Hotel Chocolat has launched a two-floor concept store on Cross Street, Manchester, offering an immersive chocolate experience.
Blending café culture, storytelling, and ethical cacao, the store offers a multi-sensory journey into the origins and enjoyment of chocolate.
Spread over two beautifully designed floors, the concept store combines cacao innovation with discovery. Guests can experience everything from a molten chocolate tap to a curated flight of drinking chocolates, making it a space to explore, unwind, and reconnect over chocolate.
In collaboration with Manchester Metropolitan University’s Design & Illustration students, the store features original artwork interpreting the cacao journey – from the sun-drenched Rabot Estate in Saint Lucia to the heart of Manchester.
What Manchester Shoppers Can Expect:
. Cacao Cam: Step inside and be instantly transported to Hotel Chocolat’s Saint Lucian cacao farm. Guests can view a looping “live-style” video feed through a telescope, accompanied by three immersive sound buttons featuring the island’s tree frogs, crickets, and national parrot. This experience offers a deeper connection to the origin of the chocolate they love.
. Agroforestry Wall: Located behind the café, this striking layered installation highlights the biodiversity of cacao-growing environments. Illustrating nature-positive agroforestry principles, the wall educates guests on how cacao thrives alongside nature—a reflection of the brand’s gentle farming ethos.
. Velvetiser – Create Your Own Box: Guests can choose from a curated library of drinking chocolate flavours to build their own personalised box—the only place in the UK to do so. Whether for enjoying at home or as a thoughtful gift, this experience allows guests to hand-pick favourites or discover new flavours.
. The Social Table: A warm, inviting centerpiece designed to spark conversation. Guests can explore tasting notes, engage with team members, and learn the stories behind their favourite chocolates. Inspired by the molten flow of chocolate, every curve of the table celebrates craftsmanship.
. Wall of Chocolate: Featuring over 100 house-crafted chocolate recipes made with Hotel Chocolat’s premium cacao and authentic ingredients. With a “3 for £14” mix-and-match offer, guests can curate the perfect treat or gift. Interactive digital screens guide newcomers through the popular Love Match quiz, making chocolate exploration easy and fun.
. Exhibition Space: Located downstairs, this versatile design-led area allows guests to relax, collect online orders, or attend immersive events—from cacao storytelling to hands-on chocolate tempering. Revolving cacao pods, soundscapes from Rabot Estate, and interactive screens bring the bean-to-bar journey vividly to life.
. Velvetiser Café & Chocolate Tap Experiences: Serving signature drinking chocolates, decadent bakes, and exclusive café creations, the Velvetiser Café is the go-to spot for chocolate lovers. Products are freshly prepared by Hotel Chocolat’s Boar Lane and Artisan Bakeries, with items available exclusively in Manchester. Key experiences include:
. Tasting Trio: Sample three drinking chocolates from a curated selection, paired with signature 70% Classic batons.
. Sip & Savour: Explore four iconic chocolates—Billionaire’s Shortbread, Dizzy Praline, Dark Truffle, and Eton Mess—paired with a drinking chocolate of choice.
. Chocolate Shot: Pour molten chocolate—milk, caramel-milk, or dark—over a bake, Cocoa Whip, or Ice Cream of the Gods. The Manchester store introduces new chocolate taps, adding extra theatre to the experience.
Central to the Hotel Chocolat experience is its innovative approach to ethical cacao. Visitors are invited to explore the brand’s regenerative farming model, developed at its Saint Lucian estate, and discover how Hotel Chocolat is fostering a sustainable future for chocolate that benefits both the environment and local farming communities.
The new store features seating areas where guests can relax and connect, whether enjoying a chocolate flight, indulging in an exclusive sundae, or discovering their favourite chocolate through the Love Match experience. The store is open to the public, with regular trading hours to follow.
Members of VIP.ME can enjoy 20% off at the Velvetiser Café by signing up for Hotel Chocolat’s complimentary membership club.