Taste Is on the Hunt for Modern Chocolate for Easter

This Easter, think outside the basket and trade your foil-wrapped nostalgia for something more elevated, like Milla, Ocelot, and Läderach chocolates.

Apr 16, 2025 - 15:06
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Taste Is on the Hunt for Modern Chocolate for Easter

Taste Is on the Hunt for Modern Chocolate for Easter

This Easter, think outside the basket and trade your foil-wrapped nostalgia for something more elevated. Today’s chocolate scene is as much about design and sustainability as it is about indulgence – and we’re here for it. Whether you’re hosting a springtime gathering or curating a gift basket dreams are made of, brands like Milla Chocolates, Ocelot, and Läderach offer a fresh, artistic take on seasonal treats. These are chocolates that deserve to be displayed. Forget waxy bunnies and sugar bombs packed with preservatives – here are some of the most delicious and design-savvy ways to indulge this Easter.

A black box with "MILLA" text contains assorted geometric chocolates arranged in rows, each with a unique shape and glossy appearance, set against a dark background.

Photo: Courtesy of Milla Chocolates

Milla Chocolates

Sculptural Simplicity Meets Bold, Boutique Flavor

Based in: Los Angeles, California

Best for: Design lovers, architecture enthusiasts, and those who believe chocolate should look as good as it tastes

At Milla, form and flavor go hand in hand. Founded by award-winning chocolatier Christine Sarioz, this LA-based studio creates chocolates that look like they were pulled straight from a design museum. With a background in art and decorative design, Sarioz handcrafts each piece in small batches using organic ingredients and ethically sourced cacao – primarily from Peru and the Dominican Republic.

A sliced chocolate-covered confectionery is displayed on a textured plate against a dark background.

Photo: Courtesy of Milla Chocolates

Milla’s seasonal offerings are anything but ordinary: minimalist geometric bunnies, golden half-eggs, and faceted bonbons that blur the line between edible and art object. Creative Director Goktug Sarioz, Christine’s partner, brings a refined visual identity to the brand with matte black boxes, sleek forms, and a Bauhaus-meets-luxury aesthetic. Even the shop interior – co-designed by the pair – echoes Milla’s ethos of quiet luxury and precise elegance.

Milla’s creations are visually striking and flavor-forward – each bite thoughtfully composed for depth and contrast. With accolades from the International Chocolate Salon, this is the kind of chocolate that turns Easter into an aesthetic event.

What to try:

An open black box displaying two geometric brown chocolate bunnies and two smaller golden egg-shaped chocolates in individual boxes labeled "Milla," on black ribbon padding.

Photo: Courtesy of Milla Chocolates

Seated Faceted Bunny: Choose from Pistachio Praliné with kadayıf or Black Sesame Caramel, both layered in organic dark chocolate and packaged in MILLA’s signature matte box with a hand-tied bow.

Two glossy, rectangular chocolate pieces are placed side by side in a black square box, on a round dark plate against a dark background.

Golden Demi Eggs: Filled with flavor-forward combinations like raspberry ganache + hazelnut praliné or cardamom ganache + Turkish coffee almond praliné – dusted in edible gold for that perfect holiday shimmer.

A gold, faceted, gem-shaped chocolate is nestled in black paper inside a black box labeled "Milla Chocolates" on a dark background.

Photo: Courtesy of Milla Chocolates

Geometric Golden Half Egg: A triple-layered indulgence of dark chocolate ganache, house-made almond marzipan, and almond praliné.

Where to buy: millachocolates.com

 

An assortment of colorful chocolate bar wrappers are scattered. Labels include "Black Cherry," "Violet Milk," "White Almond," and "Blood Orange.

Photo: Murray Orr for Ocelot

Ocelot

Art, Ethics, and Flavor – All Wrapped in a Bar

Based in: Edinburgh, Scotland

Best for: Art lovers, design purists, and sustainability-focused foodies

Ocelot isn’t technically Easter-themed – but when the packaging looks this good, who cares? The brand’s vibrant wrappers are a feast for the eyes with their joyful, postmodern patterns and unexpected color pairings. Founded by husband-and-wife duo Matt and Ish Broadbent, Ocelot launched from their Edinburgh kitchen shortly after their wedding in 2013 (they even used their wedding money to start the business). Since then, they’ve built a cult-favorite brand rooted in social good, sustainability, and elevated taste.
Ocelot partners with Original Beans, a regenerative cacao supplier that pays farmers twice the Fair Trade rate, supports indigenous reforestation programs, and has helped plant over 3 million trees in cacao-growing regions. Many of the cocoa growers are women, including the celebrated Femmes de Virunga, a female farming collective in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Ocelot’s bars are fully organic, wrapped in 100% compostable film and recyclable paper stock. They’re a mission-driven and striking addition to any springtime spread or gift basket.

What to try:

Abstract chocolate bar packaging features a silhouette of bent legs against colorful shapes, with text reading "50% milk chocolate" and "Femme.

Photo: Murray Orr for Ocelot

Femme Bar: A tribute to the women of Virunga, this organic dark milk bar is made from rare Amelonado beans and Swiss Alpine milk. It’s smooth, creamy, and just the right amount of floral.

Bright, abstract art of an orange with a shadow on a colorful box labeled "Blood Orange" and "70% dark chocolate" by Ocelot.

Photo: Murray Orr for Ocelot

Blood Orange Dark Chocolate: Sophisticated and nostalgic – like a grown-up version of a British chocolate orange, finished with a hint of vanilla.

Where to Buy: ocelotchocolate.com

 

Photo: Courtesy of Läderach Switzerland

Läderach

Swiss Heritage, Sculpted Sweetness

Based in: Switzerland

Best for: Texture lovers and fans of Swiss precision

When it comes to mastering chocolate tradition with a modern twist, Läderach is in a class of its own. This family-run Swiss brand has been creating high-quality confections since 1962, but its current creative lead, Elias Läderach, took things global when he became the first and only Swiss chocolatier to earn the title of World Chocolate Master.

At the heart of the brand is its signature FrischSchoggi – slabs of “fresh chocolate” layered with nuts, berries, nougat, or fruit in artistic, textural combinations. Think bark but better, in refined gift boxes that blend tradition with haute chocolate couture.

Läderach’s confections are all about freshness, texture, and visual drama – ideal for anyone who appreciates the precision and charm of old-school European chocolate with a modern edge.

A box of Läderach Swiss chocolate sticks with assorted toppings, displayed in a floral-patterned packaging with an oval window.

Photo: Courtesy of Läderach Switzerland

What to try:

A white square frame displays vertical rows of assorted chocolate bars with visible nuts and fruit pieces in various colors and flavors.

Photo: Courtesy of Läderach Switzerland

FrischSchoggi Sticks: A sliding box with an egg-shaped cut-out window reveals assorted sticks of Almond Dark, Orange-Almond Dark, Raspberry-Blackberry White, Hazelnut Milk, and limited-edition spring flavors.

Where to buy: laderach.com | Also available in boutiques worldwide

 

This Easter, skip the supermarket aisle and opt for chocolate that tells a deeper story. By supporting small-batch makers like Milla, Ocelot, and Läderach, you’re not only indulging in superior craftsmanship and design – you’re also saying no to the corporate, industrial chocolate brands that often compromise on quality, ethics, and flavor. These artisanal creations offer more than just a sugar rush; they bring intention, sustainability, and artistry to the table. Whether you’re gifting, grazing, or hunting, choose chocolates that look good, taste better, and do right by the planet and the people behind every bite.