Leadership at MayHawk
Conner Haines
Senior Partner
Founded the company in London in 2007. Before becoming a chocolate maker, Conner worked as a teacher, photographer, and artist. Years of travel — and discovering the emerging bean-to-bar movement — led to his determination to build an innovative British chocolate company with a global reputation. Conner leads the Design Studio and Chocolate Lab.
Jak Jones
Partner
Jak joined the company in 2017, bringing with him a background in marketing, staff development, and team leadership. On becoming partner Jak now leads Production, Operations, and Retail, building direct relationships with ethical supply chain partners and Retail Partners around the world.
About MayHawk
Founded in London in 2007, MayHawk was built on a simple ethos: to create a beautiful chocolate that focussed on exceptional ingredients and a precise craft.
At MayHawk, ‘beautiful’ means using only natural ingredients. It means simplicity, ethical sourcing, environmental responsibility, and an enduring respect for how our products are made. It also means art and design are essential — considered from the beginning, and present in every detail. This is chocolate crafted with restraint, clarity, and purpose — based on uncompromising quality.
Our chocolate
At MayHawk, we understand the emotional role chocolate can play: at times a thoughtful gift, at others a quiet moment of joy.
We craft our chocolate with this in mind — to make these moments more considered, more meaningful, and quietly memorable. Whether our chocolate is shared or kept, through innovation, attention, and care, we aim to create something that connects us, brings delight, and binds us together.
Two Creative Departments
MayHawk operates with two core creative arms: the Chocolate Lab and the Design Studio. Together, they form the foundation of our company.
Steve Jobs often stressed the importance of building both hardware and software under one company roof. He frequently cited Alan Kay’s maxim: “People who are really serious about software should make their own hardware.”
At MayHawk, we hold a similar philosophy. We believe that those who are truly serious about chocolate should make their own (bean to bar) chocolate.
For us this means not only making the chocolate itself (our ‘hardware’) but also integral to our company is designing every element of the surrounding experience (our ‘software’) leading to the creation of beautifully crafted products that bring joy.
The Chocolate Lab
The Chocolate Lab is where the natural raw materials to make chocolate are taken seriously — studied, questioned, and reimagined. It is not simply a place of production, but of inquiry and refinement.
We begin with origin. The genetics of the cacao, the soil it grows in, and the way it is ethically harvested and fermented — these all shape the final expression. Within the Chocolate Lab, we research and experiment with natural, carefully controlled new processes and methods: like unique double-fermentation techniques that reveal hidden notes; or new roasting profiles that enhance nuance and character.
The Chocolate Lab is responsible for growing some of our own ingredients, within a greenhouse at our production facility, and for researching new ones.
We test new pairings, reinterpret established ones, and develop flavour profiles that evolve from first taste to final note. The Chocolate Lab is where innovation meets intuition — where we ask not just how chocolate is made, but what else it could become.
The Design Studio
The Design Studio exists to distil and articulate the essence of MayHawk. It is where the visual, sensory, and tactile are brought into alignment — from the feel of the box, to the cadence of the typography and artwork. Every web page interface written in code, every image and video we take, is crafted in-house, shaped with the same discipline and care as the chocolate it supports.
We believe that design is a language — one that must express clarity, care, and character. Every material is selected with intention, and with environmental responsibility in mind. Every line, fold, and proportion is there to support the product and enrich the experience. The original artwork we create, or commission, gives MayHawk both voice and momentum.
In the Design Studio, restraint is a strength. We remove the unnecessary, so that what remains feels deliberate. We design packaging that doesn’t shout — unless we want it to — and create original supporting media that guides without distraction. We believe that design should speak quietly, but also with purpose.