Maker Spotlight: Spring & Mulberry

SW: Who is S&M and how did you get started?:

SM: Spring & Mulberry is exploring a world of sweet beyond sugar, starting with date-sweetened chocolate. Our bars check all the boxes with no added sugar, organic ingredients, and direct-trade cacao. We were inspired to start the brand after a cancer diagnosis led our co-founder, Kathryn, to quit refined sugar and explore the healing power of food. 

SW: What’s the chocolate making process like? 

SM: The process involves two steps. First, we make our chocolate from scratch (aka bean-to-bar) using just two ingredients: dates and cacao. Then, we turn that chocolate into the final product. That involves tempering the chocolate to make it velvety smooth, sprinkling each bar with hand-topped ingredients, and then packaging the bars in our boxes (which are inspired by the setting sun). 


SW: How did you come up with your date-sweetened chocs? What was the inspo?

SM: It was really inspired by a personal experience of one of our founders, Kathryn. "A trip to Dubai on the way to visit my husband's family in India awakened me to the pleasure and beauty of dates, no longer relegated to the poorly lit bulk bins of American grocery stores. Fast-forward a few years and was I diagnosed with cancer in my early 30s, leading me to quit refined sugar and explore sweetness found in antioxidant packed ingredients."

SW: Why did you choose Spicewalla to source your ingredients? How’d you hear about us?

SM: We source our Urfa Chilli and Himalayan Salt from Spicewalla, among other spices. We chose Spicewalla because of their chef and flavor driven mindset, commitment to quality sourcing, and shared love of North Carolina, where we're both headquartered.

SW: Where can folks purchase your product?

SM: You can find us online at springandmulberry.com and in over 500 specialty boutiques across the country, including Spicewalla's shops in Asheville and Charleston!

SW: What do you think sets your chocolate apart from others? 

SM: Certainly sweetening with dates vs. sugar sets us apart in the chocolate category. But, we feel our defining quality is in inviting you to explore a world of sweet beyond sugar. Jammy dates. Fruits, floral pollens. Tangy spices. Rich cacaos. What's interesting is showcasing the depth of sweet and spectrum of flavor found in fantastic-for-you ingredients.

SW: What’s your favorite thing about your products in general?

SM: The taste! It's absolutely delectable. We're proud to make a 'health' food that actually tastes better than the real deal. So often health foods don't taste as good as their unhealthy counterpart and we feel that food should be taste good and be good for you. Who wants that trade off?

SW: What are you excited about in the food world right now? What inspires you?

SM: So many things!  We're thrilled to see consumers going directly to ingredient lists, no longer relying on claims and marketing jargon that hide a wild number of ingredients. We're excited to see South Asian chefs and food start-ups get recognition for the stunning flavor & comforting pleasure that is South Asian cuisine.