The NZ Vegan Chocolate Awards
Celebrating the many different vegan chocolates available in New Zealand
Welcome to NZ’s Vegan Chocolate Awards - 2025
The Vegan Society of Aotearoa New Zealand is proud to present our Vegan Chocolate Awards 2025!
With so many new and outstanding vegan chocolate offerings available, vegans certainly don’t have to miss out on their chocolate hit! We thought it was about time we discovered some of NZ’s best and have found some dedicated judges to help us choose!Calling all Vegan Chocolate Artisans!
Vegan Chocolate Awards 2025 – Monday April 28th
Since the Vegan Society held its first Annual Vegan Chocolate Awards in 2022 we have seen a rise of delicious and innovative vegan chocolate available in New Zealand!
The plant based chocolate scene has evolved from plain, dark chocolate to anything you can imagine! Our award categories this year include milk choc (plant milk), flavoured, truffle-filled, caramel, bark, dipped fruits and drinking chocolate, along with smooth and decadent dark chocolate made by connoisseurs of cacoa beans.
Our awards are open to overseas and New Zealand companies (as long as product is commercially available in New Zealand).
Categories
- Dark Chocolate bars
- White or Milk Chocolate bars (plant milk only)
- Chocolate Bars; flavoured
- Chocolate Bars; inclusions
- Bon Bons and Truffles; plain, unflavoured
- Bon Bons and Truffles; flavoured
- Caramels
- Bean to Bar; single origin
- Bean to Bar; flavoured
- Drinking Chocolate
- Bark/Brittle Chocolate
- Dipped Fruit
The Vegan trademark accepts chocolate that is processed on a factory line shared with dairy chocolate, in compliance with Good Manufacturing Practices. All chocolate entered in our awards must be commercially available.
Important Dates
Awards Judging Monday April 28th at Khu Khu Eatery
Entry delivery all entries must be delivered between 14th and 27th April to the following:
Cocoa Wilds Chocolate
12 O’Connell Street,
Auckland Central 1010
Meet the judges 2025
Helping you know the best vegan chocolate in Aotearoa.
Floris Niu is a fourth generation Samoan Cacao farmer, processor and Chocolate-maker. She’s the founder of Ms Sunshine Organic Farms which operates Cacao Agritourism experiences on Upolu island. She is co-creator of the “Koko Beans” brand of vegan chocolate snacks and the recent “Pacific Cacao and Chocolate 2022” show.
Floris is also an international cacao consultant working on various projects to support cacao communities in Samoa and the Solomon Islands. Floris loves to create new and exciting ways to consume pure cacao in savoury and sweet recipes, and shares her knowledge with women growers in the Pacific. Her passion is working to increase consumer awareness and education specifically on Pacific Island Cacao beans, promoting ethical and traditional (organic) farming practices.
Multi-award-winning executive chef & trainer, TV personality, creative head and chef of the new series “Ignite the Chef in You” and President of the NZ Chef Association Auckland, Chef Jazz is an external verifier for City and Guilds, UK. She has been judging in New Zealand’s Regional and National culinary salon competitions for the past nine years and is deputy chief judge for the Hospitality Championships. She has worked in top hotels and restaurants in five countries – USA, UK, India, New Zealand and Spain.
Tracy Berno is a Professor in Food Studies at AUT. She has worked in food for over 30 years in roles ranging from academic to presenting cooking classes and demonstrations to catering. Tracy has a particular interest in the foods of the South Pacific and sustainably produced food products (including chocolate). She is an experienced panel judge and has judged for many competitions and food awards starting in the early 2000s. Tracy was recently named as one of the 50 most influential and inspiring women in food and drink in New Zealand.
With a rich background in Europe and the UK’s finest patisseries and chocolatiers, Thomas is on a mission to redefine the essence of chocolate. His journey from prestigious Michelin-starred kitchens to launching Ao Cacao reflects his passion for ethically and sustainably grown cacao, combined with unique Pacific and Aotearoa flavours for an unparalleled bean-to-bar experience.
Rooted in his Whakapapa – Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Whātua, Te Whakatōhea, Jewish, and English – Thomas is pioneering a new era for indigenous chocolatiers, emphasising people-first values and indigenous excellence. Through Ao Cacao, he champions equity in the chocolate industry, working closely with Pacific cacao farmers to ensure luxury meets sustainability. Last year, he was the only indigenous chocolatier at Salon du Chocolat in Paris, a prestigious exhibition for chocolate makers in France.
Byron McLean is the founder and chocolatier of Cocoa Wilds—a new and viral chocolate boutique located on O’Connell Street in central Auckland.
Leaving his corporate career in 2022, Byron poured his passion for people and learning into a whirlwind journey of growth, traveling, and taste-testing more than 300 types of chocolate worldwide.
Today, Cocoa Wilds specializes in exquisite, handcrafted chocolates and showcasing New Zealand made bean to bar chocolate, with plenty of vegan friendly options.
Byron’s dedication to craftsmanship and innovation, along with his viral toasted fluff hot chocolate has quickly put Cocoa Wilds on the map as one of Auckland’s most exciting new chocolate destinations.
Awards 2024
