Originally set up by Irish chefs Georgia Quealy and Daniel Linehan, the artisan chocolate brand has worked with their Local Enterprise Office to find ways of streamlining the business.

In late September, the winners of the 2023 Blas na hÉireann Irish food awards were announced in the seaside town of Dingle, County Kerry. Among the names called out was an artisan chocolate brand called Bon Chocolatiers, taking home no fewer than four awards, including the best chocolate box and best chocolate collection in Ireland.

It would have seemed safe to assume that such a return would be reserved for a well-established brand that has been around for decades. That is not the case however, as Bon Chocolatiers’ journey is one that only started when Ireland was in lockdown during Covid-19.

The two founders originally met in college back in 2016 and started dating, but had always talked about setting up a business together. Both are fully trained and experienced chefs, but it was chocolate and pastry in particular that called to them as an area of culinary expertise.

Co-Founder Georgia says, “Before Covid hit, my partner Daniel was in America training with one of the world's best pastry chefs, Amaury Guichon. He graduated in the March of the lockdown, pretty much just before everything started shutting down.

“He came home, and he had all these new techniques and ideas that I was actually quite interested in learning from him.

“And we were actually, we were very lucky in the fact that his parents own a cafe in Athlone, called Beans and Leaves. While they were shut down, obviously the whole country was in lockdown and we were able to use their kitchen while it was closed to kind of develop the business and do a bit of market research from there.

“Just from kind of playing around with a few ideas, that's where we started to come up with the idea to turn it into a business.”

Contacting the Local Enterprise Office

What Bon Chocolatiers offers is artisan, small batch chocolate that comes in a variety of interesting flavours made using only the finest ingredients ethically sourced from France and Switzerland. Georgia and Daniel know the product inside out and those early customers (who were likely more than happy to sample their latest creations) can speak to its quality and taste being a cut above what you would normally expect.

As Georgia says herself though, that is only the beginning.

“We were so lucky to have each other because we're both trained chefs, we don't really have business training or anything like that. It was really like going into a new realm that we've never really gone into before, getting into the business world.

We know how to make the products, that's kind of the easy part, but running the business is a day-by-day learning curve,” Georgia says.

It was at this point that they decided to contact their Local Enterprise Office (LEO), for advice. With a wide range of business supports on offer, not to mention countless mentorship options and courses, she says it has helped them grow the business.

“The support that they have is for the likes of ourselves, you know, that want to turn their passion into a full-time business.

“They have the Start Your Own Business courses, they have Lean for Business, financial mentorship, even to come up with business plans and point in the right direction for government aid. Then there is a whole other side to the Leo; there's a lot of free advertising courses, social media courses which is in particular very beneficial for our business, it's mainly an online business.

There are also photography courses and marketing courses. There are things they can teach you that are just invaluable.

“You need all the skills as a business owner, especially when you're starting off, you need to be able to do everything, but when you're not really experienced with running a business, they're really essential,” she says.

Helping them to compete

Georgia’s point about entrepreneurs having to wear many different hats is likely one that will resonate with many people. Growing a business from scratch requires no small amount of determination and focus, not to mention an ability to adapt with new challenges as they present themselves and roll with the punches to keep things going in the right direction.

Especially in the early stages of starting a business, anything that can save you time, money and energy should be given due consideration. One of the LEO programmes that Georgia says was particularly beneficial for the brand was Lean for Business, which is designed to help businesses streamline their processes and become more structured in the way they operate.

“We had a mentor that was with us for a couple of months, and we used to meet every week and basically, he was trying to find leaner ways to run the business. It kind of nearly takes you out of your business, you know?

“When you're running a business, your head can be so buried into it. So, he was able to come down and streamline a few processes and in ways that will save us time, money and energy. It was a really big help for us, especially when you’re starting out as you may not be thinking of things from that perspective.

“That mentor in particular came in with the mindset of reducing costs, and getting things done in a leaner way. That was quite beneficial financially for us as well,” she says.

“Staying competitive in the world of Irish and Irish chocolate, it's a tough one, but it involves a mix of quality, creativity and, I suppose, having an effective business strategy which is where the LEO really comes to play with this. You know along with your flair and your passion for what you do that keeps you going through the whole thing but definitely the business strategy that the LEO would encourage and introduce you to has been definitely keeping our finger on the pulse of the industry trends and things.

“I can't really emphasize enough how the LEO has helped get us from the start-off stage. You know, if you can utilize the support that are out there and just use your Leo as best as you can to maximize your results then they do really give you the tools to run your own operation.

“If you have the passion for your business that's the first step but then they can take it to the next step by giving you the support,” Georgia says.

Bon Chocolatiers is one of six brands promoted as part of LEO’s All in a Day’s Work campaign. To see some of the other brands featured or to find the best support for your business to start saving time, money and energy, head to the website here.

Reporting On:independent.ie