The replies I've gotten have been wonderful. Especially Alex and
Clay...Thank You!

To be more specific, the business is going to be tied in with a Candy
Bouquet service. The product mix that I am envisioning will be candy
bouquets, fudge, chocolates, confections, greeting cards, and
miscellaneous gift items.

This idea is literally only about a week or so old and I used my
question here as sort of a springboard for some ideas and a general
direction where to go. The business will be owned and operated by my
wife and I. She will quit her job and work full time while I'll be
part time. I am 34 years old and have a BS in in business (Finance
and Mgmt Science) but no experience as an entrepreneur. It has been
my dream to start and run a successful business. I think this
business suits mine and my wife's personalities and I love chocolate
as much as anyone. I haven't been exposed to any high end brands, but
don't necessarily see that as a detriment at this point.

I'm currently working on the business plan and my primary target
market is men and women between 30 and 50. I anticipate that the
candy bouquets will drive the most revenue with the chocolates, fudge,
and confections coming a strong second and the greeting cards and
small gifts just being a supplement..

We are about a year out from opening as the location that we are
shooting for is currently under development and will be an upscale,
outdoor shopping mall. It should be good for a lot of foot traffic
and will be between 1100 and 1400 square feet.

I don't know how much of a market there will be for high-end and above
grade chocolate. While there isn't any local competition in that
category, I imagine that the chocolate lovers like yourselves have
favorite distributors or retailers who ship to you cheaper than what I
could sell it for from a retail business.

Right now I'm envisioning having a supply of Lindt, Ghirardelli, and
Scharffen Berger bars, truffles from Dan's Chocolates. Beyond that I
am still researching for other types of confections and fudge.

I'm still very apprehensive at this point as is my wife. We have
talked about running a business for years and have never gone through
with it. This time, I think we have the right idea and will have the
right plan.

-Linus


On Sun, 08 Feb 2004 20:34:20 GMT, Linus >
wrote:

>My wife and I are in the early stages of opening a retail location
>that will feature quality chocolates and candy.
>
>Can anyone recommend some wholesalers and particular brands of
>chocolate that are of excellent quality and also value.
>
>I am in the SouthEast region and am concerned with chocolate melting
>during summer months, especially during shipping. How is the problem
>combatted?
>-Linus