The dream was to make an affordable, readily available, fresh, premium chocolate that would be enjoyed by many, help people have a more enjoyable day, and celebrate life’s little and big moments.
From day one, I was truly about helping others in their pursuit of happiness.
The vision came from looking at the evolution of the American diet and how Americans were becoming more sophisticated in their food choices. I was interested in foods that are consumed primarily for flavor and for stimulation, an example being coffee. Americans in the 1990s were embracing a European-style approach to coffee and cafés. But, chocolate in the U.S. was in two very distinct use occasions and pack types: everyday snacking candy bars and seasonal candy in shapes and packaging.
Having traveled extensively in Europe and seen the role of premium chocolate in everyday life, and having tasted the premium chocolate that Europeans had available to them, I imprinted on that taste and experience. Then, when coming back to the United States, I was not able to find and enjoy that taste or have that feeling. It was an unmet need for me, and I thought I wanted to share it with others.
There was a day when I was given a nudge by events when I received a box of chocolate from Europe as a gift. This gift came from an unknown person and at an unexpected time, a person that I had helped months prior when they had gotten themselves stranded in a blizzard. I rescued them, freed up their vehicle, and got them on their way. For them to send chocolate as a way to say thank you did two things: I had once again a premium chocolate to enjoy, and it showed me that chocolate could have a bigger role in life and that a gift of chocolate could convey a feeling.
My education was in botany, and my specialty was tropical tree crops. I worked in developing countries helping farmers improve their tropical tree crops. Another nudge happened at one such project in Indonesia, where I encountered cocoa trees and tasted cured cocoa beans. I was fascinated by the taste of cocoa before it was made into chocolate, and I enjoyed the feeling of well-being after eating cocoa beans.
In retrospect, there were many formative events in my life that nudged my dream to help many people every year, to have something to look forward to, something to be surprised and delighted by, and something to share. The name Chocolove expresses many facets that were in my dream, giving people something to look forward to, to treat themselves with, and to share with others.
Cheers to 30 Years of Chocolove!
