Social Enterprises

Social enterprises are businesses that are changing the world for the better. Like traditional businesses they aim to make a profit but it’s what they do with their profits that sets them apart – reinvesting or donating them to create positive social change.

 


By selling goods and services, social enterprises create employment and reinvest their profits back into their business or the local community. This allows them to tackle social problems, improve people’s life chances, provide training and employment opportunities for those furthest from the market, support communities and help the environment.

Our aim is to create social change by training and employing people with learning difficulties and autism and hopefully improving their live chances.

Develop Skills In Our Café and Chocolate Factory

If you wish to spend some time learning the skills for work in our social enterprises talk to your social worker or one of our job coaches.

Contact us to find out more on 01423 447407 , email us at ourhive@hs4lc.org.uk or call into our café next to the Odeon.


The Harrogate Chocolate Factory (est 2019)

Why make chocolate?

Firstly, we did lots of research and noticed a growing interest in healthy and nutritious snacks that provide sustainable energy but with less sugar or unhealthy additives. Once we started to think about dark chocolate, we realised straight away that we were onto something - after all, what’s not to like; delicious chocolate to indulge in that’s healthy too!

Not only is it possible to make gorgeous, healthy and nutritious chocolate but the production process really suits the abilities of our students and has many transferrable skills.

We then saw an opportunity to create an exciting new brand in Harrogate – if you go to York for instance, they have chocolate literally flowing through their heritage – so why not Harrogate?

So, the Harrogate Chocolate Factory was born and here starts the story of chocolate in Harrogate.

If you are interested in finding out more about our ‘bean to bar’ process or how you could get involved then why not give us a call or visit our Harrogate Chocolate Factory website.


Harrogate Chocolate Factory
Close-up of a box of chocolates branded with Harrogate Chocolate Factory

The Harrogate Chocolate Factory Café

In July 2021 - after lots of delays - we opened the Harrogate Chocolate Factory Café.

Running our own café has been an HS4L aspiration for a long time but finally it’s happened! The double fronted two storey building attached to the Odeon Cinema on East Parade is a perfect site for us – being both close to our North Park road hub and the town centre.

Now, they say ‘the proof is in the pudding’ so the best way to find out more about the Harrogate Chocolate Factory Café is to come and sample our wares, meet some of our amazing students and staff then let us know what you think. Oh and of course you can buy our chocolate in the café should you wish. Hopefully see you soon.

Close-up of a student peeling a carrot in a kitchen