Hotel Chocolat is expanding its seasonal offering with a limited-edition range of festive drinks, as the chocolatier looks to capitalise on demand for premium indulgences during the Christmas trading period.

The range builds on the brand’s positioning around chocolate-led experiences, extending its offer beyond boxed chocolates and gifting into seasonal drinks designed to attract shoppers to its cafes and retail stores.

The Lebkuchen drinking chocolate takes inspiration from the traditional German Christmas market bake, combining warming cinnamon and ginger with Hotel Chocolat’s caramel-milk chocolate. Developed by the retailer’s in-house chocolatiers, the flavour aims to recreate the familiar spiced notes of the festive treat in a hot chocolate format.

The flavour is also being used in a limited-edition Lebkuchen Supernova Selector. The box contains six pecan praline chocolates flavoured with ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and molasses, extending the seasonal concept into the retailer’s confectionery range.

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Joining the new launch is the return of Peppermint White drinking chocolate, which first appeared in 2022 and is now returning for its fifth Christmas. The drink combines Tasmanian peppermint with 36 per cent white chocolate, offering an alternative to more traditional milk chocolate flavours.

Both drinks are available across Hotel Chocolat’s at-home drinking chocolate range and in its cafes, giving customers the option to enjoy them in store or prepare them at home.

In September, Hotel Chocolat teamed up with Deliveroo to offer on-demand delivery of gifts, and for consumers wanting to treat themselves.

In an exclusive interview with Retail Gazette, Jonny Henshaw, head of sales at Hotel Chocolat, explained that its Deliveroo partnership and work with Tesco enables it to put its products in front of more shoppers, while providing a “richness of data” that helps it understand the gifting journey.