CHOCOLATE FACTORY - Key Persons

Michelle Wadley and Tony Wadley, siblings originally from South Africa, established Michton Ltd in 1991. Beginnings may have been humble but ambitions were always big. Initially, the duo started out by importing small handcrafted sugar lollipops from the homestead, which they then distributed to UK retailers. After a promising start, the two began calling on the independent specialist confectioners who, in turn, asked them to come up with other novel, atypical products. By 1992 they had secured a small manufacturing unit in Enfield, near London, producing hand-made marshmallow novelties, it wasn't long before Tony and Michelle were supplying a number of large British retailers. But soon enough, the premises in Enfield grew too small to cope with the increase in product demand, and so after a couple of months of intensive searching, the duo finally decided on a factory in Swansea, South Wales where a chance opportunity came about to purchase a flexible chocolate moulding line. For the first time, this allowed them to manufacture for themselves most of the chocolates they were previously forced to buy in. Although they knew that they had an awful lot to learn, they eagerly welcomed the new challenge. Within just a few months, Tony and Michelle started producing and selling their own chocolate.