The Margaret River Chocolate Company

The Margaret River Chocolate Company started in 1999 in a farm shed on a dairy at Metricup, between Busselton and Margaret River. The original factory is still there, on the corner of Harman's Mill Road and Tom Cullity Drive, and it's one of the busiest stops in the region: the maker says its factories welcome more than a million visitors a year.

Inside there are free tastings, a cafe, and a long window where you can watch the chocolate being made. A second factory followed in the Swan Valley in 2000, and later a store in the Perth city centre and an online shop. The maker says it wins more Perth Royal Food Awards than any other chocolate company, year after year.

The range is big, around 200 lines online: bars up to a one-kilogram slab, rocky road, chocolate-coated nuts, fruit and ginger, macadamia clusters, nougat, Australian animal shapes, drinking chocolates in several flavours, instant mousse and coffee.

Its sister business is Providore, the Metricup jam, olive and pantry maker, which has its own page in this guide. Online orders ship within Australia only, with an insulated express option.