British luxury hot chocolate brand Knoops has reported another year of strong growth. Christmas trading saw a 12% like‑for‑like uplift across its 27 UK stores, with wholesale sales climbing 170% in 2025, driven by its fast‑growing Knoops At Home chocolate flakes range. Revenues are on track to exceed £20 million for FY25/26, and the brand reported margin improvements across all channels due to recent supply‑chain investments.
The results come as the UK chocolate market continues to expand. The category is worth about £9.74bn in 2026 and is forecast to grow to £12.5bn by 2031, as ethical sourcing, online retail channels, and strong consumer demand for luxury chocolate fuel growth.
Where Knoops sits in the chocolate market
Knoops faces strong competition from other premium chocolate brands that also focus on sustainability and ethical sourcing. As of January 2025, Hotel Chocolat owned 147 UK stores, along with cafés, restaurants, outlets, factory stores, 40 stores in Japan, and a luxury eco-hotel on a working cacao farm in the Caribbean. Despite running a successful subscription scheme, The Velvetiser Subscription, it shifted its strategy back toward stores in 2023 after finding that 70% of its post-pandemic UK sales came from physical retail, with digital sales falling. Meanwhile, Montezuma’s, another leading chocolate brand with three UK stores and several in-store outlets, has focused on digital investment and new product development as part of its turnaround under Paramount Retail Group.
Knoops stands out for its focus on personalisation. Its signature “Knoopology” approach lets customers tailor every drink from more than 20 chocolate percentages and a curated selection of flavour pairings. Instead of powders, Knoops uses real, sustainably sourced chocolate flakes selected by founder Jens Knoop, giving its drinks distinctive depth and authenticity. The Knoops At Home range, which helped drive Christmas wholesale growth, also lets customers recreate the barista‑style ritual at home, establishing a multi‑channel model that helps set Knoops apart from competitors.
2026 and beyond
The company has strengthened its leadership team by appointing former Game Group CEO Martin Long as CFO and investing in a new production and warehousing facility to support growth. It has an ambitious seven-year plan that includes 150 company‑owned UK stores, 160 US stores by 2032, and 200 more franchised locations globally. The first US store is set to open in Utah in April 2026.
“Knoops is maturing into a multi‑channel business led by the store network,” said CEO William Gordon‑Harris. “There will be thousands of Knoops stores across the globe in time – this is now obvious – but we remain focused on our disciplined medium‑term plan to help us get there.”
CFO Martin Long added: “We are clear on the capital and management capabilities required to scale the brand to over $500 million in revenue by 2032, while delivering strong EBITDA.”
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