Indigenous-owned chocolate company, Chocolate On Purpose, has received the Social Enterprise Business award at the 2025 Australian Women's Small Business Champion Awards – validating the company’s pioneering approach to blending premium chocolate with native botanicals sourced from Indigenous growers.
Founded by Wiradjuri woman Fiona Harrison in 2012, Chocolate On Purpose was recognised this year for transforming the artisan chocolate industry through ethical supply chains, cultural leadership, and systemic change.
“This recognition validates that Indigenous women's leadership matters in industries built on our knowledge,” said Harrison.
“We're not just making chocolate, we're reclaiming economic sovereignty, empowering cacao farmers, and creating pathways for Aboriginal women aged 45+, the fastest-growing demographic of all Australian women experiencing homelessness.”
The company has previously won Indigenous Business of the Year at the inaugural Australian Rural Business Awards, nominated in the 2023 Naturally Good Awards, and received the Business Pivot Award at the 2023 AusMumpreneur Awards.
Chocolate On Purpose blends fair trade certified, palm oil-free artisan chocolate with Australian native botanicals, honouring 65,000 years of Indigenous botanical wisdom across global supply chains.
Despite the $300 million native botanical industry being built on Indigenous intellectual and cultural property, Indigenous leadership represents less than 2 per cent of the sector. Chocolate On Purpose challenges this inequity, building an ethical supply chain that prioritises Indigenous growers and producers.
The company's impact extends across three continents, supporting 37,146 Indigenous women farmers in Africa and Ecuador. Through fair trade, traceable sourcing practices, Chocolate On Purpose aims to protect Indigenous communities from displacement whilst preserving endangered habitats.
Central to Chocolate On Purpose's vision is the Ngunggilanha (Reciprocity) Project, funded by a New South Wales government Aboriginal Economic Development Grant. This initiative creates meaningful employment pathways for Aboriginal women aged over 45.
“The Ngunggilanha Project represents our commitment to addressing intergenerational trauma, economic marginalisation, and cultural preservation simultaneously,” said Harrison.
“Every employment opportunity we create is an act of self-determination and healing. We are Chocolate For Good.”
