Mark the end of Veganuary in the best way possible — with chocolate

You probably already know about Veganuary, but did you know that there is also a World Vegan Chocolate Day (WVCD)? That’s right, to round off a month of vegan eating, WVCD — which is on the 31st of January — gives those with a cacao craving something to look forward to.

Let’s take a look at the story of WVCD and how you can take part with some delectable vegan chocolate.

What is World Vegan Chocolate Day?

WVCD was invented by Adrian Ling, known by the press as the “Vegan Willy Wonka”. He founded the holiday to celebrate the wonders of vegan chocolate in its many different forms. His aim is to show that vegan chocolate can be just as delicious as the dairy stuff and has something to offer everyone.

Vegan chocolate is no longer confined to just dark chocolate bars. Now there are vegan truffles, hot chocolates, enrobed fruits, and more made with innovative ingredients and flavours. WVCD is more than just the last day of Veganuary, it’s an excellent opportunity to sample some of the finest dairy-free chocolates around.

While there is another chocolate day in July (World Chocolate Day), WVCD gives some special attention to this under-appreciated chocolate genre.

Extending vegan values beyond veganism

Adrian Ling is keen to point out that not only should we celebrate veganism. We should also celebrate and support the values behind it. World Vegan Chocolate Day gives us another opportunity to gain awareness of the environmental and ethical impact of food and put pressure on governments and companies to have more rigorous standards.

This is something that we strongly believe in here at Hotel Chocolat.

Environmentally-conscious and ethical sourcing and production are critical to creating a fairer and more sustainable chocolate industry. And we are doing everything we can to make our business as responsible as possible. From the way we treat our farmers to the ways in which we are reducing our waste, ethical and sustainable decison-making is at the heart of everything we do.

Learn more about our Ethical Business and Corporate Responsibility.

How to celebrate World Vegan Chocolate Day

Whether you’re taking part in Veganuary or just want to join in with the WVCD celebrations, here are a few ways you can celebrate January 31st this year.

Try some new vegan chocolate

Of course, WVCD is the perfect day to sample some vegan chocolate that you’ve never tried before. If you usually eat milk chocolate, this might mean branching out to the deeper flavours of dark chocolate. Or if you’re already a vegan chocolate lover, a unique recipe like our Nutmilk* might be new to you.

Order your chocolates ahead of time so you won’t miss out on the chocolate festivities. If you’re bringing your vegan chocolates to work or school (how could you resist some midday snacking), this is a great chance to spread the word about WVCD to colleagues and friends.

Our most unusual vegan chocolates include our Rose & Violet Cremes Selector — soft fondant creams with floral flavours of rose and violet, and our Raspberry Nutmilk Ganache Selector — tart pressed raspberries unleashed by 70% dark chocolate and mellowed by creamy Nutmilk.

Host a chocolate-tasting session

We think chocolate tastes best when shared, so what could be better than hosting a chocolate-tasting session with friends? If you have any pals who have taken part in Veganuary, they are sure to adore this idea. Buy some different vegan chocolates and spend a few hours nibbling and comparing flavours. You could even do some blind taste tests to really focus on each chocolate’s individual flavour profile.

Combine your tasting session with a dinner party, or get some drinks in to make an evening of it. To stick with the chocolate theme, you could even serve some of our cacao-infused alcoholic beverages. Try our divine Cacao Gin or Salted Caramel Cacao Vodka Liqueur — both of which are suitable for vegans, of course.

Send a vegan treat to a loved one

If you have a vegan or dairy-free friend (or know that a loved one is close to completing Veganuary), why not send them a surprise in the post? They will be delighted that you thought of them and will love having some vegan chocolates to enjoy on WVCD.

If you choose to send them some vegan chocolates from Hotel Chocolat, you can deliver with standard UK delivery or next-day delivery if you’re making a last-minute purchase. Just take a look at our delivery options.

If you want our recommendation, we think our Unbelievably Vegan* H-Box would make a wonderful treat — but we have so much to choose from.

Bake with vegan chocolate

Lastly, why not use WVCD as an excuse to get baking and experiment with some new recipes. Vegan baking is a whole new culinary world. If you enjoy baking, you’ll have fun trying out some new creations — and you’ll have lots of vegan cakes, cookies, or tarts to enjoy at the end of the day.

If you need some high-quality vegan-friendly chocolate to bake with, we recommend our chocolate slabs. Chosen between our 70% Dark Chocolate Slab and our 90% Dark Chocolate Slab. And if you need pure 100% cacao chocolate, our 100% Rare & Vintage Batons are a perfect option.

Whether you want to make brownies, blondies, or truffles, a spot of baking can be a fantastic activity to get stuck into with friends, flatmates, or kids.

Vegan chocolate from Hotel Chocolat

At Hotel Chocolat, providing chocolate options for everyone has always been important to us. Everyone deserves to enjoy delectable chocolates, regardless of their dietary requirements.

We’ve poured our hearts and souls into our Vegan Chocolate Collection to create scrumptious chocolate in keeping with our more cacao, less sugar motto. These chocolates embrace the exquisite aromas and flavours of cacao — without added milk.

Here you’ll find award-winning dark chocolates, as well as our extra creamy Nutmilk chocolates made from finely milled hazelnuts.

Why not explore a few of our vegan treats? Here are a few of our favourites…

Our favourites for World Vegan Chocolate Day

• Unbelievably Vegan* Sleekster. This vegan Sleekster is a fantastic way to sample a broad range of our vegan chocolate recipes. It’s a 33-piece collection packed with truffles, pralines, caramels, batons, and beyond. If you’re hoping to try both our vegan dark chocolate and unique Nutmilk recipe, this is a great option. Perfect for sharing, ideal for gifting, and utterly irresistible.

• 45% Nutmilk Hot Chocolate Sachets. Vegans usually have to miss out on creamy, lighter chocolate grades and opt for dairy-free dark chocolate — particularly when it comes to hot chocolate. To give vegans more options, our chocolatiers created our heavenly 45% Nutmilk vegan hot chocolate. With a higher cacao percentage than most milk chocolates and creaminess (from the hazelnuts) to rival that of whole milk, this drinking chocolate is an utterly sublime milk hot chocolate alternative. We adore using hazelnut or oat milk to create this hot chocolate. And of course, you’ll need to make it with our Velvetiser hot chocolate machine to get it as silky smooth as possible.

• Dark Chocolate Covered Ginger. We can’t get enough of our ginger sticks enrobed in our high-cacao dark chocolate. If you adore this, that, and everything smothered in chocolate too, this treat will be up your street. We soak our spicy ginger stems in syrup until tender, before enrobing them in 70% dark chocolate.

It’s the perfect blend of bitterness, spice, and a hint of sweetness. Impeccable for dunking and excellent for snacking. If you’re more keen on citrus, why not try our Chocolate Orange Tangs? It’s another splendidly enrobed treat.

*Please note: while we believe our dark and Nutmilk chocolates are suitable for vegans and vegetarians, they are made in the same environment as our milk chocolates, so we cannot guarantee that they are free from milk.