What a journey this is turning out to be. I created the first Cocomel a couple of years ago and humbly put it on the table of my booth at the Boulder farmers market. From that moment, watching people taste them and hearing their comments, I realized I was on to something. Now all I needed to do was to learn how to build a company and brand around this idea. Not a simple task it turns out...
For two years I’ve been learning as much I can, talking to those with experience, reading books and just getting out there and trying things. I’m pretty proud of what we’ve accomplished so far, being sold in over 150 satisfied stores, winning some great accolades and most importantly, getting to make you, the person who eats Cocomels, happy. I’ve received so many heartwarming comments that it’s hard for my often self-critical brain to get used to. Thank you.
About nine months ago I realized it was time to take all of my newly acquired knowledge and apply it to Cocomels. The first phase of the company I would dub the 'proof of concept' phase and I would re-launch applying all I now knew. First, I managed to convince some investors in the value of my little idea. With the money I hired a graphic design company to update our look and feel and also found, after much looking, an old refurbished caramel wrapping machine to help us make more Cocomels. Gloria, the woman who has lovingly wrapped 90% of Cocomels by hand, is now happily making sure the machine is living up to her high standard. It is able to create pieces similar in shape to our old ones, only smaller. As a result, you’ll notice that Cocomels will get cheaper per piece.
Cocomels will remain a premium product. They are hard to make and are cooked in small batches in copper kettles, made with organic ingredients whenever possible, fair trade chocolate, with fair wages being paid to my employees. It is not our goal to provide a cheap sugary treat, but rather a high-quality, unique and transcendent sweet that should be cherished and shared. Our motto is that when you eat sugar, you should eat it in moderation and in the form of special treats that really deliver.
I hope you like our new look, packaging, piece sizes as well as this new website. Know that this transition is meant to improve our product, get the packaging to reflect the uniqueness of what’s inside and to afford us the opportunity to supply more stores.
Please send us any comments or suggestions you might have as we always love to hear from you. Thanks again for your support and we hope you enjoy Cocomels even more in the future.
Sweetly yours,
JJ – Chief Candyman