Chocolate lovers can now experience a piece of the Pacific thanks to a new partnership between established Tongan vanilla grower, Heilala Vanilla, and a New Zealand chocolate company.
The Whittaker’s Artisan Collection is a range of six 100g blocks for chocolate lovers, featuring local ingredients sourced from the Pacific and New Zealand.
Heilala will provide vanilla from Tonga for the Hawke's Bay Braeburn Apple with Heilala Vanilla in 28 per cent cocoa White Chocolate. The Whittaker’s label describes the chocolate as, “beautifully sweetand tart Braeburn apple pieces from Hawke’s Bay, with an added hint of pure Heilala Vanilla from Tonga, enveloped in mouthwatering white chocolate.”
Heilala CEO Jennifer Boggiss says the collaboration with Whittaker’s, which is also a family-owned business, has a strong synergy.
“This is an exciting development for Heilala and all of our growers in Tonga,” says Jennifer. “Our vanilla will now be in the hands of new customers who like to indulge and who may have never tried Heilala Vanilla before.”
Jennifer says Whittaker’s is hugely popular in New Zealand and is committed to sustainability and producing chocolate of the highest quality.
“Taking Heilala Vanilla in new directions and teaming up with other like-minded companies and brands reinforces our commitment to our growers in Tonga and to making world-class vanilla products. In addition, having Heilala Vanilla’s name on the Whittaker’s label is a fantastic way to showcase the Heilala brand to the world. This is something all of Tonga should be proud of.”
Whittaker’s Marketing Manager Holly Whittaker says: “With so many fantastic artisan producers right on doorstep, it seemed like a natural step to combine Whittaker’s chocolate – the quality of which we ensure through our signature bean to bar process – with the finest in local ingredients.”
The other flavours in the range are: Kaitaia Fire Chili Pepper Spice in 50 per cent cocoa Dark Chocolate; Marlborough Sea Salt and Caramel Brittle in 33 per cent cocoa Milk Chocolate; Waikato Grown Aromatic Oolong Tea in 50 per cent Dark Chocolate; Single Origin Samoan 64 per cent Cacoa Nelson Pear and Manuka Honey in 33 per cent cocoa Milk Chocolate.