Luisa, Founder of Luisa's Vegan Chocolates, told us about her journey and the outlook of the popular brand.

1. What does Luisa Vegan Chocolates mean to you (and your family)?

I used to work as a textiles teacher and was known for carrying dark chocolate in my bag for a pick-me-up throughout the day. I quit my career as a teacher to pursue my passion for chocolate. I have always loved the creative making process and in the same way I used to make textiles from start to finish, I now transform chocolate from the bean to the bar, and we’re actually the only chocolate makers in Nottingham.

2. What are you most excited about so far?

We work directly with farmers all around the world. We’ve travelled to meet our farmers all over the South Pacific, South America and other volcanic islands we get our beans from. We do sustainability checks on each farm, and most importantly build direct relationships with our farmers. Unfortunately, female farmers are, on average, paid less than half compared to men. We worked on a project with female farmers in Colombia to change this and empower them to take ownership of their land, and they’re using this income to give back to their communities. We are so proud of the difference the project has made to these female farmers' lives, and Carmen actually came to the UK to visit us a few weeks ago!

3. Which is your personal favourite product and why?

For me, it has to be our single origin range. When I discovered how to tease out the incredible taste nuances in each chocolate origin, like a fine wine, it completely blew my mind. Isabella's favourite is our Sicilian Orange bar, and our Hazolate made with roasted Italian hazelnuts. Everything we make is a completely different ball game compared to mass-produced chocolate - in taste, quality and ethics. From White Casholate all the way through to our 100% Solomon Islands, there is something to make everyone happy.

4. What does Nottingham mean to you?

It's a wonderful city, and we're based in Sneinton Market, which is the creative hub. Nottingham’s independent scene is thriving and really friendly. We work with 200 Degrees and collaborate with them – we've made a coffee chocolate, which is so tasty. We also work with Neon Raptor, who use all our cocoa shells for their brewing - nothing goes to waste. We also do bespoke workshops and host chocolate tastings where we give people an insight into our chocolate makery and guide people through our different origins.

5. What would you say to someone who is not vegan but loves chocolates?

You do not have to be vegan to enjoy our products. It's nothing like what you'd expect and our 25+ awards speak for themselves, which have been won directly competing against non-vegan chocolate. Seeing how people, vegan or not, react to our products is so rewarding – our reviews are incredible and it’s so lovely to know that people appreciate our craft and what we do here!