Hotel Chocolat creates beauty start-up

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Feb 23, 2017

Luxury chocolatier Hotel Chocolat has entered into a joint venture with Andrew Gerrie, who cofounded and headed UK-based cosmetics brand Lush for more than 20 years, to establish a beauty start-up.

Best known for its award-winning chocolates, Hotel Chocolate also offers a range of body butters, bath oils, fragrances, hand creams, body scrubs and shower crèmes.

The range will be expanded through the new company, reported The Evening Standard, which will be run by Andrew Gerrie. He has been working as chairman of Hotel Chocolat since December 2015.

Gerrie has a 49% interest in the venture and Hotel Chocolat 30%. The remainder is held by other parties.

Hotel Chocolat launched its first range of cocoa-based beauty products in 2013. The products are developed in the company’s Cocojuvenate spa at its Boucan Hotel & Restaurant on Saint Lucia.

Company co-founder and chief executive Angus Thirlwell said a testing has proven there is demand for “authentic” goods, and that the brand could be looking into creating more joint ventures in the future.

“It enables us to unleash something that’s a great idea to the rest of the world while continuing as a management team to focus on our core model. We might do more incubating of ideas.”

While Andrew Gerrie will lead the new start-up, the products will continue to be developed by Hotel Chocolat.