Interview with Jean Paul Hepp
Owner Chocodiem
By Kathryn Gordon and Jessie Riley
Jessie: Hi JP! It’s been awhile since Food Startup Help
created a themed showpiece for your grand opening, and worked with you on the bon bon,
truffle and hand dipped production.
You’ve hired a chocolatier and other staff since then.
Take us back and tell us why you decided to start an artisan
chocolate company after 23 years in the pharmaceutical industry?
Jean Paul: I was born
and raised in Belgium, so I’ve been surrounded by and indulged on great
chocolates throughout my life. My palate
was spoiled when I came over to the US in 1997!
I quickly realized that the so called Belgian style
chocolates didn’t taste at all like what I was used to. Worse even, I found out the famed ‘Belgian
Chocolate’ Godiva was being praised for as the best chocolate, was no more
Belgian than Campbell Soups who acquired them in 1974!
So my daughter Eveline (who lives in Belgium) and I (from
the US) decided to start our own production.
Eveline helped me out with original product line using traditional
Belgian recipes. We choose to go for
artisan made chocolates, using the best ingredients we can find simply because
that’s how we do it in Belgium.
Jessie: I know you
started off taking some online courses. Would you recommend that to other
chocolatiers as a method to “come-up-to speed”, now that you've been producing
for a while?
Jean Paul: I learned
a lot about the theory and science behind the art of chocolate making in
several online courses. Theory is
definitely important, but I now know more than before that this also needs to
go along with hands-on experience. While
I participated in several classes with chocolatiers and manufacturers on
location (Belgium, Canada and Ecuador) – classes are often held in an ideal
climate controlled environment. I now
would recommend to also sign up for internships in order to know and better
understand the ‘natural’ (environmental) challenges of making artisan chocolate.
Kathryn: What are the
biggest lessons you’ve learned since you opened Chocodiem?
Jean Paul: Location,
location, location, right? Right for
several reasons!
Water is the biggest enemy of chocolate. The chocolate just will not temper correctly
if the ambient air is too humid. I
didn’t give that enough thought when I started my production right next to a
river in historic Clinton, NJ, which by itself is known to be humid most of the year. I don’t have a completely insulated kitchen; dehumidifiers
aren’t adequate to do the job. So, wrong location for production for sure!
Then there is the commercial location. I planned to start wholesale first but after
3 months it became clear that this strategy only works well when the brand is
already known, accepted, and proven. To
redress this situation, I opened a retail store adjacent to our production kitchen but
it is not in the most accessible part of town.
Additionally, it’s located in the back of a large building and relatively
difficult to find even with proper signage.
Changing location is expensive so we are still dealing with this
challenge.
It would have been better to make the right decision
upfront. This then relates back to
internships again. Experience in the
field would probably have helped me avert such unknowns and helped with
adapting the business plan accordingly.
Kathryn: If you could
step back in time and plan everything all out again to open your business, what
aspects would you change besides industry internships?
When analyzing the market in search of the best places to
settle, don’t just select an affluent area, but also look at the activity level
of the local population. Are they
retired, commuting to jobs? Is there
public transportation to and from the major areas?
Jessie: You’ve tried
several different approaches in terms of sales since 2012. What has been the best sales strategy for
you? Hiring a sales person? The parties?
The walk in traffic? Local
advertising? Internet presence? Wedding favors? Tables for events? I know you’ve done them all.
However, there are other factors to consider in setting the
best sales strategy. I did start small
(and am still small) and would definitely do that again. I wrote a business plan and would do this
again too.
While the following sounds cliché it is so true. Staff is very important for the making and
supporting the quality of your products, as well as representing and
maintaining a high image of your store and company. We’re lucky to be able to rely on an
excellent Pastry Chef Kathleen Hernandez (ICE graduate), great advisors for marketing and
operations, special holiday related events, and on the support of the employees staffing our store.
Finally, being able to rely on the community is no small
matter. It includes the landlord and
many other friends and neighbors who try to help in any way possible to make
this successful.
Jessie: What’s your favorite chocolate that you’ve created?
Jean Paul: Our “Naked Truffle” is made of dark or milk ganache with only a thin, one-layer enrobing. This is used as the base for all other truffles infused with different flavors.
This is how we created a unique line of liquor truffles
which is quickly becoming Chocodiem’s signature chocolate collection. It’s not
only unique in its conception but it’s also unique in its approach of
customization as we can make any truffle with the customers’ liquor of choice
whether it’s for personal indulgence, for weddings, parties, corporate or other
events, vineyards, microbreweries, liquor stores, gift stores etc.
Kathryn: What’s next for Chocodiem?
Jean Paul: Reaching
out to a larger audience. Chocodiem is
known and very much appreciated for its high quality products. This comes with a higher price tag which is
not always attractive for the local consumers.
While many businesses started with high quality products, most of them
took the easy way out and converted to cheaper chocolates and by doing so
sometimes dramatically increased their sales.
Chocodiem wants to maintain a high standard over the long
run. It will take a while before this
can be obtained through our branding and sales efforts, but we believe that hard work, perseverance, and continued word
of mouth will rule.
Kathryn: Anything
else you’d add?
Jean Paul: Work
hard, very hard. Try to keep it
fun. After all what other product can
guarantee a smile each time it even just gets mentioned! Enjoy!
