Queen of England Awards Vegan Chocolate Company

Moo Free, United Kingdom-based makers of vegan milk chocolate, has won a prestigious award in recognition of its booming business and exporting ability. The Reading, England, company won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise for the tripling of its exports and for the strategic expansion of its business, allowing it to make 200 tons of vegan chocolate annually and reach sales of more than $2 million last year—40 percent of which came from its exports to more than 30 countries (China and the US being top markets). “As one of the world leaders in its field,” Devon County council cabinet member Andrew Leadbetter said, “it is exactly the sort of company that we want to attract to Devon.” One recipient of the award is chosen by the Queen and Prime Minister each year on her birthday, and Moo Free’s “substantial and sustained increase in export earnings over three consecutive 12-month periods” to an “outstanding level” won the recognition for 2016. The company’s line of popular chocolates include organic, rice milk-based confections in flavors such as orange, mint, banana chip, honeycomb toffee, and caramelized hazelnut.