About us & Team

Passionate about chocolate

Making people happy with good and honest chocolate, that’s what we want. Eating good chocolate is an exquisite experience! We deliberately choose for small and unique chocolate makers from the United States, Europe and Asia. They buy directly from cocoa farmers, pay premium prices, and work with great vision and attention to create beautiful chocolate. We like to keep the chains as transparent and short as possible.

We do not sell the type of chocolate that you would find in the supermarket. By distributing specialty chocolate, we support the chocolate maker and the cocoa farmers too. Did you know that cocoa could contain 800 different flavor aromas? Every chocolate has its own specific character. Proving your customers with an unforgettable chocolate experience would make us happy.

Perhaps it is because we have not been working in the chocolate business for so long (since 2014) that we work so passionately, accurately and in a personal way. In our team everyone brings his or her own expertise to the table. Organizing chocolate events, selling chocolate, writing articles, organizing tastings or master classes, judging at chocolate awards and much, much more. Our broad work and expertise leads to us always being on top of the latest trends. That is why we also know what your customers need, and how you can have a competitive advantage with the specialty chocolate that not many others sell.

Our chocolate can be found mainly in specialty shops, coffee bars, tea shops, web shops and organic retail or wholesale companies around the world.

We are proud to be the exclusive distributor of To’ak, Taza, Raaka, Zotter and Dick Taylor to name a few. In addition to bars we also sell delicious drinking chocolate (hot and cold) and couverture. Couverture is especially made for chocolatiers, pastry chefs and chefs for baking or cooking.

The craftchocolate.shop Team

Dennis van Essen
Founder & owner

Dennis is the founder of the High Five Company. During a tour in the United States, he tasted his first piece of Taza Stone Ground Chocolate and was sold immediately. That experience was the start of the High Five adventure. Dennis has a lot of experience in working with retail. In his scarce free time he likes to cross trough the United States together with travel buddy and partner Bertine.

Luke Owen Smith
Marketing & Content Manager

Luke is a writer, photographer and chocolate lover, based in Wellington, New Zealand. Luke made the switch from craft beer to craft chocolate after falling in love with Wellington Chocolate Factory’s Peru 70% bar, back in 2013. A couple of years after this he founded his own craft chocolate retail business, which he sold in March 2022. Luke is a regular judge at the New Zealand Chocolate Awards and he writes about chocolate for a variety of media outlets. When he’s not indulging in chocolate and a decent cup of tea, you’ll find him walking in the hills around Wellington or curled up with a good novel.

Sandra Hoefakker
Shipping

Sandra makes sure orders are securely picked, shipped and invoiced.

Bertine Manten
Back office & Support

As a flight attendant with KLM airlines, Bertine sees the entire world. Because of that, she spots the latest chocolate trends in other countries. The long flights are also an excellent opportunity to get KLM’s colleagues hooked on specialty chocolate. Bertine takes care of the backoffice for The High Five Company.

Elaine van Essen
Support

The High Five Company not only feels like a family business, it is one as well! Elaine is the daughter of Dennis and she likes to make sure everything runs smoothly in the company. That is why she helps in the administration and you will find her occasionally at chocolate fairs where she shares her knowledge about good chocolate. Especially about Taza – her favourite.