Case study

Joy of Chocolate

J.O.C. (Joy of Chocolate) was created in 1999 by Suzy Campbell and is based in Stirling. She funded her new business with her redundancy package from Safeway Stores where she had been General Manager. Suzy’s motivation was to fulfil her ambition of having her own business and achieve her dream of creating gourmet chocolates. In the five years prior to her redundancy Suzy had spent her holidays achieving professional qualifications in chocolate making and before starting the business she had spent six months gaining valuable work experience with various chocolate firms in Europe. In the early days Suzy considered survival a major achievement but as time passed her ambitions for the business grew.

Suzy’s career in retailing had given her valuable managerial experience. She was skilled in forward planning and had sales expertise developed through the years working with food suppliers. Suzy believed that existing chocolate suppliers focused on importing a finished product rather than developing their own goods.

Suzy quickly realised that there was a niche in the market supplying a wider range of gourmet chocolates to business customers. To penetrate this market Suzy had firstly, targeted luxury restaurants and hotels with gourmet chocolates for their guests and secondly she approached organisations offering to supply them with corporate gifts.

Suzy knew that the way forward was close attention to detail and offering a unique product to potential customers. She intended to complement this by offering products with local connections. This would help the business to operate effectively and efficiently. Her aim was to create the gourmet chocolates that would be enhanced with local produce such as heather honey, whisky and locally grown fruit. She wanted the business to become known for excellence and innovative products.

With assistance from the bank, Suzy invested in the latest equipment for the business’s specialist chocolate making factory. J.O.C. gained a reputation for excellence and Suzy developed good relationships with several exclusive restaurants and hotels. She ensured that customers received orders on time and developed a reputation for dependability. J.O.C. also worked closely with some restaurants to create specialist chocolates for their specific requirements. This meant that J.O.C. had achieved the dual objectives of securing sales and developing new products was being met.

Suzy fostered good relationships with her main suppliers of chocolate and cocoa from the Dominican Republic and Ivory Coast. There were two main farmers supplying the raw material allowing J.O.C. to have alternative sources to enhance taste. Suzy decided to limit the number of suppliers so that she could develop a very close relationship as she did not want to run the business with price as the key factor. Suzy believed in ethical responsibility and supported the Ethical Trading Initiative.

The aim was to create self-help in the communities supplying the cocoa and this fitted in with her aim of creating a positive culture in all aspects of the business. Back at the factory all staff were supported in developing their skills, and training for the production staff ensured a high level of expertise throughout the business.