Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to ROBERT KINGSBURY. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
ROBERT, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
JUST LAST WEEK A CLIENT ASKED ME HOW I COME UP WITH MY FLAVOR IDEAS – WHICH FOR ME ARE ALL VERY PERSONAL IN THAT THE WAY I CREATE IS MOST DEFINITELY BASED ON MY FLAVOR AND TEXTURE PREFERENCES. ONE OF THE ITEMS THEY WERE PURCHASING WAS MY “MOROCCO BAR”, SO I SHARED THE STORY FOR THAT CHOCOLATE BAR. I WAS ON A HIKE IN THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS OF MOROCCO FOLLOWING A TRAIL ALONGSIDE A STREAM OF CRYSTAL CLEAR GLACIER WATER. AND QUITE RANDOMLY WAS A 2-LEVEL STONE FOUNTAIN. A HOSE FROM THE STREAM WAS FEEDING THE FOUNTAIN WITH FRESH COLD WATER AND FLOATING IN THE TOP LEVEL WERE FRESH CHERRIES, AND IN THE LOWER LEVEL WERE FRESH ORANGES. AND THEY WERE ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS. (BOTH OF THESE FRUITS I LATER FOUND OUT ARE MAJOR CROPS OF MOROCCO.) BEFORE STARTING MY HIKE I WAS IN A SPICE SHOP, AND WAS CAPTIVATED BY THE BEAUTIFUL FRAGRANCE OF CARDAMOM – ITS FLORAL AND CITRUS NOTES ARE SO ENTICING. COMING UPON THE FOUNTAIN WAS THE PERFECT TRIFECTA – WITH THE FRAGRANCE OF CARDAMOM AND THE FLAVORS OF CHERRY AND ORANGE A BELL WENT OFF IN MY HEAD, AND I MADE A NOTE ON MY PHONE TO TEST THESE 3 IN A CHOCOLATE BAR. VOILA! MY MOROCCO BAR IS A BLEND OF 33% MILK CHOCOLATE WITH GROUND CARDAMOM, DRIED MONTMORENCY CHERRIES, AND CANDIED ORANGE PEEL. NOT ONLY IS IT A FABULOUS BAR, IT IS A WONDERFUL MEMORY OF AN AMAZING ADVENTURE.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I AM A SELF-TRAINED CHOCOLATIER. HAVING A LOVE OF CHEMISTRY IN SCHOOL, I READ BOOKS ON THE MOLECULAR AND CHEMICAL PROCESSES OF CHOCOLATE TO UNDERSTAND HOW TO WORK WITH CHOCOLATE. AND WITH LOTS OF TRIAL (AND ERROR) I HAVE CREATED HUNDREDS OF RECIPES. SOME RECIPES COME TOGETHER IN A FLASH, WHILE OTHERS TAKE MONTHS UNTIL FRUITION IS OBTAINED. ONE OF MY FAVORITE PRODUCTS IS MY CASHEW PORTER TOFFEE, WHICH ALSO TOOK 6 MOTHS UNTIL I FIGURED OUT HOW TO CREATE THE PERFECT CRUNCHY TEXTURE UNLIKE MOST HARD TOFFEE TEXTURES. I WAS FORTUNATE IN THAT MY GRANDMOTHER HAD A BREAKFAST/LUNCH CAFE AND MY GRANDFATHERS FAMILY HAD A MAPLE SUGAR FARM. MY GRANDPARENTS WERE KEY ROLE MODELS IN MY LIFE, AND COOKING WAS A KEY PART OF OUR TIME TOGETHER. AFTER MY GRANDPARENTS MARRIED THEY SOLD POPCORN DRIZZLED WITH A MAPLE SYRUP CARAMEL ON THE WEEKENDS AT A STREET STAND IN VERMONT. TODAY MY VERMONT MAPLE POPCORN DRIZZLED WITH DARK CHOCOLATE IS A DAILY THANK YOU TO MY GRANDPARENTS LOVE OF FAMILY (AND SWEETS!).
Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?
KINGSBURY CHOCOLATES TOOK 4 YEARS FOR THE DOORS TO OPEN, IN FACT, I STARTED MAKING CHOCOLATES AS A SIDE GIG. I LOVE CHOCOLATE, AND BELIEVED I COULD MAKE CHOCOLATES TO SELL EITHER PERSONALLY OR TO SMALL RETAIL SHOPS TO HELP PAY MY STUDENT LOANS. I WAS THE FIRST PERSON IN MY FAMILY TO GO TO COLLEGE, AND WHAT I DID NOT REALIZE WAS JUST HOW EXPENSIVE IT WOULD BE, NOR HOW MUCH DEBT I WOULD START OUT MY ADULT LIFE WITH. SO, A WAY TO HELP PAY MY BILLS WAS NECESSARY. THE FIRST 2 PRODUCTS I DEVELOPED WERE CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES AND CANDIED FRUITS. MY CO-WORKERS WERE NOT ONLY MY TASTE TESTERS, BUT ALSO FUTURE CLIENTS. AND EVENTUALLY I FELT CONFIDENT ENOUGH TO BRING SAMPLES TO SMALL RETAIL SHOPS IN HOPES THAT THEY WOULD WANT TO TAKE A CHANCE ON ME. TO GET STARTED I NEEDED TO BUY SOME BASIC SMALL TABLETOP EQUIPMENT FOR MY KITCHEN (WHICH I SHARED WITH 2 ROOMMATES). THE FIRST RETAIL SHOP THAT SAID “YES” DIDN’T HAVE THE BEST AIR-CONDITIONING, SO MY CHOCOLATES LOOKED PRETTY SAD DURING WARM WEATHER. TO COUNTER THAT, I BOUGHT A USED REFRIGERATED DISPLAY CASE. THE OWNER OF THE STORE ALLOWED ME TO BRING THIS CASE INTO HIS SHOP TO KEEP MY CHOCOLATES COOL. HAVING LEARNED THIS LESSON ABOUT HOW TO ENSURE MY PRODUCTS LOOKED PRETTY, WHEN THE NEXT RETAIL STORE SAID THEY WOULD CARRY MY CHOCOLATES I BOUGHT ANOTHER USED DISPLAY CASE. NOW WHAT I WAS ACTUALLY DOING WAS INVESTING IN MYSELF, AND IN THE ABILITY TO OPEN MY OWN BUSINESS A FEW YEARS DOWN THE ROAD. NOT SOMETHING I WAS THINKING ABOUT AT THAT MOMENT, BUT IN THE LONG RUN A PRETTY SAVY FINANCIAL INVESTMENT IN MY FUTURE CHOCOLATE SHOP. SO, AFTER A FEW YEARS WHEN THE IDEA TO OPEN MY OWN SHOP CAME TO FRUITION I HAD SOME BASIC KITCHEN EQUIPMENT, AND REFRIGERATED DISPLAY CASES ALREADY IN MY POCKET. MY SIDE HUSTLE HAD NOT ONLY HELPED WITH PAYING MY SCHOOL LOANS BUT ALSO TAUGHT ME HOW TO RE-INVEST IN MYSELF AS A BUSINESS.
Where do you think you get most of your clients from?
WHEN I OPENED MY BUSINESS IN 2001 THE INTERNET WAS NOT AT ALL WHAT IT IS TODAY, AND SOCAIL MEDIA WAS NOT A THING. SO, I RECEIVED MANY MANY SOLICITATIONS FROM FOLKS SELLING ADS IN PRINTED MAGAZINES – WHICH I THOUGHT WAS THE BEST MEDIUM TO ADVERTISE AND MARKET MY NEW BUSINESS VERSUS RADIO/TV. MY MISTAKE IS THAT I SPREAD MY REACH TOO WIDE. I OPENED KINGSBURY CHOCOLATES IN THE OLD TOWN AREA OF ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA AND THOUGHT MY MARKETING SHOULD BE TO THE DC METRO AREA. WRONG! I SHOULD HAVE FOCUSED DIRECTLY ON THE NEIGHBORHOOD/TOWN WHERE MY BUSINESS WAS LOCATED. MY CORE CLIENT BASE WERE FOLKS WHO PHYSICALLY CAME INTO MY SHOP WHO LIVED NEARBY. I STILL KICK MYSELF FOR NOT MARKETING TO MY CORE RIGHT FROM THE START, BUT I JUST DIDN’T KNOW. THAT CORE IS THE REASON MY BUSINESS IS STILL HERE TODAY, AND THE REASON PEOPLE KNOW OF KINGSBURY CHOCOLATES. IF YOU FOCUS ON THAT CORE, THEY WILL SUPPORT YOU AND MARKET FOR YOU BY SENDING/GIVING YOUR CHOCOLATES AS GIFTS. I ALSO DONATED TO ALL CHARITIES THAT ASKED WHO WERE LOCATED IN ALEXANDRIA, VA. LOCAL CHARITIES REACH PEOPLE WHO WANT TO SUPORT LOCAL BUSINESSES. MY ADVICE IS TO FOCUS ON YOUR LOCAL CORE AUDIENCE WHEN YOU LAUNCH A PHYSICAL IN-PERSON BUSINESS.
Contact Info:
- Website: WWW.KINGSBURYCHOCOLATES.COM
- Instagram: @KINGSBURYCHOCOLATES
- Facebook: KINGSBURY CHOCOLATES