Discover Chocolate and Live La Vida Cocoa!
Startup Central
Information
Are you looking to start a chocolate business? Want to talk to others who've been there or done that - or have you been there and done it and want to share with others? This is the place to discuss it.
Location: Worldwide
Members: 476
Latest Activity: on Monday
Startup Central - Sponsored by Savage Bros
Since 1855 Savage Bros. has manufactured confectionery machinery. Their chocolate and candy making equipment are recognized worldwide for long lived quality and reliability. From these 19th century roots in the industry, Savage Bros. strives to meet its customers’ equipment needs with well designed and manufactured machinery. They specialize in taking new and growing businesses to the next level by streamlining their production process.
Quality chocolate is one of Savage Bros' passions, thus they offer a wide array of chocolate processing equipment for the artisan chocolatier — from chocolate melters and temperers to single mold filling workstations with depositors and built-in vibrators. And more!
Do you make great chocolates? Know everything there is to know about tempering chocolate and cooking the perfect caramel? Able to turn out thousands of finished chocolates without blinking any eye?
Does the thought of using Quickbooks or writing a business plan sends you screaming into the walk-in begging for mercy?
This group is for you. When you join, please introduce yourself to the group in a comment on this page. Yes, I know you have a profile page, but it would be great to have you add a few words about you and your business in the context of this group. If you have a website, feel free to post a link to it. Please don't post a link to your profile page, people can just click on your profile photo to visit that.
PS. Below is the full picture I used for the Group photo. It's a chocolate store/cafe in Mexico. Those are stone mills (the kind Taza uses) to the right of the guy with his back to you in the blue shirt and notice that they are selling beans. The stone mills suggest that this store is located in Oaxaca.
Discussion Forum
Fastest way to cool chocolate
Started by Andrew Beasley. Last reply by Clay Gordon on Monday. 4 Replies 0 Likes
Micro start up equipment - tempering machines
Started by Ann Wurden. Last reply by beth campbell on Monday. 10 Replies 0 Likes
Chocolate Parties
Started by Andy Ciordia. Last reply by Andy Ciordia May 6. 5 Replies 0 Likes
Scale for Front of House Weighing
Started by Andy Ciordia. Last reply by Andy Ciordia May 6. 4 Replies 0 Likes
Venezuelan beans, cocoa butter, liquor, powder and cake in the US
Started by Tatiana Larionova. Last reply by Lisa N May 2. 2 Replies 0 Likes
Custom chocolate molds
Started by Geetha Panchapakesan. Last reply by Dario M. Agesilao Apr 30. 8 Replies 0 Likes
Chocolate Recipe Development
Started by Tamara Ak. Last reply by Mahmoud batakji Apr 25. 1 Reply 0 Likes
Profit Margin
Started by matt black. Last reply by Julie Bolejack Apr 22. 4 Replies 3 Likes
Accurate Thermometers
Started by Dale Anderson. Last reply by Dale Anderson Apr 19. 2 Replies 0 Likes
Ganache recipe for truffles
Started by Jennifer Cooper. Last reply by Thomas Forbes Apr 15. 5 Replies 0 Likes
Comment Wall
Comment
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Comment by Kristi on June 27, 2012 at 2:16pm -
Julie, I also agree with Christopher that Grewling's book is an excellent resource - like the bible for the artisan confectioner!
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Comment by Kristi on June 27, 2012 at 2:14pm
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Hi Everyone, I have been a member for quite a while and mostly just read everything. But I am looking to be a little more involved in the "chocolate" community now that I have finished my service term in the military. I am excited to be venturing into the next phase of my "chocolate life" by starting a business. I am just working on my business plan and still looking for a location. I found the perfect place for what I want but at the time the owner wanted too much money for it so I keep looking hoping that something will come up or that the place I had my sights on will go down in price :) Anyway I look forward to conversing more with everyone as I delve into this adventure. Cheers :)
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Comment by Christopher M Koshak on June 4, 2012 at 1:47pm -
Hi Julie,
I love the book Chocolates and Confections: Formula, Theory and Techniques for the Artisan Confectioner by Peter Grewling. It is a very good resource for all things chocolate and candy related.
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Comment by Julie Ehrentraut on June 4, 2012 at 9:34am -
Hi everyone! My name is Julie and I am looking to learn all about chocolate making. I am new to the world of chocolate and would be interested in any books you could recommend to learn the basics. I co-own an allergy-free bakery so allergy-free chocolates will be my focus.
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Comment by Rodger Lester on June 2, 2012 at 7:02pm
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Hello Start up Central,
Thank you for providing a place for folks like me to introduce ourselves to the Chocolate Life community.
My Name is Rodger Lester and my start up company Sheba Spices/Trading is preparing to receive our first shipment of Tanzanian cocoa beans direct from the growers. These beans are of excellent quality and are grown in a fertile region where pesticides have never been introduced. The growers are in the process of obtaining their Organic (Tan-cert) and Fair Trade (Flo-cert) certifications. I'm really excited about my relationship with the growers and my involvement in helping them improve their quality of life. If you have a interest in these beans and would like more information I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to email me. rodger@shebaspices.com or rodger@shebatrading.com
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Comment by David Senk on May 29, 2012 at 3:49pm
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Hi All, I'm David Senk. My wife Leslie and I are in the process of launching a small web-based chocolate business called "Crystal Structure Five" that will sell fine chocolate (some that we buy, some that we make) and artisan vegan confections, including a line of biscotti that we've developed. We're going through all of the learning process that I'm sure many others on this forum are all to familiar with -- having fun, drinking from a firehose, trying not to make any mistakes that are too terribly big...did we mention having fun? We look forward to sharing with and learing from all of you!
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Comment by Rex Victor Puentespina on May 27, 2012 at 6:27am
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Hi, I am Rex Puentespina. Our family owns a cacao plantation in Malagos, Calinan, Davao City, Philippines. The past four years, we have exporting our beans together with the production of other farmers in the region. We want to further process our beans to add more value to our product. We intend to make cocoa liquor/couverture to market it pastry chefs, bakers & chocolatiers in the country. I am in charge of sales & marketing and currently working on our business plan. With the information and help from this group, I look forward to successful business venture into the world of chocolates. Mabuhay!
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Comment by Chris Brennan on May 7, 2012 at 1:39pm
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Hello. I am Chris Brennan. Own and operate a Bakery specialising in high end breads and pastry in the UK and in the process of adding chocolate to our operation.
Thanks.
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Comment by Dione Costanzo on April 9, 2012 at 2:17pm -
Hi everyone. Looking for options for chocolate bar (& bark) packaging. Wrap or box any experience and/or opinions?
Thank you!
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Comment by Andrew Montroy on March 14, 2012 at 12:03pm -
I just made my first blog entry! Check it out!
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