Craft vs industrial chocolate

A difference of scale, sourcing model and formulation intent. Neither term is defined, and scale alone does not determine quality.

Side by side

	Craft chocolate	Industrial chocolate	Why it matters
Bean sourcing	Specific lots, usually named, often bought on flavour.	Commodity market, blended for consistency across seasons.	This is the most substantive difference. Buying on flavour rather than to a specification is what makes origin character possible.
Batch consistency	Varies between batches, sometimes deliberately.	Extremely consistent, which is a genuine engineering achievement.	Consistency is the industrial priority and variation is the craft one. Both are defensible; they are answers to different questions.
Ingredient list	Typically two to four ingredients.	Longer, often including emulsifiers, added flavouring and vegetable fats.	Lecithin at 0.5% is a processing aid, not an adulterant. A short list correlates with intent more than with quality.
Definition	No legal definition or certification.	Equally undefined as a term.	Neither word is protected. A bar that says craft has made a claim about itself and nothing more.

When you want origin character and are willing to accept variation and a higher price for it.

When you want consistency, availability and value — and for most baking, where the bar's individuality is lost in the recipe anyway.

In anything strongly flavoured or heavily sweetened. A craft single-origin in a chocolate chip cookie is money spent for nothing.

Craft chocolateSet against Industrial chocolate, with the practical consequence of each difference.
Industrial chocolateSet against Craft chocolate, with the practical consequence of each difference.

ChocolateHQ editorial synthesis — ChocolateHQ(citation identity confirmed; passage not re-read)