Artisan Chocolate Co was founded as a full-time venture in 2014, originally founded as a truffles maker in 1997. Offering chocolate bars, European-style truffles, and chocolate covered salted caramels all crafted from certified organic, Fair Trade, emulsifier free chocolate, the business model rests securely on a diverse selection of direct wholesale accounts throughout the U.S.; supplemented by B to C online sales.

Our products boast a purity of flavors and ingredients, our packaging and shipment methods prioritize sustainable materials, and our conscientious customer service with accounts means strong goodwill conveys with the brand. The brand currently straddles categories such as affordable luxury and high-end grocery, with a focus on clean ingredients and charming Vermont branding.

Our company is on steady footing and wants to grow further. The founders and owners do not inhabit the roles of sales and marketing nearly as much as future owners could. Thus, our growth has been somewhat organic over the years. Our established and solid reputation with our accounts and the quality and purity of our products, combined with our passion and work ethic, have all grown it to its current state over time. Immediate growth is attainable simply through increased sales and marketing efforts in key areas (for example, NYC and Boston are largely untapped markets for us and are within reasonable shipping/delivery distance, which limits freight costs). More dramatic, sustained future growth is also possible via the following strategies:

1) Focus solely on our line of chocolate covered salted caramels, expanding offerings within this line and expanding sales accounts throughout the U.S. Keep scale of manufacturing the same and simply expand staff to match sales; or scale up manufacturing and exponentially expand sales by partnering with national distributors rather than solely direct accounts. The caramel line is so exciting because of the sales performance of these products, combined with their attractive profit margins, even within current market context of high cacao prices.

2) Keep product offerings/operations more or less the same initially and simply increase sales to direct wholesale accounts through more strategic sales and marketing efforts (both wholesale and online). Tweak operations for maximum efficiency.

3) Add brick and mortar retail to existing model of wholesale-based sales.