When Campbeltown chocolatier Fiona McArthur started to make vegan delights from her friend’s kitchen in 2020 she dreamed of one day seeing them in the world famous Oscars goody bag.
Last year, Fiona finally got to celebrate the sweet taste of success after she was approached by organisers to create an exclusive box of her Fetcha chocolates for the $125,000 gift bags.
Salt and pepper, chili and popping candy truffle might seem like odd combinations for luxury chocolates, but for Fiona they were the flavours behind her most famous creations.
The first was designed in honour of Bradley Cooper’s Maestro movie, while epic Oppenheimer was the inspiration behind her explosive chili and popping candy – both of which have gone on to become some of her most popular flavours.
After the glittering success, sales on the Fetcha website shot up by 400% and Fiona’s gluten, soy and dairy free chocolates have been well and truly put on the map.
‘Being featured in the Oscar nominees gift bag was an amazing experience, it had been a goal of mine since I very first designed the packaging for Fetcha so I still can’t believe it actually happened,’ Fiona said.
‘It made a huge difference to the business, sales on the website were up 400% for 2024 and our Campbeltown shop was 100% busier.
‘It definitely helped to put us on the map both locally and internationally.
Fiona McArthur. Credit: Fetcha Chocolates
‘I was really worried about opening a shop in Campbeltown but it has been so well received by locals and tourists alike so it has definitely been worth it.
‘After a busy year I was able to secure some funding from Highland and Islands Enterprise for a new machine which helps immensely by keeping the chocolate ready to go and allows me to work in much larger quantities than before.
‘My aim for this year is to hire more staff and get another machine to help spread the load…after all, it’s only nine months until Christmas.’
Fiona’s love of chocolate goes back to childhood where she spent much time in the kitchen helping her mum make cakes for the tearoom she owned.
It was only when working in her friend’s sweet shop that Fiona, a vegan herself, realised no one was making free-from chocolates in the area and decided to give it a go.
‘I have a massive sweet tooth so I’ve always loved chocolate and desserts, I even had a business making birthday and wedding cakes before Fetcha,’ she said.
‘I think it all started from helping my mum make cakes for the tearoom she had when I was growing up. She is an excellent, award-winning, baker and cook and with such a well-trained palate, she is now my chief taste tester at Fetcha HQ.
‘I was working in my friend’s sweet shop in Lochgilphead, The Sweetie Jar Argyll, when several people asked about specialty chocolates – specifically, dairy and gluten free chocolates.
‘I found myself drawn to a vegan diet for the health benefits three years before I started Fetcha, so when I started looking into making chocolate it only seemed natural that I’d make them dairy and egg free.
‘I realised no-one was making these yet so I thought I’d give it a try and the rest is history.
‘I chose to go for Fetcha since it sounds meso-american and I liked that little nod to the origins of chocolate itself, which is also represented by the Mayan-inspired pyramid logo.
‘The name Fetcha is an acronym of all the things I wanted for the business: Free-from (dairy, gluten and soy), Ethical (all my products are Fairtrade and vegan), Tasty (I wanted the flavours to stand out so I make a point to make them as flavourful as possible), Chocolate (the cornerstone of the business), Handmade (all my chocolates are made by hand in my small factory in Campbeltown), Art (my aim was to make both the chocolates and the packaging look elegant and luxurious).’
She now has 24 different flavours, giving Fetcha the largest variety of vegan chocolates in the whole of the UK.
Inspired by Argyll, she has made chocolates featuring local whisky and Kintyre Gin, and this year hopes to experiment with foraged ingredients like gorse flowers, nettles, and samphire.
‘I like to listen to what my customers are looking for and a popular request last year was for fruity flavours, so we have recently launched strawberry cream, lemon cheesecake and raspberry caramel flavours which are available in store and online,’ Fiona said,
‘The chocolates I designed for the Oscar nominees box (the Awards Collection) are some of my most unusual, and most popular, flavours yet.
‘My favourite is the salt and pepper chocolate I designed in honour of the Maestro movie, although the stand out of 2024 has been the Oppenheimer explosion-inspired chili and popping candy truffle.
‘This year I really want to experiment with some fresh, Scottish flavours, I’m thinking of using foraged ingredients like gorse flowers, nettles, and maybe even samphire.’
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