Gourmet chocolate drinks café brand Knoops is to open a new site in Knightsbridge early next year as part of its plans to have 15 sites up and running by the summer.

The largely grab-and-go venue, which will have outside seating, will open in early 2023 a stone’s throw from Harrods, chief executive Tori Nunn told MCA.

She added the brand was also eyeing market towns in Manchester, Leeds, Edinburgh, St Albans, alongside other London sites, with an outlet in Bath also expected to open shortly.

“There’s an opportunity with the current market to find good property deals, and we want to take advantage,” Nunn said.

The news comes as the business prepares to unveil its eighth store in Cambridge on Friday 25 November, building on its “extremely successful” Oxford site, which opened earlier this year.

“We’ve really developed the brand there with local domestic and international tourists and the student market, so we’re hoping that Cambridge will have a similar demographic,” Nunn added.

The new chocolate shop occupies a corner plot at 28 Green Street and is situated between the University of Cambridge’s Trinity College and Sidney Sussex College.

It will have three tables inside but operate largely as a grab-and-go format, with customers able to choose from 20 different chocolate percentages for their hot and cold drinks, which includes iced chocolate and milkshakes.

Knoops was founded by Jens Knoop in 2013.

The cafe and retail business opened its first shop in Rye in 2013 with the intention of premiumising the chocolate-drinking experience by following the single-origin journey of chocolate.

Since then, it has grown to operate a flagship site in Kensington, as well as shops in Chelsea, Covent Garden, Richmond, Brighton, and Oxford.

It also has ambitious plans to expand globally, reaching 3,000 stores worldwide before 2030.

Despite the cost-of-living crisis, Nunn has not seen a change in consumer spending habits within Knoop stores and believes the brand has a “good price point to weather this recession”.

“We see ourselves as affordable luxury and a little bit of enjoyment,” she added.

On the retail front, Knoops has launched a new festive hot chocolate selection box, which gives customers the opportunity to try 10 different percentages from its sweet 28% White chocolate to 43% Milk chocolate and up to 100% Extra dark.