Making chocolate as a small business

Investments: from 30,000 rubles

Payback: from 3 months

Finding truly tasty, and most importantly, healthy and natural chocolate on the Russian food market is problematic. The cheapening of mass production has led to a loss of taste, and, what is most unpleasant, to a negative effect on the body. In this regard, there is a need for the production of natural chocolate for people who care about their health and the health of the younger generation. Let's take a look at how you can make money on this.

Business Concept

The main idea of ​​making money is in the production and sale of quality chocolate. The usual mark-up for this type of product is about 100 percent of the cost price. However, if you make exclusive products, the mark-up can be as much as 200 percent.

Searching for a customer base for the sale of higher profitable products contributes to the achievement of the set goals much faster than planned.

What is required for implementation?

For the initial stage of implementing a business idea, you can get by with home cooking and buying a minimum set of a novice pastry chef. You can start practically from scratch.

With the successful sale of products at the first stage and the constant growth of the number of consumers, you will have to think about automating some processes or attracting hired forces.

Step-by-step startup instructions

First, you should analyze the demand for craftsmen's products in the region and note the most profitable options for yourself, taking into account the price / quality ratio. Then follow the standard procedure for starting a project:

• selection of recipes for manufacturing products;
• preparation of a list of required ingredients;
• search for reliable suppliers: high-quality products are the key to a competitive product; <
• organization of the workspace;
• purchase of the necessary equipment and raw materials;
• advertising events, announcement of the release of natural chocolate, promotions;
• production the first batch;
• implementation;
• analysis of the demand for the product, adjustment of the assortment;
• further support of the production and sale process, if necessary - expansion of production.

When setting up mass production, you will have to spend money on agreeing the recipe and registering an individual entrepreneur or LLC.

Chocolate is not just a product, but a real joy experienced by children and no less adults in anticipation of feeling the taste of a delicate delicacy that melts on the tongue. He is able to cheer up on a gloomy day, energize during a break, help out on almost any holiday and even become a kind of "bribery" when you need to ask someone for something.

Anyway, chocolate makes people happier. Do you want to give others joy, and even get paid for it? Start your own chocolate production. This business will always be in demand, and people will not stop eating sweets even in times of crisis.

What does a chocolate maker need to know?

The presence of a large number of competitors will not affect your products if you strive for its high quality and do not save on components, replacing them with cheap counterparts. It is better to make the product more expensive than cheap and low-quality one. Few will save on pleasure, and chocolate is for most.

The use of all kinds of additives "dilutes" the cost of the finished tile, reducing it by 20-40%. Therefore, do not be afraid to introduce chocolate with various fillings into the assortment, thinking that this will increase costs (rather, it will be the other way around).

When starting a business, concentrate on one product - choose either chocolate bars or bars. This will allow you to save on the necessary equipment, carefully think over one recipe (in different variations) and buy less raw materials than if you produced everything at once.

"Chocolate technology": stages and processes

Chocolate production begins with the primary processing of cocoa beans. They are sorted, cleaned, subjected to thermal procedures and crushing, then the cocoa vella (shell) is removed. Thus, cocoa liquor is obtained. Then it is pressed, fractured and sieved. As a result of processing, two components are obtained - cocoa powder and butter. Then proceed to dosing and mixing the components according to the recipe. The resulting mixture is subjected to rolling - it is crushed in specially designed mills.

Conching: Stages

After that, the main production stage begins - conching. This process is very important and largely determines the taste and quality of the finished product. It consists in continuous stirring of the chocolate mass for a long time. The minimum is a day, but this is in the case of making cheap tiles. On average, the process takes three days, and in the production of elite varieties it takes up to 5 days. This stage is implemented in three approaches:

• Mixing cocoa powder and powdered sugar, that is, dry components.
• Removing excess moisture from the mixture.
• Adding cocoa butter and kneading the already heated chocolate mass.

The described procedure is carried out in special conche-machines, as a result of which a homogeneous dense mass is obtained - it is called homogenized.

Shutdown processes

Starting a business based on the idea of ​​making or selling sweet gifts is always tempting: a beautifully decorated boutique, a constant holiday atmosphere, positive customers (after all, they did not come for bread and sausage). Of all the traditional gifts, chocolate is the most popular and versatile, it will suit both a child and a man, and there is no need to talk about ladies - this is an elegant compliment for all ages. Chocolate is the most innocent "bribe" to a caring nurse, an attentive administrator or a competent and efficient office manager. If it is not an ordinary chocolate bar from a stall, but a high-quality, beautiful, exclusive product, believe me, people will remember and appreciate the individual approach, and the store, which always has something to surprise and delight, will never have a shortage of customers.

Selling premium brands is the right start to the chocolate business

Even during the crisis years, the demand for chocolate does not fall, and now, literally every year, sales of high-quality chocolate almost double. At the initial stage, you can only deal with the sale of expensive brands. If the assortment includes brands Amedei from Italy, Toblerone from Switzerland, Wittamer from Belgium, Ghirardelli from the USA, the boutique's excellent reputation is guaranteed. There may be Russian manufacturers in this series, but when choosing, you should pay more attention to the composition of the chocolate, often a beautiful appearance masks not very high quality. Maintain a variety of assortments: bitter, dark, white and milk chocolate should be available; with and without fillings; with nuts and raisins; all kinds of chocolate figurines and bouquets of sweets. Hand-made chocolate attracts attention for holidays and significant dates, consider this point too. Children will be delighted with unusual small chocolates in the form of medals or small figures.

The initial purchase and the formation of the assortment will take at least 500-700 thousand rubles, the price of the product varies from 50 rubles to 4 thousand rubles, and the sets cost 10 thousand rubles each. It's great if you immediately take care of creating branded packaging: boxes, bags, ribbons, designed in the same style, and with your logo, will be very useful (about 15 thousand rubles a month).

Chocolate is very picky about a constant storage temperature, it does not tolerate drops, the room must be equipped with a split system or showcases (starting from 30 thousand rubles) that maintain a temperature of 15-20 degrees, otherwise the presentation may be lost ...

A boutique space will, of course, require a special, eye-catching design and a catchy, catchy name. In terms of cost, it is difficult to say how much the interior design will cost, here you will have to rely on your taste, available means and connections in the artistic environment. Here's what you can save a little on, so it is on creating your own website, at this stage you will not need it. Colorful brochures and business cards, commercials for the holidays on local television will be much more effective, this pleasure will cost about 2 thousand rubles a month. Even in a small town, it is best to choose a boutique location in a large mall, and a great way to attract shoppers is to have a bright, memorable opening of your chocolate shop with tastings and gifts.

Chocolate boutique + cafe = dark + white chocolate

An excellent commercial solution in a store to open a cafe, as natural as selling with dark white chocolate. In this case, it is possible not to tie the establishment to a large shopping center, it is enough to choose a place with good traffic, for example, on the central boulevard. A cozy thoughtful interior with equipped Wi-Fi points, a collection of good teas and coffee, the opportunity to taste hot chocolate - your cafe has every chance of becoming the most popular place in the city. Chocolate is one of the indispensable attributes of a "sweet" life, such as diamonds, expensive cars, furs and orchids ... In this row, it is the most affordable, and therefore, going on a romantic date, even the most unromantic and far from reality IT-schnick is more likely to take with him bouquet, and a box with an exclusive chocolate heart. An important point - the staff must know absolutely everything about the products presented, which means that it is necessary to spend money on high-quality training, to select smiling, pleasant people, with a beautiful voice and good manners. This is just the case when languid beauties are a little out of place, your product, despite the chic appearance and packaging, requires that it be properly presented and recommended. Chocolate is, if you like a philosophy, perhaps not the main, but a very bright facet of our life.

Typical "delusions" of beginner chocolatiers

It is a big mistake to think that opening such a chocolate boutique in the format of a small town is unprofitable; once there was even a dispute on this topic with a lady-entrepreneur who relied on the beautiful shape of chocolate treats to the detriment of their taste. In a city with a population below 300 thousand, such a position leads to the fact that all potential "regular" customers become "disposable" and you can very quickly lose most of the buyers. And if "lucky" to make such a tasteless and unjustifiably expensive gift, then the store is definitely over - word of mouth has not been canceled, and next time sweet delights will be ordered again "through Moscow" or brought from abroad.

Organization and costs of chocolate production

Like any manufacturing business, making chocolate and chocolate products will require significant investment. According to experts, the amount of start-up investments depends on the type of organization of the technological process: manual or automated, machine.

Automated line

The most common conveyor unit sold by well-known suppliers of this line is offered by Shell. The equipment forms a single process flow: metal strains create a chocolate shell of the product, then it allows you to get shapes and tiles of various shapes and sizes. The cost of the machine is at least 4 million rubles.

Manual line

Requires less investment. But it will be necessary to select machines independently, taking into account the advantages and features of the work, the possibility of combining the technologies of each of them within the framework of a single process. You will need:

• machine for melting chocolate mass. The cost of such a device is minimal - 300,000 rubles;
• refrigerators for solidifying finished products - from 100,000 rubles;
• inventory and auxiliary tools - scrapers, molds, blades - from 50,000 r .;
• measuring and control devices - from 10,000 r.

In total, the manual technique at the initial stage will consume about half a million rubles. attachments.

But if one employee is enough to service automation, then a non-automated factory means additional costs for wages, training of employees, deductions from their payroll.

The minimum number of workers in a small workshop is 5 people, plus a technologist who controls the work and checks the quality of the finished product.

Chocolate is not considered an essential commodity and is not included in the consumer basket, but it is difficult to find a person who is indifferent to this delicacy. Shops offer many types and varieties of chocolate, but the market cannot be considered saturated: a tasty aromatic product is always in demand. Therefore, making chocolate is a good idea for small businesses.

In this business, you do not need to compete with large confectionery factories. The emphasis should be on quality and special recipes.

• 1 Types of chocolate. What is confectionery chocolate
• 2 Equipment for the production of chocolate
• 3 Technology of production of chocolate
  • 3. Chocolate shop personnel
  • 3. Requirements for the premises
• 4 Chocolate production at home
  • 4. What chocolate is made of - raw materials for production
  • 4. Chocolate making process
• 5 Setting up a chocolate business
• 6 Financial settlements
  • 6. How much money should be invested in setting up a chocolate business
  • 6. How much can you make on chocolate
• 7 Conclusion

Types of chocolate What is confectionery chocolate

Confectioners are constantly inventing new tastes of chocolate: they think over the composition, recipe, and appearance.

Three main groups:

• Bitter (dark). It is considered the most useful - there is no excess sugar, flavorings in the composition. Content of cocoa liquor - from 55 percent, cocoa butter - from 33 percent. Bitter taste and bright aroma depend on proportions. Bitter chocolate is the most refractory.
• Milky. The color of the chocolate is lighter, the taste is sweet, soft. These properties are explained by the fact that the composition contains 2.5-3 percent of milk fat, more than 12 percent of milk and / or dairy products (in dry form), and the cocoa mass contains at the level of 25-35 percent. Milk chocolate melts quickly at high temperatures, therefore it is used as the main raw material in the production of chocolate glaze.
• White. In an effort to reduce the cost of producing a treat, chocolatiers reduced the number of cocoa beans and then eliminated them entirely. white chocolate does not add cocoa beans that give color. The composition contains only cocoa butter, which gives aroma, sugar in the form of powder and milk powder, which determine the taste.

There is also confectionery chocolate. It is not eaten directly, but is used for the production of various confectionery products - cakes, croissants, cookies, etc. Such chocolate is usually sold by weight in bars or in the form of chocolate chips. It also comes in white, milky and bitter colors and costs less than regular chocolate.

Cooking methods:

• Dessert. The content of cocoa products is not less than 45%, while chocolate can be either black or dairy. The cost price of dessert types is higher, since it is produced from cocoa varieties with a particularly delicate aroma and taste. It is used neat and in desserts.
• Porous. It is produced using a special technology, when the chocolate is saturated with oxygen and becomes loose. It turns milky, white or black depending on the percentage of ingredients.
• Normal. Made according to classic recipes.
• Filled. Chocolate is filled with nuts, fruits, jellies, sweets, etc. Sorts are also made with more exotic fillings. Salt, pepper, sun-dried tomatoes, bacon and other, at first glance, "unsuitable" products are placed inside the tiles.
• Liquid. A drink that includes cocoa, sugar and milk powder.
• Diet. Made without added sugar. In addition, the fats in diet chocolate are replaced with air or water. Such a product has a minimum calorie content, and is acceptable for dieters.
• Ruby. Dyes are not used for cooking, and the color is obtained due to the special pink cocoa beans. Invented in 2021 and has not yet entered the market.
• Green. Green algae added to the composition. Made in Spain and Japan.
• Gold. White chocolate is used as a base, coloring components are added.
• Live. The base is unroasted cocoa beans, the rest of the ingredients are only of natural origin. It is good for disrupting the balance of hormones, helps to restore strength after intense mental or physical work.