Luxury chocolatier Vosges Haut-Chocolat has unveiled its much-anticipated Flora Collection, blending the sensory worlds of chocolate and botanicals into a captivating tasting experience. This innovative collection features five artisanal chocolate bars and three truffle varieties, each showcasing unique floral and botanical ingredients sourced from diverse regions across the globe. Launching April 1, 2023, the collection represents founder Katrina Markoff’s vision of chocolate as a medium for storytelling and sensory exploration. “The Flora Collection is a celebration of nature’s most fragrant gifts—a way to experience the essence of gardens and meadows through the perfect vehicle of chocolate,” explains Markoff, whose approach to chocolate-making has consistently pushed creative boundaries.
Blooming Flavors: The Flora Collection Taste Experience
The Flora Collection’s chocolate bars take taste buds on a global botanical journey through carefully crafted flavor combinations. The Lavender & Violet Dark Chocolate Bar combines French lavender and crystallized violet petals with 70% dark chocolate, creating a delicate balance between floral aromatics and rich cocoa notes. Jasmine & Honey Milk Chocolate pairs Egyptian jasmine blossoms with wildflower honey in a 45% milk chocolate base, offering a subtly sweet profile with lingering floral undertones.
The Rose & Pistachio White Chocolate Bar incorporates Damascus rose petals and roasted pistachios into creamy white chocolate, creating a Middle Eastern-inspired flavor profile with gentle floral notes and nutty texture. The Hibiscus & Coconut Dark Chocolate features Caribbean hibiscus and toasted coconut flakes in 64% dark chocolate, delivering a tropical taste experience with bright, tangy hibiscus notes complemented by coconut’s natural sweetness. Finally, the Orange Blossom & Cardamom Milk Chocolate blends Moroccan orange blossom water with freshly ground cardamom in 45% milk chocolate for a warmly spiced, citrus-forward experience.
Vosges has also created three distinctive truffle flavors that showcase their mastery of chocolate craftsmanship techniques and floral infusions. The Elderflower & Champagne truffle features white chocolate ganache infused with St. Germain elderflower liqueur and champagne, enrobed in white chocolate with dried elderflower petals. The Wild Violet & Blueberry truffle combines violet-infused dark chocolate ganache with wild blueberry preserves in a 64% dark chocolate shell dusted with crystallized violet. The Sakura Cherry Blossom truffle presents a Japanese-inspired flavor with cherry blossom-infused milk chocolate ganache and tart cherry pieces in a pale pink chocolate coating.
Sourcing Nature’s Finest: From Flower to Chocolate
Vosges maintains rigorous standards in sourcing their floral and botanical ingredients, working directly with specialized botanical suppliers and small-scale farmers. Their procurement team selects only organic or wild-harvested flowers and botanicals, ensuring maximum flavor intensity and purity. For the Flora Collection, this means Egyptian jasmine sourced from the Nile Delta region, Damascus roses from traditional Turkish rose farms, and wild violet petals hand-gathered in small batches from the French Alps.
The incorporation of these delicate ingredients requires precision and expertise. Rather than using artificial flavorings, Vosges employs various natural infusion methods including essential oil extraction, flower-infused honey, and dried petal inclusion. These techniques preserve the authentic botanical character while achieving harmonious integration with the chocolate. The cacao itself is ethically sourced through direct trade relationships with growers in regions including Venezuela, Madagascar, and the Dominican Republic, maintaining the brand’s commitment to responsible chocolate sourcing.
Each batch undergoes extensive taste testing and refinement to ensure the floral notes achieve the perfect balance—present enough to create a distinctive flavor profile without overwhelming the chocolate’s natural characteristics. This attention to detail has made Vosges a leader in the premium chocolate bar market, particularly for those seeking unique flavor combinations that challenge conventional chocolate offerings.
Art Meets Sustainability: Packaging Innovation
The Flora Collection’s packaging is as thoughtfully designed as the chocolates themselves, featuring custom botanical illustrations created by New York-based botanical artist Miranda Jones. Each chocolate bar wrapper unfolds into a collectible 8×11″ poster showcasing the key botanical ingredients in intricate detail, blending scientific illustration with modern graphic design. The truffle boxes take inspiration from vintage seed packets, complete with planting instructions that serve as a metaphor for the “growth” of flavor experiences.
Sustainability stands at the core of the packaging design. All paper components utilize 100% post-consumer recycled materials and are printed with vegetable-based inks. The truffle boxes incorporate biodegradable inserts molded from compressed agricultural waste fibers. Even the chocolate bar wrappers feature a specialized seed-embedded paper that can be planted to grow wildflowers that attract pollinators—literally bringing the Flora Collection’s theme full circle.
Vosges has secured Rainforest Alliance certification for their packaging materials, along with carbon-neutral shipping practices for all online orders. This approach demonstrates how luxury chocolate experiences can align with meaningful environmental values without compromising on aesthetic appeal. The combination of artistic presentation and ecological mindfulness creates a compelling chocolate trend that resonates with today’s concerned consumers.
Where to Experience the Flora Collection
Chocolate enthusiasts can experience the Flora Collection through multiple purchasing options. Individual chocolate bars retail for $8.50 each, while the 9-piece truffle collection is priced at $34. For those wanting the complete Flora experience, a comprehensive gift set including all five chocolate bars and a 9-piece truffle assortment is available for $85, presented in a keepsake botanical gift box.
The collection launched on April 1st at all Vosges boutique locations including their Chicago flagship store and New York SoHo location. Online shoppers can browse and purchase the full collection at vosgeschocolate.com. Select specialty retailers nationwide, including Whole Foods Market, Dean & DeLuca, and Neiman Marcus food halls, will also carry items from the collection.
Limited edition seasonal variations on the Flora Collection are planned for summer and fall, expanding on the botanical theme with season-specific flower ingredients. Chocolate lovers can join the Vosges Haut-Chocolat Connoisseur Club for early access to these upcoming releases and special member pricing. The intersection of chocolate craftsmanship with botanical expertise has created a unique opportunity for innovative dessert experiences that transcend traditional chocolate offerings.
The Visionary Behind the Blooms
Understanding the Flora Collection requires knowing the creative force behind Vosges Haut-Chocolat. Founder Katrina Markoff established the company in 1998 after training at Paris’s prestigious Le Cordon Bleu and working under the guidance of renowned Spanish chef Ferran Adrià. Her vision for Vosges centered on using chocolate as a vehicle for global storytelling, incorporating unexpected ingredients that reflect diverse culinary traditions from around the world.
Markoff’s approach to chocolate making combines classical techniques with boundary-pushing creativity. Her formal culinary training provides the foundation for precision and quality, while her travels and exploration of world cuisines inspire the unique flavor combinations that have become Vosges’ signature. “Chocolate is the perfect canvas for cultural exploration,” Markoff has noted, “because it’s both familiar and malleable—capable of carrying almost any flavor while remaining inherently comforting.”
Under Markoff’s leadership, Vosges has grown from a small Chicago boutique to a nationally recognized brand with annual revenue approaching $30 million. The company maintains its headquarters in Chicago, where product development and small-batch production continue to drive innovation in the premium chocolate category. The Flora Collection represents a natural evolution of Markoff’s vision, combining her interest in botanical flavor profiles with the artisanal chocolate approach that has defined Vosges for over two decades.
The growth of Vosges parallels broader shifts in American chocolate consumption, as consumers increasingly seek out unique, high-quality chocolate experiences rather than mass-produced offerings. This movement toward craft chocolate with distinctive flavor profiles represents one of the most significant dessert trends emerging in recent years. Through thoughtful innovation and unwavering quality standards, Markoff has positioned Vosges at the forefront of this transformation in how we experience chocolate.
For more information about Vosges Haut-Chocolat and the complete Flora Collection, visit their website at vosgeschocolate.com or visit one of their boutique locations to experience these botanical-inspired chocolate creations firsthand.