Audrey’s, the Sussex chocolatier founded in 1948, has closed a funding round of more than £0.5m and opened a new 7,500 sq ft production facility in Hove.

The business is known for handcrafted fondant creams and has supplied Fortnum & Mason since the 1960s. It still manufactures in Sussex.

Since Alice and Will Crone bought the company just over two years ago, own-brand revenue has grown 110% year on year and online revenue has increased tenfold. Audrey’s now produces almost 50 tonnes of finished chocolate a year and is stocked in around 250 shops across the UK, USA and Canada.

The new unit at Hove Technology Centre is 88% larger than the previous production site, adding capacity for chocolate production, packing and storage. Together with the original shop at 28 Holland Road, which has traded for over half a century, Audrey’s now operates across approximately 10,000 sq ft in Hove.

The £550,000 has been committed to capital expenditure and machinery, increasing capacity so the business can fulfil larger orders.

Alice Crone, co-owner, says: “Christmas and Easter are particularly busy times for Audrey’s, when demand can increase significantly, and the pressure on production is at its highest. Having a much larger space and greater production capacity means we can plan further ahead, manage those seasonal peaks more effectively and fulfil larger orders without compromising on quality.”

She adds: “We’re still very much a handmade chocolatier, but we now have the space and equipment to produce at greater scale.”

Will Crone, Co-Owner, says: “We want to make more of our chocolates, reach more people and grow beyond Sussex, but we’ll always be a chocolatier at heart, making little luxuries by hand from our home in Hove.”

Audrey’s products are now made exclusively with Valrhona couverture, using cocoa that is 100% traceable back to the farm.

With the new site in place, the company will focus on growing its wholesale and direct-to-consumer businesses in the UK and internationally.