real treat their bespoke chocolates and chocolate cake.

If you’re like me and indulge very rarely and love attention to detail and artistry in what you consume, Chocolala is definitely for you. The chocolates aren’t cheap on first look, but when you get the beautifully simple tin in your hand, feel it’s jam–packed weight and then pop a Lemon LaLa or truffle in your mouth suddenly it seems like a bargain.

Long Time Cooking

The design and concept of the site is over a year old now. There’s still a blog to come, but the launch of the shop is a milestone we think is worth celebrating.The blog is now live as well! Along the way, Chocolala has emerged as a brand from the original Snogg mark that was already registered by someone else but not being used. There’s also been adjustments to the chocs and to the company but the ethics and values have never changed: Simple, gorgeous chocolates that have a quality and uniqueness that can only be achieved by making and packing the chocolates by hand. Careful thought has gone into all aspects of the ingredients, presentation and making. Nick and Niladri are following in a long line of outstanding chocolate–making Quakers the most famous of which is Cadbury, originally started by a Quaker family in 1824 in Birmingham.

Throughout the changes Chocolala have made we’ve been with them every step of the way and feel a close affinity to the company and what they do. I can’t speak highly enough of them and their exceptional chocolates — try some for yourself, or better yet, buy some for someone else and watch their face when they take a first bite!

Highlights

All about the Chocolates

The design is deliberately sparse and simple, both in line with our own ethics, and those of the company. It’s all about the chocolates with great pictures taken by Niladri himself in the Chocolala kitchen. There’s also bags of detail about the chocolates, the company and how they work. Perfect if you have Theorist tendencies like me and love reading about the history and mechanics of how and why things are made as they are.

Lala Checkout

The design of the basket and checkout has been a labour of love to try and give customers all the options they need in a simple interface. Customers can choose to collect their order (and save money) or have the chocs delivered. They can also choose multiple recipients to send any number of tins to, with a note for each and even decide how the tins should be packed—either individually to letter box size or in a single pack. Interface designers will appreciate that allowing users to add, edit and delete multiple recipients in a checkout process can get complicated for users if not carefully managed. We worked and tested the checkout to breaking point, ensuring that it’s as simple as possible to quickly checkout with a single tin, but also making sure that complicated orders, personalised and sent to multiple recipients can also be completed just as easily. There’s too many little touches to mention, but even with all the features we made sure the checkout was as accessible as possible.

The Final Bite

Keep your eyes peeled for the blog coming soon to Chocolala. Nick and Niladri have fascinating things to say on a whole heap of subjects not always related to chocolate. In the meantime treat yourself, or your friends and family to a tin; I promise you won’t be disappointed and if you’re buying for your partner you may just get enough credit from the first mouthful for an entire year — OK, maybe month — of mischief!

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