Chocolate Challenge badge

15th July 2026

Opportunities in a safe space for the Girls is what we at 3rd Tynemouth Guides strive to achieve. After Christmas we decided on a fun badge and chose the chocolate challenge badge. Over about four months the Guides played games from the resource pack including ‘the truths of chocolate’ with the Fact or fiction game. 

‘I enjoyed doing the quizzes’ Aidalyn Guide – Age 10

The Guides designed their own chocolate and an advert. A favourite activity was chocolate tasting of course, milk, dark, white gold and flavoured chocolate having tasting notes and learning about our taste sense too. At the unit the girls made chocolate bark with toppings.

‘My favourite part was when we made the bark made of chocolate.’ – Olivia Guide age- 12

Then an exciting opportunity came up: ‘Would you design a chocolate bar and wrapper?’ What an opportunity for the girls to be able to design a real bar of chocolate that’s actually being made in a real chocolate factory to help raise money. 

Cash for Kids North East came along to our Guide unit and spoke to the girls about the charity, explaining how they help children throughout the year and how the money raised in the North East stays local. 

With my work hat on, I was able to talk to the Guides about the process of how a bar is made at The Chocolate Smiths and how the wrappers are designed. The girls then made a mind map of flavours that they thought would make an amazing bar that kids would like and designed wrappers for the bar too. These then went to The Chocolate Smiths to be looked at by the chocolateries and designers and that’s where the magic happened. From the girls inspirations a White Chocolate bubble gum flavoured bar with chocolate beans and popping candy was made. Fun and colourful picking out the details from the girls wrapper designs the wrapper was created by Lee the designer  and on the inside all the girls original designs are featured. 

The Girls were invited for a VIP tour of the Chocolate Smiths. Steffi The Chocolate Smiths owner gave them an inspirational talk about how she started the business in her kitchen, the ups and downs of business and how excited she now is. They went round the factory, seeing the kitchen, the wrapping and packing room and the amazing new shop area. The girls signed their names on the wrapper and then glued this to the bar of fame wall. At the end of the evening they made their promise and Steffi awarded them their Chocolate Challenge badge. 

‘My favourite part of the Chocolate badge was going round the chocolate factory seeing the machines, getting chocolate samples and seeing how they wrapped the chocolate’ – Isabelle Guide age 12

‘It was super fun and I loved looking at how it was made and the samples. I liked how they taught us about how it was made.’ – Lucy Guide age 10

‘I liked seeing where the Chocolate is being shiped to on the Chocolate Smiths wall map.’ Xanthe Guide- age 12

To make the visit even more special, the girls signed their names on the wrapper before adding it to the “Bar of Fame” wall. At the end of the evening, they made their Promise and Steffi presented them with their Chocolate Challenge badges.

The chocolate bar was on sale through The Chocolate Smiths. All profits went to Cash for Kids North East. They raised £2000!  The girls definitely earned their badges and should be very proud of creating a fun and ethical chocolate bar while helping to raise money for other children in the local community.

Jennifer Ironside, Leader at 3rd Tynemouth Guides