Top role for chocolate young entrepreneur Louis Barnett

A young entrepreneur who set up his own firm when he was 12 years old has become an ambassador for one of the world's largest chocolate companies.

Louis Barnett, of Kinver, started Chokolit, which has five employees, including his parents, Phil and Mary, and makes quality chocolate for specialist food shops, delicatessens and other retail outlets.

Now the 19-year-old has been chosen as one of only 40 ambassadors across the globe for Swiss chocolate manufacturer Callebaut.

The firm has about 6,000 employees in 27 countries with 40 production sites.

Mr Barnett said: "It's amazing. Callebaut is one of the biggest chocolate companies in the world and becoming one of their ambassadors is like the Nobel Prize for chocolatiers."

Mr Barnett will appear at trade conventions and help promote the brand across the world. He is also hoping it will boost the profile of his own brand. He recently signed a deal to export thousands of products to 13 states across America.

He is hoping to move into the Asian market and there are hopes the company could become "truly world famous" in the coming months.

After dropping out of school at 11, Louis, who suffers from dyslexia and dyspraxia, began by supplying products to supermarket chain Waitrose. But he has seen sales fall in the UK in recent months so has decided to target overseas markets where larger brands are not competing.

He signed a deal earlier this year to supply a US distributor with 37,000 bars of chocolate after exhibiting at the Fancy Fine Food Fair in New York.

And now 89 huge department stores in Mexico are stocking the chocolate, with another 20 due to get involved next year.

The company name Chokolit was borne out of the way in which Louis spelled chocolate due to his dyslexia.