2025, Wrapped With Purpose: A Founder Reflection

2025 asked a lot of all of us.

It was a year where the world felt louder, faster, and more certain than it had any right to be. A year where the internet tried to turn complex human lives into hot takes. A year where the algorithm rewarded outrage, and punished context and nuance.

And in the middle of that, I kept doing what I have always done at Chocolate On Purpose®.

I chose to be real: Real ingredients. Real people. Real story. Real accountability.

Not because it’s fashionable, but because it’s necessary.

QUICK TAKEAWAYS

• 2025 reminded me that truth-telling and quality are non-negotiable.
• We deepened our impact work through Ngunggilanha (reciprocity) on Gundungurra Country.
• In 2026, we’re staying anchored in Country, Culture, Community, and care.

WHAT 2025 LOOKED LIKE FROM WHERE I STAND

This year, I felt the weight and the privilege of building a business that sits at the intersection of commerce, Culture, and Community.

Chocolate On Purpose® is premium chocolate, yes. But it’s also a vehicle for something deeper. A way of honouring Country, supporting ethical supply chains, and creating pathways for Aboriginal empowerment and economic sovereignty.

I’m building a premium chocolate business - and doing it as a certified social enterprise, meaning the impact has to be real, measurable, and accountable.

And 2025 gave us some very real moments that reminded me why we do it this way.

Fair Trade Fortnight: ethical chocolate without the shortcuts

During Fair Trade Fortnight Australia 2025, we put a simple message front and centre: meaningful chocolate for good. Not as a slogan, but as a commitment. To the farmers who grow cacao, to ethical supply chains, and to not looking away when “cheap” is built on someone else’s cost. Learn more via Fairtrade ANZ.

NAIDOC Week: Cultural education, not marketing theatre

During NAIDOC Week 2025, we leaned into Cultural education and reciprocity. Instead of pushing sales, we shared a free Budyabudya (butterfly) Aboriginal iconography infographic - a resource designed for workplaces and families to learn with respect. Learn more about NAIDOC Week.

That choice mattered to me, because Cultural knowledge isn’t a marketing prop. It’s living, held, and shared with care.

Supply Nation Connect: capability + Cultural integrity in procurement rooms

And in August, we showed up at Supply Nation Connect 2025 with the same message we have been building all year: We’re not just a chocolate supplier. We’re a premium product, with vision and mission.

We’re also a partner for procurement teams who want authenticity, capability, and Cultural integrity. And we cemented relationships with some giants for 2025/2026.

Uncovered 2025/2026 + TK Maxx: seeing doors open (without losing ourselves)

And there were the moments that made me stop and smile, because I could see doors opening.

One was the excitement of being selected by the Sydney Opera House as part of their Uncovered 2025 collection.

Another was meeting the team at TK Maxx Australia at Supply Nation Connect, and feeling their genuine enthusiasm to have my chocolate in-store.

Capability and Culture can sit side by side.

And it felt surreal to visit a local TK Maxx store and see my brand beside two other Indigenous sisters leading wonderful brands: Kylie of Kakadu Organics, and Megan and Nadine of Binjang Tea. Marambangbilang (super deadly)!

But the biggest work of 2025 wasn’t a single campaign. It was the foundation.

THE WORK BEHIND THE WORK (NGUNGGILANHA CHOCOLATE NEXUS + BUILDING FOR IMPACT)

Early in 2025, we moved from “vision” into “build” on Ngunggilanha. The Cultural Sensory Garden and Chocolate Nexus work is about so much more than a facility upgrade.

This is the kind of work that doesn’t always show up in a glossy highlight reel, but it changes what’s possible.

Building on Gundungurra Country with integrity

• Retrofitting our chocolate-making space, so we can grow with integrity
• Purchasing capacity-building equipment so quality stays consistent as demand grows
• Creating an accessible native sensory garden designed for inclusivity, Cultural knowledge transfer, and training
• Investing in mentoring, coaching, and capability guidance so governance and project delivery are strong (because impact needs infrastructure)

Who benefits: employment, growers, youth pathways

And at the heart of it all is the “who benefits” question - the one we refuse to treat as a footnote.

This work is designed to create pathways for:

• Aboriginal women aged 45+ (women’s business, meaningful employment, training, and Cultural empowerment)
• Aboriginal native botanical growers (reliable procurement and stronger representation in the bushfoods and botanicals supply chain)
• Aboriginal youth (training opportunities connected to landscaping, horticulture, and sustainable land management through Indigigrow)

If you’d like to explore our Indigenous Chocolate Tasting Guided Visualisation workshop, you can explore the workshop here.

If you’d like to learn more about Ngunggilanha (our Cultural Chocolate Nexus) and the deeper “why” behind the work, you can visit Meet Us.

A GENTLE LEARNING I’M TAKING FROM 2025

One thing this year reinforced for me is how much it matters to build with generosity, especially when you’re part of a smaller playing group in a much bigger system.

When the broader landscape isn’t equitable, the way we speak about each other, support each other, and hold standards... matters even more.

I’m taking that into 2026 as a reminder to stay close to facts, lead with care, and choose the kind of Community that makes room for people to grow.

WHY BUSHFOODS ARE WOMEN’S BUSINESS (AND WHY THAT MATTERS IN CHOCOLATE)

One of the clearest threads through 2025 has been continuing to name what many people still don’t understand.

Native botanicals aren’t a trend ingredient. They’re part of ancient plant-knowledge systems - held, protected, and shared through storytelling and practice.

And yet, Indigenous representation in the bushfoods and botanicals industry is still painfully low (around 1%). That reality is exactly why we keep prioritising provenance, ethical procurement, and Cultural respect.

It’s also why we keep advocating for greater investment in Indigenous women’s leadership in this space.

If you’d like to learn more about Indigenous botanical growers and bushfoods, you might like to explore Indigigrow.

WHAT I’M MOST PROUD OF

I’m proud that we kept our integrity.

I’m proud that we kept telling the story properly. Not the simplified version.

I’m proud that we chose to champion others, without slipping into ‘why not me’ thinking. When that mindset takes hold close to home, it doesn’t just pull individuals down. It pulls whole Communities down.

I’m proud that we kept showing up with warmth and professionalism in rooms where Aboriginal businesses are still too often treated as symbolic rather than serious.

And I’m proud that we kept creating chocolate that tastes extraordinary, because quality is part of respect.

WHAT I LEARNED (AGAIN) IN 2025

2025 reminded me that:

• Truth-telling is not a marketing strategy. It’s a responsibility.
• Community is not a brand aesthetic. It’s a practice.
• Impact without accountability is just a story. Accountability is what makes it real.
• Joy matters. Delight matters. Chocolate can be a doorway into deeper conversations. It can also just be a moment of relief.

A THANK YOU, FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART

If you bought our chocolate, booked a workshop, shared a post, recommended us to procurement, downloaded a resource, or simply spoke our name in a room where it mattered, thank you.

You didn’t just buy chocolate. You chose quality over compromise. You chose collaboration over mass production. You chose meaning. And you helped keep this work alive.

As we close the year, I’m holding one thought close.

Everything we build in 2026 needs to stay anchored in what’s real: Country. Culture. Community. Care.

That’s what 2025 was for us: Not louder, not faster. Just deeper, steadier, and more real.

If you’re planning 2026 gifting, you can browse our shop gifts.

Mandaang guwu (thank you).

With care and connection,

Fiona Harrison