Australia’s first 100 per cent Indigenous-owned chocolate company, Chocolate On Purpose, has been named as Champion in the Social Enterprise Business category at the 2025 Australian Women’s Small Business Champion Awards.

Chocolate On Purpose, founded by Wiradjuri woman Fiona Harrison, was recognised for transforming the artisan chocolate industry through ethical supply chains, Cultural leadership, and systemic change.

Fiona said the recognition validated that Indigenous women’s leadership matters in industries built on their knowledge.

“We’re not just making chocolate, we’re reclaiming economic sovereignty, empowering cacao farmers and creating pathways for Aboriginal women experiencing homelessness,” she said.

Fiona said the award also validates Chocolate On Purpose’s pioneering approach to blending premium, fair trade certified, palm oil-free artisan chocolate with Australian native botanicals sourced from Indigenous growers, honouring more than 65,000 years of Indigenous botanical wisdom while advancing economic sovereignty across global supply chains.

The company’s impact extends across three continents. Through fair trade, traceable sourcing practices, it protects Indigenous communities from displacement whilst preserving endangered habitats and supporting farmer prosperity.

Central to Chocolate On Purpose’s vision is the Ngunggilanha Project, which is funded by a NSW Government Aboriginal Economic Development Grant. This initiative helps create meaningful employment pathways for Aboriginal women aged 45-and-older, combining chocolate production with a native botanical sensory garden – a living classroom for Cultural knowledge transfer, horticulture skills, and economic empowerment.

Fiona said it also represented their commitment to addressing intergenerational trauma, economic marginalisation, and Cultural preservation simultaneously.

“Every employment opportunity we create is an act of self-determination and healing,” she said.

“We are chocolate for good.”

Looking forward, Fiona said by 2030 Chocolate On Purpose aims to generate $10 million in economic activity through networked Indigenous enterprises, mentor more than 50 Aboriginal women entrepreneurs, and establish Australia’s first Indigenous-led chocolate manufacturing facility, a beacon of self-determination and Cultural preservation.