What is the most impressive individually wrapped fair-trade chocolate?

January 20, 2024 9:54 AM

I asked this question 11 years ago (ugh) about finding a substitute for Lindor truffles, which I have at a booth on a convention floor for passers-by. I ended up getting Equal Exchange minibars which were underwhelming. Their wrapper were fine, but not flashy and fancy. (And also tbh they didn’t taste that great). I want something that’s flashy. I want something like Lindor truffles where people walking by, four feet away, see my fishbowl full of candy and say ‘oooo’ and come over and take one and talk to me. But it would be really great if I could buy something that’s fair trade instead of Lindor. It doesn’t need to be truffles specifically. DO YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS?
posted by bq to Shopping (15 answers total)

Best answer: My local fair-trade organic hippie co-op stocks Alter Eco truffles as impulse items near the checkout and I can report that they're pretty delicious.
posted by Johnny Assay at 10:19 AM on January 20 [4 favorites]

The Meadow is a fabulous little shop in Portland Oregon that stocks mostly fair trade/ethical fancy chocolates with gorgeous packaging. Maybe you can flip through their site to see if anything stands out.

https://themeadow.com/
posted by forkisbetter at 10:36 AM on January 20 [3 favorites]

The Divine chocolate tasting bars are more expensive than you specified in your older question (a bit over $1/bar if you order in bulk) but the wrapping is pretty. They also have more affordable mini bars, but those are much less eye-catching. In the UK they also have foil-wrapped mini eggs, but I don't see those on the US site.

Caveat - I've never tasted these. I just did some image searches out of curiosity for fair trade chocolates and those had the most eye-catching packaging from what I saw.
posted by trig at 10:57 AM on January 20

Lake Champlain bulk chocolates are beautiful and delicious.
posted by sizeable beetle at 11:15 AM on January 20 [5 favorites]

Decidedly NOT fancy, but I used to have a dish of strawberry bon bons on my desk at work because people loved them. Specifically people loved the look. They'd go "ooh! my [grandma/auntie/beloved next door neighbor lady] always used to have these!" and there you had your conversation opener. The strawberry candies call to people.

A quick google suggests there are a lot of manufacturers so you may be able to find one ethically sourced to your preference.
posted by phunniemee at 11:48 AM on January 20 [2 favorites]

Not fancy, really, but Tiny Tony's are individually wrapped and colourful, and definitely tasty. I think they'd be rather successful at drawing people in!
posted by demi-octopus at 11:53 AM on January 20 [11 favorites]

I think demi-octopus's idea of Tiny Tony's bars is fantastic.

Better still, you can design your own, which would be great if you wanted to incorporate a website URL or email address.
posted by yellowcandy at 12:30 PM on January 20 [6 favorites]

Perhaps lokmat Peace By Chocolate, in Halifax, NS.
Also, Rheo Thompson in Stratfrord, ON.
Flavourful is everything.
posted by Enid Lareg at 12:34 PM on January 20 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Ocho minis are organic, fair trade, tasty, and about $.50 apiece full price. They also have vegan options.
posted by A Blue Moon at 12:35 PM on January 20 [3 favorites]

Seconding Tony Chocolonely chocolate which is some of the best I've ever had.
posted by wittgenstein at 1:10 PM on January 20 [2 favorites]

Not cheap and I have no idea of the fair trade status, but Venchi are absolutely stunning and delicious.
posted by gryphonlover at 3:01 PM on January 20 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Seattle Chocolate truffles maybe? I don’t know enough about chocolate to tell if what they say on their sustainability page is above board or not! They are good and have shiny colored wrapping.
posted by wsquared at 7:12 PM on January 20 [1 favorite]

Tony's Chocolonely is not slave free, if that matters to you.

List of Slave Free Chocolate's Ethical Chocolate Companies
posted by Polychrome at 1:40 AM on January 21 [4 favorites]

Give Chocolate Covered in SF a call or email. They have a world class selection of mostly bars, but they would know about dish-chocolate options for sure.

I'm not super into chocolate, but I do like candy and I'm a pretty good gift giver. I've gotten some pretty wild combinations there.
posted by rhizome at 2:49 AM on January 21

Would any of the products from Peace by Chocolate work for your purposes?
posted by jb at 5:22 PM on January 22