Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ines Rehner. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Ines thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

Chocolate has been my favorite food for as long as I can remember, and that passion helped lead me to America to pursue my entrepreneurial dream.

To this day, I would rather have one good piece of chocolate than anything else. That is why I started making my own chocolate and hoped that others would share my taste for handmade, European-style chocolates.

Growing up in what was Yugoslavia (now Croatia), chocolate was a luxury. My earliest memory of chocolate was when I went to Sunday school and the priest had a small, wafer-thin chocolate bar to share with the youngest children. My sweet tooth came from my father, who always had candy hidden in his car. Of course, I would search and search until I found all of the chocolate.

In 1987, I visited my aunt and uncle in New York City and immediately knew I wanted to live in this country. The opportunities seemed endless. I returned home to finish college, but all I kept thinking about was how to return to a place where I could actually have my own chocolate store. The idea was exhilarating and by age 24, I had earned enough money to buy a ticket to America.

I started working at a candy store in New York that resold chocolates and candies, but I always knew that the chocolates could taste better. I began experimenting at home and just kept working until I developed my unique blend. One summer, when I visited my relatives in Cleveland, I unexpectedly fell in love and decided to stay here. My future husband, John, understood my passion. I wanted to make great chocolate and I already had a name for my store: Sweet Designs Chocolatier.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

In December 1995, Sweet Designs Chocolatier opened in a small corner store on Madison Avenue in Lakewood, Ohio. I continued to perfect my recipes for chocolate. Fortunately, my customers loved my chocolate and I loved making it. We now offer over 80 different chocolates, from truffles and hand-dipped fruit to nut clusters and caramels.

Our newest line – CHOKOLATINE – is is the crowning achievement of my lifelong dream of creating a line of chocolate that’s as beautiful as it is delicious. I believe CHOKOLATINE’S bold flavors, intriguing textures and hand-painted designs will please the most-discerning palate.

Inspired by the masters of the art world, we spent five years developing this totally new line- CHOKOLATINE – to ensure that this marriage of art, beauty and chocolate delights all the senses.

After 10 years of making chocolate, I needed a larger location to make even more great chocolate, so I designed my own European Chocolaterie on Detroit Avenue in Lakewood, Ohio.

Few things give you the pure enjoyment of great chocolate. The wonderful aroma, the smooth rich texture, and the incomparable taste all combine to make great chocolate one of life’s truly satisfying experiences. I hope our customers enjoy eating my chocolates as much as I enjoy making them!

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

Word-of-mouth has been our best source of new customers. Our high-end European style chocolate business has both retail and corporate customers who purchase our products as gifts. Many of our new customers come to us because they received a gift of Sweet Designs chocolates. Of course, we do our best to keep our customers coming back, and we were honored last year to be selected as the “Best Chocolatier” in NE Ohio by Yelp and cleveland.com.
How do we do this?
It’s a combination of selecting the best chocolate available and paying attention to everything that is part of the Sweet Designs brand – from the design of our boxes to how the ribbons look to how we present ourselves in our retail store and online. We also have created popular monthly newsletters that consistently have high-open rates; we also continue to market our efforts through selective radio, TV and print advertising along with our social media presence. In addition, we have been active in supporting local charities and non-profits for nearly three decades.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

In addition to the incredible loss of life and economic hardship “COVID” caused, it forced us to refine our business model and strategy. We very quickly strengthened our online presence, Prior to “COVID” we had a modest online presence. That changed completely as we made almost every product we offer available online.

In addition to ramping up and improving our online presence, we had to retrain employees and realign our workflow to accommodate this new way of growing our business and providing our customers with the best possible experience.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sweetdesigns.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sweetdesignschocolatier/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SweetDesignsChocolatier/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/sweet-designs-chocolatier-lakewood-2

Image Credits
Sweet Designs Chocolatier