Selling chocolate is nothing new, so combining chocolate with art to attract customers is an exciting challenge for young businesses like D’ Art Chocolate.
Choose your own path
Opening a gift box sent for Valentine's Day, Ms. Ngọc Dung was astonished to find a beautifully designed milky-white chocolate... shoe that fit her foot perfectly. Even more surprisingly, it was made in Vietnam, crafted by the talented and skillful hands of young Đỗ Duy Hải.
After graduating in information technology from Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, Hải insisted on pursuing business rather than becoming an IT engineer as his parents intended. In 2008, he graduated in business administration in Canada and entered the restaurant industry. He gradually became involved in chocolate making and fell in love with the industry.
Following a suggestion, in 2010 Hải and a friend brought the artistic chocolate brand Graphics to Vietnam. After operating for some time, however, they disagreed on business views, and he decided to separate. In 2011, he established a company specializing in artistic chocolate under the D’Art Chocolate brand. To date, Graphics and D’Art Chocolate remain Vietnam’s only two artistic chocolate producers, with comparable market shares.
A work made in Vietnam by the talented, skillful hands of Đỗ Duy Hải
Chocolate production is no longer new in Vietnam, but Hải determined that winning customers requires combining delicious products with distinctive artistry. D’Art Chocolate shapes chocolate according to the maker's creativity or customers' orders. With hundreds or thousands of possible designs, chocolate makers must understand chocolate-making techniques and appreciate beauty and subtlety to create artistic chocolate products.
Although it is a sweet gift, chocolate must be elevated into a source of inspiration for the recipient |
When starting out, Hải's greatest difficulty was capital, because chocolate-making machinery had to be imported from Europe at considerable cost. Even a single pot for melting chocolate cost up to USD 2,000. Hải had to import all the ingredients for fine chocolate from Barry Callebaut (Belgium)...
The initial investment had reached 15 billion đồng, and Hải set a target of recovering it within 3 years. But that was not all. Producing artistic chocolate was far from easy.
To make chocolate beautiful, smooth, glossy, delicious and crisp…, the maker must work quickly and skillfully. Slow handling causes uneven color and a lack of crispness, while temperature must be adjusted for different stages. Chocolate entrepreneurs must therefore also be experts in the craft.
Think long term
In its early days, D’Art Chocolate found it fairly easy to introduce its products to individual and corporate customers, because artistic chocolate made suitable gifts for holidays and conferences. Many banks and businesses ordered D’Art Chocolate as gifts. Some companies ordered 500–1,000 gift boxes, or even 4,000.
In 2012, economic difficulties continued, and many banks and businesses cut their gift budgets. As a result, D’Art Chocolate’s sales last year were only half those of 2011, when the company was founded.
Even so, Hải was not discouraged. Because the products are mainly gifts catering to market demand at particular times, D’Art Chocolate must constantly understand customer psychology and tastes and research the market carefully to launch suitable product lines. “Although it is a sweet gift, chocolate must be elevated into an inspiration for those receiving it.
“So we must always create new designs and work hard to please customers,” Hải shares. To plan for long-term business, he is also preparing to produce chocolate for everyday consumption to offer in supermarkets and convenience stores. This year, Hải aims for artistic chocolate and everyday chocolate to account for 80% and 20% respectively, with the ratio reaching 50/50 over the following 2 years.
Alongside supplying the domestic market, Hải also plans to export D’Art Chocolate's artistic chocolates overseas. D’Art Chocolate has already shipped its first order to South Korea. Hải is also developing business in other markets, such as Japan and the Philippines… because these markets still lack artistic chocolate products.
Hải currently very much wants to expand investment, but raising capital is far from easy for a new business. Someone has also proposed buying the brand outright, but for Hải, D’Art Chocolate is a cherished creation and a passion, so he has not considered selling it.
The road ahead for D’Art Chocolate remains full of obstacles. Hopefully, Hải's dedication will be duly rewarded by consumers and the market. Who knows—perhaps one day soon, Vietnam will have a world-class artistic chocolate brand?
Source: Diễn đàn doanh nghiệp
