I was in commercial paper recycling business, and cash was tight. When it came to gifts for my customers, bottles of wine or Jim Beam were out of the question. Then, one day while at a craft and hobby store, I saw candy/chocolate making molds and the pizza design caught my eye. The idea hit me like a brick: “MAKE YOUR OWN HOLIDAY CORPORATE GIFTS AND SAVE SOME MONEY!”
So I made a few chocolate piz
zas and the people loved it so much they started to ask about ordering them. Gifts for customers, family and friends turned into participating at craft shows, and I was hooked. That was the beginning of That's Different...Chocolates. In the beginning, the shows I was attending were doing well. Not counting the pizzas, I was making just about the same confections as other vendors: Chocolate Santas, Valentine's and Easter Bunny pops, etc. So to fit in with the name, I decided to start making things that actually were…well, different. For fun, one day I dipped pretzel rods into chocolate, crumbled potato chips and cinnamon….Success! As I continued to experiment, funny names dovetailed the chocolate: Raspberry & Blueberry became Rhapsody & Blue. Chipotle, Black Pepper & Cinnamon is now called "Nothing to Sneeze At!”
With six flavors of chocolate pizza, and more than 20 flavors of chocolate bark, people ask me all the time: “Do you stay awake at night thinking of new flavors?”… If they only knew. Each day is a hands-on learning experience with a number of successes, and even a few that have crashed and burned (Garlic and Almond comes to mind). While I was doing some local PTA and craft fairs, I started branching out to some of the larger wholesale venues in Boston, Philadelphia & beyond. This year will include 35 shows in 11 different states; a lot of hard miles and a ton of free samples along the way. (Yes, samples…who is going to buy Bacon, Potato Chips & Cheddar without tasting it first?)
When it is all said and done, there is one thing that can't be counted in a cash box: it’s the people I've met along the way. That's what keeps me smiling and looking forward to creating new confections and new challenges for the years to come.
