Case Study: Ethical Chocolatier
By focusing on her passion for healthy living, Charlotte is building a thriving and sustainable ethical chocolate business.
Background
Charlotte spent much of the 1990's travelling in Asia, doing yoga and meditation, eating raw foods and really loving a healthy lifestyle. When she returned to the UK, she found it hard to adjust to the climate and found herself craving chocolate The chocolate available at the time was made with refined sugars and didn’t work for Charlotte on a taste level. So, she started to make her own raw cacao and chocolate treats.
Friends and family loved her creations, and Charlotte started to wonder whether she could turn her hobby into a business. She started to sell her chocolates to small shops in The Lanes in Brighton, to markets and at festivals such as Glastonbury and got listed with a wholesaler.
The problem was that Charlotte did almost everything herself and this was stunting the growth of her business. I was recommended to Charlotte by a client who had gone through similar growing pains herself.
A Strategic Approach
During our monthly coaching sessions, I followed a similar strategic planning process to the one I used as a Chief Executive. The aim was to answer the following four seemingly simple questions in order to come up with a strategic roadmap and action plan:
Where are you now?
Where are you going?
Which recommendations will best support you in bridging the gap?
How will you measure progress towards that envisioned future?
How We Grew Charlotte’s Business
When I met with Charlotte, it was clear that she didn’t have a firm grip on the financials. I recommended her to a purpose-led accountant who provides a holistic service which goes beyond the numbers and is aligned with Charlotte’s values.
We worked on a sales and financial strategy to grow Charlotte’s business.
With proper cash flow forecasting in place, we set about expanding Charlotte’s team.
Charlotte updated her brand strategy and refreshed her visual identity.
She commissioned a new ecommerce website. When it comes to building an online store, I always advise my retail clients that Shopify is the best way to go as for a small monthly fee, it has all the marketing and sales tools you could possibly need to grow and scale your business.
She put in place an SEO, PR and social media marketing strategy.
She moved production to a carbon neutral factory as part of her sustainability and ethical commitment.
The Results
Before we started working together, online sales accounted for around 10% of Charlotte’s business due to her focus on festivals, markets and smaller retailers. Everything changed with the advent of Covid-19. Because she had already refreshed her brand and implemented a digital strategy by the time the pandemic hit, she was able to launch a subscription service which saw sales soar by 70%. She offered subscribers the opportunity to nominate a key worker to receive a special chocolate donation and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
Work With Me
Have you enjoyed this case study? Has it helped you to see what’s possible for your business?
If you’d like my advice and guidance to help you on your business growth journey, here’s how you can book a call to discuss how we can work together. I’d love to help you launch a successful and profitable business just like Charlotte.
What Charlotte says…
“Denyse and I have been working together for a couple of years now and the results have been incredible. Without Denyse’s help, I would still be trying to do everything myself and worrying about cash flow. I definitely wouldn’t have a successful subscription service. Investing in her services was the best decision I could have made for my struggling business.”
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