Meet the maker
Foundry Chocolate
About Foundry
Co-founded in late 2018 by David Herrick and his wife Janelle, Foundry Chocolate is a boutique craft chocolate maker dedicated to celebrating the flavour of single-origin cacao. Based north of Auckland, New Zealand, David and Janelle focus on crafting two-ingredient chocolate—using only cacao beans and organic cane sugar—highlighting the full potential of the tasting notes of each origin. Ethical sourcing, flavour, and craftsmanship are at the heart of everything they do, with a mission to expand their selection of cacao varieties.
Foundry Chocolate – pouring chocolate
In 2023, the team moved to a dedicated chocolate factory in Silverdale, enabling them to carefully expand production while remaining hands-on in roasting. Foundry has been recognised through numerous awards including three Gold Awards at the 2023 Academy of Chocolate and Best in Show at the 2024 Northwest Chocolate Festival in Seattle.
How they became makers…
Co-founders David and Janelle drew on their backgrounds in marketing and art, combining a love of flavours, creativity, and hands-on experimentation. David discovered craft chocolate by chance and began experimenting at home, often using domestic appliances in inventive ways, while Janelle contributed her design expertise and support. After testing dozens of origins and harvests to find optimal roast profiles and flavour notes, they developed their own approach to single-origin chocolate. Encouraged by positive feedback from a professional chocolate judge, they committed fully to chocolate, bringing their passion for chocolate-making, ethical sourcing, and meticulous flavour development to life with Foundry.
Foundry Chocolate – two roasters in action
Foundry’s Sourcing
Initially, Foundry’s sourcing process involved tracking down farmers and suppliers, securing small mixed shipments from Uncommon Cacao and Meridian Cacao in the USA alongside direct imports from Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea. As their operation has grown, almost all of David and Janelle’s cacao is now direct-sourced from single origins, including Tanzania, Uganda, Vanuatu, Peru, India, Mexico, Vietnam, and the Solomon Islands. Ethical sourcing is a core priority for Foundry, who ensures that every relationship is fair and contributes positively to the cacao community. David’s encounters with industrial cacao sellers have reinforced the importance of these standards.
Above all, Foundry’s focus is on flavour; using two matched gas-powered drum roasters—a 2kg test roaster and a 10kg production roaster—each new origin or harvest is first roasted in small test batches. These are carefully tasted until the optimal roast profile for each single origin or harvest year is found, allowing the chocolate’s unique notes to shine. They also strive to ensure that their packaging, beautifully designed by Janelle, is environmentally responsible by shifting from a compostable inner wrapper to a recyclable paper inner wrapper for their bars.
Foundry Chocolate – sorting cacao beans by hand
Want to explore more makers of the world's best craft chocolate? Just start typing their name (or any letter) into the search box to discover them.
20° Nord 20° Sud
9th & Larkin
Åkesson’s
Amaro
Ara
Aroko
Askinosie
Auro Chocolate
AWKI
Baianí
Bare Bones
BeanCraft
BOHO Chocolate
Bonnat
Butterfly
Cacaoken
Cacaosuyo
Carambole
Casa Cacao
Castronovo
Chapon
Choco Del Sol
Chococard
Chocokoo
Chocolarder
Chocolat Madagascar
Chocolate Tree
Chocolatemakers
Chocolaterie Robert
ChocoMe Atelier
Coco Caravan
Cocoa Retreat
Conexion
Contour Chocolate
Cuna de Piedra
Dandelion Chocolate
DesBarres
Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate
Dormouse Chocolates
Duffy’s Chocolate
Encuentro
ENRICHD
Erithaj Chocolat
Ethereal
Feitoria do Cacao
Firetree
Fjåk
Forever Cacao
Fossa
Franceschi
French Broad Chocolates
Fresco Chocolate
Friis Holm
Fruition
Fu Wan Chocolate
Georgia Ramon
Goodnow Farms Chocolate
Grenada Chocolate Company
Hasnaâ La Feverie
Heinde & Verre
Herencia Esmeraldas
Herufek
Höganäs
Hogarth
Ivee Promenade
Jordi’s Chocolate
Junglegold Bali
Kankel
Karuna
Krak Chocolade
Land
Latitude
LIM
Luisa Abram
Luisa’s Vegan Chocolates
Lumineux
Manoa
Manufaktura Czekolady
Marana
Marou
Maüa
Mellow
Menakao
Metiisto
MIA
Mike & Becky
Milz Chocolat
Minka
Mirzam
Misina Cokolada
MOKA
Mucho
Nadalina
Naive
NearyNogs
ÓBOLO
Ocelot
Oialla
Omnom
Original Beans
Palette de Bine
Parliament
Plaq
Pralus
PRIDI Cacaofevier
Puchero
Pump Street Chocolate
Pure Imagination
Qantu
Raaka
Raphio Chocolate
Reine Astrid
Ritual Chocolate
Rózsavölgyi Csokoládé
Ruket
Shattell
Sirene
Sisters A. Chocolate
Solomons Gold
Soma
Standout Chocolate
Storm & Bille
Stranger
Svenska Kakaobolaget
Table
Taza Chocolate
TBROS
The Careless Collection
Theobroma Cacao
Tibito
Tobago Cocoa
Tosier
Utopick
Vinte Vinte
Willie’s Cacao
Zotter
