Ethical and charitable choco­late brand Chocaid is aiming for a nationwide UK launch this summer after strong sales in the Irish market.

The brand has undergone a packaging revamp and is set to be listed in the major multiples and speciality retailers within a few months. Until now it has been available only in Ireland and a handful of shops in England, through Suma Wholefoods, as well as via Chocaid's web site.

Chocaid products are both organic and Fairtrade and include dark and milk Swiss chocolate bars in 45g and 100g sizes, Irish Cream truffles, children's chocolate buttons and beans as well as a gift chocolate globe.

The company is also set to launch a children's choco­late bar later in the year. Chocaid was set up in 1999 to generate funds for worldwide hunger relief projects.

Ten pence from the sale of each product is donated to Irish charity Gorta, which funds sustainable food and water projects in Africa, India and South America.

Each product carries a code on pack and consumers are urged to log on to the web site and choose exactly which project they would like to benefit from their donation.

Company spokeswoman Stephanie Wilson said that the brand would compete with premium lines such as Divine and Green & Black's but would have the added benefit of money being donated to charity. She said the products were of equal quality to its competitors and would be priced comparably, with 100g bars expected to retail at about £1.45.

"People are buying with their conscience but products can't taste like cooking chocolate," she said. "They taste as good as our competitors' but the bonus is that each sale donates money to charity. It's a good way of helping others and it removes the guilt factor of eating chocolate."

The company also plans to revamp its web site to match new-look packaging.