Ethical chocolate brand Hey Tiger roars back to life under new ownership

Ethical chocolate maker Hey Tiger is making a comeback, with the brand and some of its stockists sharing the news of its comeback with excited fans on social media on Thursday some 12 months after the brand closed. 

Founded by Envato co-founder Cyan Ta’eed in 2018, Hey Tiger quickly attracted a loyal following for its innovative flavours and striking packaging, and its mission to highlight and address inequalities in the chocolate industry.

Ta’eed announced the closure of Hey Tiger in May 2021, citing challenges in balancing scale and profitability with social impact. 

New owners, the Soulfresh group, re-launched the brand on Thursday, sharing the news with the 36,000 Instagram users who had continued to follow the brand despite no content being posted for 12 months. 

 

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A post shared by Do-Good Chocolate (@heytigerco)

According to the Instagram posts, Hey Tiger chocolate is now available from independent supermarkets across the country.

Other stockists, like Melbourne retailer Pinky’s also shared the news on Instagram, letting its customers know they will soon be able to purchase Hey Tiger products again. 

 

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A post shared by Pinky’s (@pinkys_store_melbourne)

Soulfresh is a food and beverage company focused on creating healthy and “better-for-you” products, and its stable of brands includes Nutty Bruce plant milk, Pico Fairtrade Chocolate and Lo Bros Living Drinks. 

“Soulfresh is more of a movement than a company,” according to details on the Hey Tiger website. “They are free-thinkers who love innovation and looking for better solutions for the planet.”

The words “We are back baby” are now splashed across the front page of the same website, followed by a blurb that states “it’s time for a new adventure”. 

“Hey Tiger is back and ready to roar.”

Under its new owners, Hey Tiger describes itself as a “premium Australian do-good chocolate brand on a very important mission”. 

That mission is to bring about change in the cocoa industry in partnership with The Hunger Project, “one delicious block at a time”. 

The brand is committed to sourcing the cocoa it uses ethically and 2% of each block of Hey Tiger chocolate sold is donated to The Hunger Project, a charity that focuses on women’s empowerment, entrepreneurship and social development. 

Before its closure in May 2021, Hey Tiger had sold around 700,000 bars of its chocolate in Australia and beyond, and donated $400,000 to The Hunger Project and its support for cocoa farming communities in Ghana. 

Some changes have been made to the packaging for a number of the brand’s chocolate bars, including a different colour on the ‘Glitter Kitten’ box and some of the inclusions previously listed on the back of the bars and are now included in the bar description itself. 

SmartCompany has contacted Hey Tiger and Soulfresh for comment.