XOCO

XOCO is a mother and son team brining contemporary Westcoast chocolate to Squamish and beyond. Kevin is a second generation  Squamish Chocolatier. Having trained under world renowned chefs both in Canada and internationally he has been able to pull influence from many different chefs bringing back to Squamish a style uniquely Westcoast. Heading a team of incredible individuals both in and out of the kitchen, Kevin believes in a workplace based on creativity and individuality. We want our chefs excited and happy to come to work, and believe that passion reflects in our chocolate. Annette has loved chocolate and Squamish forever, taking her first professional course almost 30 years ago. It inspired a desire to make beautiful, quality chocolates, not readily available at the time.  Annette  soon opened a home- based chocolate business in Squamish. It grew into the retail location we now inhabit. Annette continues to learn about, and love chocolate and Squamish every day. You can find XOCO chocolates in grocery stores up the sea to sky corridor – available in Squamish at Nesters, Green Olive  Market + Cafe, and Kitchen Quickies, and in Whistler at Nesters, Blackcomb Liquor Store, Olives Community Market and more!

Question: How are you supporting other local businesses?

Answer: A lot of our product we can’t get locally, but whenever we can we buy from other local businesses, especially those right in Squamish.  whenever we can. Squamish has a small concentration of businesses but they are all great business people and high quality products.

We buy a lot of the inclusions for our chocolates locally. We buy our tea from Lucas Teas in Squamish, and we use as much local fruit as we can when it’s in season. We buy fruit from the Squamish Farmer’s Market, and process it and freeze it to use throughout the year. We also use craft beer from Backcountry Brewing – we do a Christmas collection every year in partnership with them.

We purchase services from local businesses too. Our bookkeeper is in Squamish, and a friend in town manages our website. All our waste and recycling is done by Green For Life (GFL) Squamish. A lot of our advertising is local too – we run ads on Mountain FM, and also through The Squamish Chief.

Question: What social and environmental practices are you proud of?

Answer: We currently recycle and compost everything we can. Chocolate is a delicate and perishable product, so unfortunately that means packaging, but we’ve been working on reducing the amount and type we use. For example, when we wholesale to the Four Seasons Whistler, we send them product in bulk to reduce packaging. We’re also planning on bringing in reusable and biodegradable packaging next year. We’re working on a nice reusable box for our return customers, and researching marine biodegradable packaging. So that’s something we’ve been working on to reduce our impact.