IN Brief:
- Audrey’s has opened a 7,500 sq ft factory at Hove Technology Centre, 88% larger than its former production space.
- Its £550,000 funding round is allocated to capital expenditure and machinery, with additional areas for chocolate making, packing and storage.
- The business reports annual production approaching 50 tonnes and sales through about 250 shops in three countries.
Audrey’s Chocolates has opened a 7,500 sq ft factory at Hove Technology Centre after securing a £550,000 funding round for machinery and capital expenditure. The site is 88% larger than the Sussex manufacturer’s previous production premises and provides separate capacity for making, packing and storing chocolates. The expansion increases available working space as the business serves wholesale outlets and direct customers in Britain and overseas.
The company now occupies about 10,000 sq ft across its Hove operations, including the established shop at 28 Holland Road. The new manufacturing premises provide room for production alongside a retail business that has traded in the area for more than half a century. Additional space can help separate chocolate making, work in progress, finished stock and packing operations during busy periods. The precise factory layout and allocation of space between those functions have not been published.
Audrey’s produces almost 50 tonnes of finished chocolate a year, according to the company, and its products are stocked in around 250 shops across the UK, United States and Canada. Established in 1948, the business is known for handmade fondant creams and other traditional confectionery, including products supplied to Fortnum & Mason since the 1960s. Its new premises expand the physical production base, although the company has not given a revised annual tonnage or equipment throughput figure. The 50-tonne figure describes existing output rather than the new factory’s rated capacity.
Alice and Will Crone acquired Audrey’s just over two years ago. The business reports that own-brand revenue has grown 110% year on year and online revenue has risen tenfold. Those changes have increased the range of order sizes and channels that the factory must support, from individual purchases to wholesale replenishment. Production planning must accommodate the mix of product formats and packaging required by those customers as well as total volumes.
Demand is particularly concentrated around Christmas and Easter, when moulding, filling, finishing, packing and despatch can all face heavier workloads. Extra floor space provides more flexibility to hold ingredients and finished goods while successive batches move through these steps. The extent of any throughput improvement will depend on staffing, workstation layout and the equipment installed, none of which has been quantified in the funding details. The company intends to use the larger operation to fulfil bigger orders during these seasonal peaks.
Chocolate making requires control of temperatures during melting, tempering, cooling and storage. Tempering influences fat crystallisation, which affects the finished chocolate’s appearance, texture and handling, while filled products introduce further preparation and hygiene controls. Handmade product ranges can require smaller batches, varied moulds and more manual finishing than standardised continuous lines. Audrey’s says it is retaining that handmade approach while using the expanded site to produce at greater scale.
The manufacturer now uses Valrhona couverture exclusively and says the cocoa behind it is traceable to the farm. Supplier information about cocoa origin and ingredient batches becomes part of routine material control when a factory produces multiple product types for several markets. Ingredient handling also has to preserve the characteristics needed for different fillings, coatings and decorative applications. The sourcing policy predates the capacity announcement and is a separate aspect of Audrey’s production operation.
Finished chocolates need protective packing that limits damage during handling, storage and delivery. Wholesale cartons, gift assortments and individual online orders can involve different quantities, presentation formats and assembly requirements. More dedicated packing and storage space can reduce competition for work areas during seasonal production peaks, even where assembly remains manual. Audrey’s has not specified a new automated packing line or changed packaging materials as part of the investment.
The international retail network also creates different order and delivery patterns. Shops may order repeat wholesale quantities ahead of key seasonal dates, whereas direct customers buy smaller mixed assortments with shorter fulfilment windows. Inventory and despatch have to be coordinated with production without exceeding the shelf-life requirements of individual products. The larger facility is intended to support growth in both wholesale and direct-to-consumer sales in the UK and internationally.
The £550,000 funding round is earmarked for machinery and capital expenditure, rather than an identified single production line. Reported details do not allocate the total between the building and specific equipment, so the investment cannot be translated into a confirmed rate of additional output. The immediate operational changes are the larger manufacturing footprint and additional space for chocolate production, packing and storage. These measures support the manufacturer’s planned expansion while it continues to make its confectionery in Hove.
Audrey’s will retain its Hove shop alongside the expanded factory, preserving its retail presence as more of the operation is directed towards production. Its busiest trading periods, particularly Christmas and Easter, will test how effectively the new layout supports larger orders and product assortments. The business expects to develop its wholesale and online channels from the larger premises, with annual manufacturing capacity still to be quantified.
