Things have moved pretty fast. M&S reached out to me - at first I was worried I’d be brushed off with legals and I was nervous of what I had started had I really done this? but I didn’t need to worry, I had a call with directors and they were very respectful of Choc on Choc’s product and my position as a small business.

WAIT FOR IT… drum roll….

We have agreed Choc on Choc yes little old us will be stocked in M&S as soon as Mother’s Day and Easter, because “innovations like yours should be rewarded.”

The current stock of matches shouldn’t go to landfill so we have agreed these will stay on shelf and then ours will also be launched as a limited edition of our perfect match!!!!

AND even more…

They have committed to my request to accepting more ideas from small businesses through their Small Supplier Programme. Imagine that…given an opportunity to pitch to buyers to be developed. This is A HUGE HUGE step for all of us, as an iconic British retailer commits to supporting  small business.

I’m almost bursting with pride we got to this stage, that they were willing to listen and as they clearly said “do the right thing.” 
Can’t wait to keep you all updated .
Thank you again

The concession comes after chocolate maker Choc on Choc took to social media over the weekend to accuse the retail giant of making a “strikingly similar” box of chocolate matchsticks. M&S launched its Perfect Match box of chocolate matchsticks – with blonde chocolate matchsticks stamped with the product's name – ahead of Valentine’s Day. However, Choc on Choc says the product bears a striking resemblance to its own Perfect match item, which the brand has produced since 2015. Flo Broughton, founder of the Bath chocolatier, said she was "frustrated" when she saw the M&S product.

“My initial reaction was just frustration because we're so small", she said."It's happened to us before. But this time, for some reason, it was much more galling. It really hit the pit of my stomach this time. And I just felt it wasn't right."Ms Broughton said one of her customers first spotted the chocolates in M&S earlier this month and alerted them to the product. She said she received thousands of messages of support from customers and other small companies after calling out the retailer on social media. The posts sparked the attention of M&S, who, after consultation over the weekend with Choc on Choc, has now committed to sell the Bath-based company’s chocolate matchsticks.

Every romantic knows it’s never acceptable to imitate someone else’s big gesture of love on Valentine’s Day. But Marks & Spencer has been accused of doing just that by a family-run chocolatier that claimed the supermarket copied its Perfect Match Valentine’s gift.

M&S has now offered to sell the Bath-based company Choc on Choc’s chocolate matchstick product after a weekend of outrage on social media.It was a customer who spotted the striking similarity between M&S’s box of £3 chocolate matchsticks and the company’s £8 Perfect Match Chocolate Gift Box, which Choc on Choc has been making and selling since 2015. Flo Broughton, who started the artisan chocolate business with her father, Kerr Dunlop, around the family kitchen table in 2003, said she was shocked.

Full story will open thetimes.co.uk 

Marks & Spencer has agreed to stock handmade chocolate from a small family-run business based in Somerset after its owners accused the retailer of copying one of its products.In a post to Instagram this week, Flo Broughton, a co-founder of Choc and Choc, said she was “absolutely fuming” after seeing the supermarket’s chocolate range for Valentine’s Day.Choc on Choc has been selling “Perfect Match” chocolates as part of its Valentine’s collection since 2015. The gift is comprised of a matchbox filled with two “giant matchsticks” made of white Belgian chocolate.

Marks & Spencer has agreed to stock handmade chocolate from a small family-run business based in Somerset after its owners accused the retailer of copying one of its products.In a post to Instagram this week, Flo Broughton, a co-founder of Choc and Choc, said she was “absolutely fuming” after seeing the supermarket’s chocolate range for Valentine’s Day.Choc on Choc has been selling “Perfect Match” chocolates as part of its Valentine’s collection since 2015. The gift is comprised of a matchbox filled with two “giant matchsticks” made of white Belgian chocolate.

Broughton spotted a “similar design” in Marks & Spencer this weekend, named “You’re My Perfect Match”.“These matches look very similar to matches I make,” she said, adding that people who visit the supermarket may believe she copied its product. “I love that I am an inspiration to these people, but it’s really frustrating when you’re a small business like I am, and you spend all your time and money building your brand and then these big people come along and steal your ideas,” she said.Broughton also posted side-by-side comparisons of both chocolate offerings. Describing Marks & Spencer’s product as “the perfect copy”, she called on social media users to share the post.“Anyone else who has ever had their work copied, get on board. I want to make a proper stand on this. Share this post and raise awareness for us so these big brands can’t get away with copying,” she wrote.

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