Insider Media Limited

Louis Barnett, who became Britain's youngest entrepreneur when he set up how own business aged 12, is considering leaving the UK as the export side of his chocolate bar making business booms. Speaking to Insider, the South Staffordshire businessman - now aged 19 - said the government needs to do more to support young entrepreneurs before it loses upcoming talent to foreign markets.

As well as preparing to launch his confectionery in India next year, Barnett has just launched his own mentoring service for young people, entitled Champion Club. He said it was vital to recognise and support young talent.

“There are so many young people with such great ideas in this country – unfortunately, they just don’t get the support that they need,” said Barnett, whose new venture will provide advice and guidance for both entrepreneurs and young people outside of business.

“Most advisory websites and schemes are run by older people, and can be quite difficult for young people to relate to. Hopefully I’ll be a more approachable subject for the next generation.”

The entrepreneur has also created a Champion bar of chocolate to go alongside the service.

Barnett began his chocolate empire seven years ago. After a request from a relative to create a birthday cake, Barnett says he was inundated with requests for treats, which led him to create his environmentally friendly Biting Back chocolate bars.

The bars contain no palm oil, artificial colourings, additives or flavours.

By Christmas 2007, Barnett had secured an order from supermarket giants Sainsbury’s and Waitrose, for 165,000 boxes of the chocolate bar.

“It went from being a small, family business to something quite big at a very fast rate,” he said.

However, although Barnett says the business has gone from strength to strength as a foreign export, the British confectionery market has been harder to crack.

“The product is doing really well abroad, especially in Hungary and the USA – but it’s just been very hard to make a mark in England.

“I am certainly considering moving abroad to make the business more successful – I am currently shipping the bars to 13 states in the USA, and am looking to work more with markets in India in the future.”

Last month. Barnett signed a deal with a New York-based company to supply one of his confectionery products, the Chokolit bar.