Mission Beach success story, Charley’s Chocolate, has launched a new range of premium packaging featuring local artwork and a new chocolate line ‘Crocodile Mountain’.

Chris Jahnke, Executive Director and founder of the multi-award winning chocolate business, was joined by special guests, a baby saltwater crocodile and Shane Knuth State Member for Hill, to celebrate the new chocolate line and the packaging – featuring commissioned artwork by renowned local artist Kim Rayner.

“Charley’s Chocolate grows cocoa and makes premium Chocolate. We now have beautiful packaging which matches the premium nature of the chocolate and showcases the tropical-beauty of Mission Beach.

“Charley’s Chocolate is unique for its ‘tree to bar’. Very few places in the world are able to offer the consumer tree to bar chocolate, as cocoa will only grow in the wet tropics. Here at Charley’s Chocolate we grow the cocoa, process the cocoa and make the chocolate,” said Mr Jahnke.

Shane Knuth, State Member for Hill said, “This has been years of hard work, trial and error, dedication and determination, and most importantly passion – to reach this milestone.

“The whole, north Queensland region has benefited from the day Charley’s Chocolate started. The economic flow on effects have advanced the whole region through new tourism offerings (farm tours), local boutique manufacturing and local employment,” said Mr Knuth.

Local artist Kim Rayner, who was commissioned to create the artwork said, “As a local artist it is an honour to be asked to work on this project for an outstanding local, small business.

“I was inspired by Mission Beach – the deep colours of the rainforest and the coastal beauty of the white sands, palm trees and the Great Barrier Reef,” said Ms Rayner.

The new ‘Crocodile Mountain’ chocolate line is named after the mountains the Charley’s Chocolate farm overlooks, which are shaped like a crocodile. The ‘Crocodile Mountain’ chocolate features cocoa sourced from local growers in the Mission Beach area, producing a rich and recognisable flavour profile.

In 2017 and 2019 Charley’s Chocolate achieved elite global status when the international Cocoa Of Excellence program (known as the ‘chocolate Olympics’) at the Salon du Chocolat in Paris, judged Charley’s Chocolate’s Mount Edna cocoa as one of the world’s 18 finest.

The new packaging is in stock with 21 lines of chocolate available to order online in time for Christmas: https://www.charleys.com.au/