Canberra business owner Nathan Beer with MP Julie Collins. Photo: Supplied.
While most people’s COVID projects are long discarded, Canberra man Nathan Beer has been toiling away growing his chocolate company that was formed during 2021’s long nights in lockdown.
Choc’d Full crafts handmade chocolates that lean into Australian childhood nostalgia, an idea that came to Nathan at a Halloween party when a plate of chocolate spiders was passed around.
“We were working on ideas at home to bring some joy and also share the joy as everyone was in the same boat,” Nathan tells Region.
“Nostalgia was one of those things that we unlocked really early on. It meshed perfectly with what we were already doing. We were trying to find ways to make people happy, and that’s what we saw at this party – people were going gangbusters over these chocolate spiders.”
With the idea incubating, Nathan turned to his mother for the recipes that she used when cooking for school fetes and birthday parties, and whilst Nathan associates gems like chocolate crackles, chocolate spiders, rocky road and chocolate freckles with his 90s upbringing, they’re are embedded in Australian history and transcend generations. Nathan was shocked that no one was selling them commercially.
Choc’d Full specialises in Australian childhood nostalgia. Photo: Supplied.
It’s not a coincidence that Nathan’s mother credits The Australian Woman’s Weekly as the source of those recipes; the earliest record of a published recipe for chocolate crackles is from 1937 from that very publication.
Peanut clusters, which Choc’d Full also specialises in, date back to a similar era, with recipes appearing in church cookbooks and wartime recipe collections in the 30s and 40s in both America and Australia.
The origins of Rocky Road are debated and may date back as far as 1853, but what is agreed upon is that it was popularised by the Australian confectioner Darrell Lea in the 30s, and chocolate spiders with their crispy Chang Chinese noodles are a little more modern and were first popularised in the 80s.
While dabbling with chocolate making throughout 2021, it was at Christmas in 2022 that Nathan landed their first stockist, Hops and Vine in Hall, a business which became something of a mentor to Nathan.
“They’ve really helped us on this journey. They guided us on how to be a supplier and the hoops that we had to jump through.”
From the first stockist to their online store, Nathan has tested a number of distribution channels along the journey of scaling the business, and he’s not afraid to share that they weren’t all successful.
In 2023, Choc’d Full opened a shop in Braddon, and no amount of Christmas baubles was able to save Nathan from drowning in the extra workload and costs associated with opening a premises.
“We were very young as a company, a bit naive, and didn’t understand how complex it is to have a shopfront,” Nathan explains.
“We set up 2000 baubles and a beautiful display, but ultimately we couldn’t get the foot traffic through. Interest rates were going up and spending confidence was plummeting.”
Choc’d Full sells gift packs and individual treats on their online store. Photo: Tenele Conway.
Realising quickly that they needed to refocus the business on what they do best – making chocolate – Nathan closed the store but pursued online distribution, as well as trusting their stockists like Pop Canberra to take care of the retail side of the business.
Nathan is also keenly aware of the darker side of the chocolate industry, in which exploitation is rife and child labour is common practice. He’s careful with his supply chain so as not to inadvertently become a part of the problem.
“A lot of companies are claiming that they are responsibly sourcing ethical chocolate. It’s easy to say that but very hard to prove it,” says Nathan.
“We use a supplier out of Amsterdam called Van Houten. They thankfully have a supply chain audit where you can track the cocoa all the way back to the farmer to ensure that it’s ethical and responsible and everyone is getting paid a fair share along the way.”
Sustainability also factors into this supply chain, with Van Houten tracking issues relating to deforestation and making a move to start accounting for carbon emissions.
On another front, Nathan is using Choc’d Full as a platform to spearhead an LGBTQI+ inclusive approach to business called Proudly Made that he hopes can be rolled out not only across his business but also other LGBTQI+ businesses in Canberra.
“I am openly and proudly gay, as is my former partner, with whom I formed the business, and we want to push that in how we present our business to help market and sell our products. We want people to see that we are doing things differently and proudly,” Nathan shares.
Choc’d Full can be found in Pop Canberra as well as on their website, or if you’re in a hurry, you can grab them via Uber Eats and DoorDash. You can follow their journey on Facebook and Instagram.
