good ingredients matter

Organic - All of our chocolate, and all of the added ingredients that go into our chocolate, are certified organic.

Ethical

Gluten-Free

Vegan

the best ingredients

The chocolate that goes into all our products is made for us in Europe. It has a signature smoothness, along with a cocoa richness not found in other chocolate bars. The resulting combination makes for a not too sweet intensity that defines the true chocolate experience.

To our chocolate we add a variety of ingredients: fresh hazelnuts, dark roasted coffee beans, tangy dried raspberries and cherries, pure essential oils, coconut milk, chipotle powder … and more. All ingredients are organic. Our chocolate bars come in a whole lot of flavours, any one of which you could happily spend the rest of your life with. They vary in chocolate intensity from 63% to 72% cocoa mass. That’s a lot of cocoa! This makes for an intense, less sweet flavour that is rich and chocolate.

The beauty of Denman Island Chocolate bars is also what we don't put into them. Our chocolate has less sugar than most other brands and contains no palm oil, waxes, gluten, soy, corn, preservatives, or artificial ingredients of any kind. Our chocolate is also peanut-free. We are Canada's original certified organic chocolate company (PACS certification #16038) so you can be confident that all our products are free from chemical residues and genetically modified organisms.

We make our chocolate in small batches, ensuring quality control and freshness. Every bar is important to us. No-one is certain what exactly makes Denman Island Chocolate bars so irresistible. Some say it's the island air, but we think it's the care we put into each bar, making it a creation worth savouring.

why organic?

By choosing to purchase products made from organically grown crops, you are committing to reducing the negative impact human beings have on the environment. The organic provenance of some crops is straightforward: an apple, for example, grown on a tree that is not exposed to synthetic chemicals. Of course, it's not quite as simple as that; organic certification also covers other issues such as the positive stewardship of the land, how the crops are handled and shipped, and so on. Beyond apples, it is important to consider organic status for all sorts of other things we buy and consume, everything from cotton sheets to … chocolate.

Eating certified organic chocolate supports the well—being of land, animals and people in cocoa plantations. Conventional growers rely heavily on synthetic herbicides, pesticides and fungicides.These chemicals end up in groundwater and river systems and affect the birds, monkeys and other animals that frequent cocoa trees. Plantation workers also suffer from exposure to agricultural chemicals. Organic plantations use other methods, such as interplanting and use of beneficial insects, to control and prevent pest, fungus and weed problems. Organic farmers steward their land, ensuring that it retains its vitality and that the biological web of all of its resident creatures stays healthy.

All of our chocolate, and all of the added ingredients that go into our chocolate, are certified organic. Certification is your guarantee that the organic integrity is independently monitored from plantation through production and onto the shelves of your local store. When you buy organic, you can be confident that you are doing the right thing. PACS organic certification #16038

gluten-free

All of our ingredients are gluten-free. We wanted to make our chocolate available to enjoy for as many people as possible. Our gluten sensitive and celiac friends appreciate the purity of our bars. Questions? Please reach out and contact us.

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what’s to love about being vegan?

Everything! Ethical food choices, good health, a reduced carbon footprint, and incredibly delicious food - including, of course, chocolate. We have never used animal ingredients in any of our products and we never will. In fact, we created our cocomilk line of chocolate to provide a plant-based alternative to milk chocolate. Is it better than milk chocolate? We think so.

Please be aware that all our products may contain traces of milk. This is because the European factory that supplies our bulk chocolate processes all their organic items on the same production line. That includes organic dark, milk and white chocolate. The machinery is flushed out between batches, but remnants (up to 1000 parts per million) of milk may remain.

fair trade & beyond

Fair Trade certification is only one aspect of making ethical food choices. Gaps in the Fair Trade system, specifically inadequate inspection of cacao plantations, means that it does not necessarily guarantee that Fair Trade chocolate isn't produced with child and slave labour. Although chocolate can be void of animal products, it cannot be truly cruelty-free if it involves the worst forms of child labor, including slavery. By making informed, ethical food choices, we can make a difference and take a stand against abuses. Denman Island Chocolate is recommended by the Food Empowerment Project to be vegan, child labour free, and slave labour free. View the Food Empowerment Project list here:  CHOCOLATE LIST