Ryan Owens Chocolate based on Cafferata Way to cease trade at the end of April due to rising costs

An award-winning food business has been forced to close its doors after six years due to rising costs.

Ryan Owens launched Ryan Owens Chocolate in 2018 from home but moved to Newark in late 2019 with the aim to increase production. However, the country went into lockdown months later.

The chocolatier announced on the shop’s Facebook page that the business will be ceasing trade by the end of this month.

“The business has been struggling for a while now due to rising costs of ingredients, and pretty much everything to be honest,” said Ryan.

He added: “This has made me lose the love of making the chocolates and I don’t think it’s fair to charge how much I would need to with the increased costs, especially when everyone is struggling.”

The chocolatier will make a final batch of chocolates this week, which will be available on the shop’s website.

Ryan, who is based on Cafferata Way, started his chocolate journey in 2015 when he completed a Callebaut Foundation Chocolate Course, after which he honed his skills by making chocolates for friends and family.

Two years later he quit his job to turn his hobby into a living, trained as a pastry chef at the Ashburton Chefs Academy and then set up his business, moving to Newark the following year to set up a professional production kitchen.

He won the Academy of Chocolate Bronze Award for his passionfruit bonbons in 2021 and landed a two-star award for his chocolate caramel and a one-star award for his passion fruit chocolate at The Great Taste Awards 2022.

Ryan said that he will be taking a few months break to work and think about his next steps. The Facebook account will continue to be active for updates but the name will change to Ryan Owens Makes.

The business owner is appealing to any chocolatiers who are in need of equipment to get in touch with him.