Always dreamt of having your own chocolate shop? Make it a reality! Opening a chocolate shop is just like any other business—you just need a sprinkling of business acumen (or entrust others to do it for you) and a healthy spread of the finest product available. In this case, an assortment of goodies that customers want to buy. Here are four simple tips on how to open a chocolate shop.
What is Your Brand?
Almost everyone can open a chocolate shop—but what makes you different from the rest?
That’s why from the get-go you need to figure out your selling point: is it a one-stop-chocolate solution that sells high-quality chocolate products and serves chocolate-based desserts, or do you only go for only one of those options? And do you also cater to private events such as weddings and birthdays? The choices are endless, but it’s always best to do market research first and find your niche so your brand can truly stand out.
Strong Presence
Chocolate is where the heart is—but where is it, exactly? Finding the perfect location is key to the success of your chocolate shop. Will it be in a busy mall or at a buzzy spot where foodies like to roam? Of course, the location will also depend on your budget and if it’s not as big as you hoped for, fret not, because there are other ways for your chocolate shop to turn heads. Creating an eye-catching décor is one example, with color choices that have been proven to lure people in, and another is having a strong social media presence that displays all those mouthwatering chocolate delights that you have in store. People eat with their eyes first and social media is your digital storefront.
C is for Compound/Couverture
Speaking of mouth-watering chocolate, of course picking only the finest chocolate products is a no-brainer. What kind of chocolate will you be using? Will it be compound or couverture chocolate? Compound chocolate is easier to use due to its instant heat-and-apply properties and thus can cut down on baking time significantly, and, price-wise, it’s more inexpensive because it substitutes cocoa butter with vegetable fat (like coconut oil) and cocoa powder.
Meanwhile, couverture chocolate contains a minimum of 35% cocoa solids and derives its fat content from cocoa butter, giving couverture a much richer taste and texture. Both choices of chocolate are solid, and at the end of the day, it all depends on your preferred taste.
Please Come Again
Besides offering the most delicious and sumptuous chocolate culinary that people can only find in your chocolate shop, never forget that one of the most important elements that keep people coming back is also the human element. Think Juliette Binoche’s character in the movie Chocolat knows how to win the heart of a resentful community through chocolate. (On a side note, please read the book on which the film was based as it will make you crave chocolate even more—guaranteed!) So always greet customers with a warm and genuine smile and turn your staff into chocolate experts. Give them reasons to come back to your shop over and over again. Create monthly special desserts or adopt a loyalty card system to get people to repeat purchase your products. So when your first-time customer comes back again and again, it’ll be the icing on your chocolate cake.
In a nutshell, combine your love of all things chocolate with warm and genuine service to all your customers—and think of ways to keep people coming back for more. Explore the vast range of chocolate ingredients from Tulip Chocolate to get that tasty creamy chocolate flavor for your shop.
Make sure to visit Tulip Chocolate’s catalog page to find a wide selection of chocolate to suit your baking needs. So, are you ready to open your chocolate shop?
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