CocoCaramel

Caramel was the starting point for CocoCaramel, the small chocolate business Helen Arkwright founded in Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, in 2022. She had previously taken cakes and jams to farmers’ markets; learning to temper chocolate gave her another way to enclose her caramels. Production continues in a home kitchen, with a team of four making small batches by hand.

Its Scottish identity comes through in the ingredients and combinations. Helen works with products selected from different parts of Scotland, including local spirits and seasonal ingredients. The focus is on balancing the filling with its chocolate shell: caramel provides the connecting thread, while the accompanying flavors change from piece to piece.

Boxed chocolates offer an introduction to this range in small pieces. A Wee Dram, The Bees Knees, The Perfect Tonic, and A Taste of Doric are among the collections. There are also selections bringing together award-winning recipes; the company lists recognition from Great Taste, the Academy of Chocolate, and the North East Scotland Food & Drink Awards in its history.

Chocolate bars provide another way to explore the fillings. The catalog includes salted caramel, pecan praline with maple caramel, and coffee or chocolate ganache. Chocolate-and-orange combinations and a caramel chocolate coffee bar broaden the selection. Some recipes have limited availability, as would be expected from batch production.

For gifts, the range combines boxes, bars, and small chocolate treats, with options for birthdays, thank-you presents, and celebrations. The Scottish-inspired collections give a gift a specific connection to its place of origin. Recyclable packaging and cocoa the company describes as fully traceable are also part of its approach to making chocolate.

CocoCaramel takes online orders for UK delivery and arranged pickup in Inverurie. Its kitchen is not a shop open to the public. In-person purchases are available through partner businesses, including Inverurie Whisky Shop, The Kilted Frog, and Rosemount Market in Aberdeen; Auchentoshan Distillery in Glasgow is also listed among its stockists.

Its relationships with cafes, food shops, and suppliers include collaborations and occasional tastings, alongside wholesale sales. A brand born in an Aberdeenshire kitchen thus reaches both shoppers seeking a particular box and people discovering its chocolates in another store. Its small-scale production and focus on caramel connect these different ways of buying.