Louis Barnett

Having been diagnosed with Dyslexia, Dyspraxia and several neurodiverse conditions, at the young age of 11, Louis left primary school to become home educated by parents and a dedicated home tutor.

Swiftly, Louis found where his passion lay, creating celebratory cakes and patisserie for relatives and friends, and within a short period, supplying local restaurants and cafes who relished his delicious homemade delights.

Upon studying the history and intricacies of chocolate, Louis embarked on a career which has continued as a life long passion.

A generous loan from his grandparents enabled Louis to buy his first chocolate machine. By 2004, aged twelve, much to the delight of worldwide media, Louis had successfully launched his first company, Chokolit (a nod to his dyslexia; on his twenty-first birthday he renamed the company Louis Barnett's Chocolates).

His revolutionary product was an edible dark chocolate box filled with beautiful hand made chocolates. Soon after it's creation, Waitrose requested a batch to supply six of their stores, propelling Louis career, ensuring he was the high-end retailer's youngest-ever supplier at the age of thirteen. This sudden expansion in orders forced Louis and Chokolit to transform Louis kitchen hobby to a nationally recognised confectionery business in just six months.

After his successful supply to Waitrose, Louis signed contracts and agreed to work alongside leading retailers including Selfridges and Sainsburys, all achieved before the age of 16.

With orders being received quick and fast, Louis opened a production factory, working with agents and distributors worldwide, resulting in Chokolit distribution to over 17 countries globally.

The growth of Chokolit centred around several goals. Louis, realising that he wanted to develop his brand to ensure that it excelled in as many ways possible, focused on critical areas of his passion.

- To create imaginative products using the skills and training he had developed (involving chocolate handbags, chocolate champagne flutes, even chocolate furniture). Using his passion for the experimental, Louis decided to elaborate on recipes with unusual, exotic ingredients.

Finally and most importantly for Louis, he cemented and maintained 'Chokolits' ethical credentials, making a conscious decision to avoid palm oil, use all-natural ingredients and have the least impact to the environment as possible. This decision resulted in Chokolit becoming Britain's first company to label 'No Palm Oil' in Chokolits range of confectionery, with Louis endeavouring to educate and raise awareness of the global impact of such ingredients in products.

THE END OF CHOKOLIT…
In 2015, Louis had a well established, global chocolate manufacturing business. Although Louis passion still lay within the industry, he realised that his new enthusiasm was within business development in helping others to build businesses, which is where he began to focus his attention.

Using a lifetime of experience and in-depth knowledge, Louis has mentored in over 30 industries, working alongside leading national and international corporations, consulting for world governments, including the UK and Malaysia.

With Louis' keen interest in conservation and environmental impact, as well as background work with charities and educational organisations, Louis has successfully worked with a wide range of NGOs across a variety of different topics and issues, including sustainability and environmental impact.

He mainly focuses on encouraging innovative cultures that stimulate entrepreneurial ways of thinking, challenging typical models and highlighting a need to find effective ways to communicate with customers that enable greater transparency, trust and credibility.