A taste of Colombia

Confectionery Production caught up with Simon Hasslacher, director of Hasslacher’s, the company that recently introduced ‘solid bar’ Colombian drinking chocolate to the UK market.

What is your background and what is the background to your business? 
I moved to Colombia seven years ago. I hadn’t really noticed the solid bar drinking chocolate that is so common here until my wife started making it for our daughter Maria. I became hooked, having been used to the powdered version in the UK. This product is almost unrecognisable in terms of depth of taste. However, it wasn’t until my friend Jim came to visit us that the idea of exporting it the UK was formed. With his background in marketing, he was convinced that we could make this work. After a number of tasting sessions, we found that the 250g bar produced by Casa Luker, a 110 year old chocolate manufacturer, was of the highest quality. Also, Casa Luker is a well-established business and was in a position to satisfy the demand that we were anticipating.

Did you carry out any market research before starting out?
Yes, we bought market intelligence that identified how much (in terms of annual spend) the UK hot chocolate market is worth. Jim and Reuban (our finance director and a friend of Jim’s) visited numerous supermarkets to taste the hot chocolate products that were currently available to gauge the competition. We also arranged for a trial shipment of 1000 bars to be sent over in three different types of packaging. We then hired a pitch at Maltby Street Food Market in London to get some direct feedback from consumers regarding the taste of the product and which type of packaging they preferred.

How did you get the money together to get started?
Reuban provided us with a small loan, and we all put in an extra £2000 of equity. We are proud to have got this far on a fairly small budget, but a great deal of our success is thanks to Jim’s hard work and determination. He is at the coal face on the marketing side of things, while I liaise and organise things in Colombia.

Which trade shows do you attend and why?
We attend the Speciality and Fine Food Fair at Olympia in London as that’s where most other cool new foodie brands seem to be.

How do you feel the chocolate sector is changing?
I think people are becoming more ‘quality’ aware. Not only when it comes to chocolate, but across the food and drink sector. They are prepared to pay higher prices for products that are of a superior quality.

In which countries do you sell your product?
We initially focused on the UK market, and we are now listed in Marks & Spencer, Waitrose and Tesco, in addition to numerous distribution centres and other smaller retail outlets. We have also made inroads into Germany, Scandinavia and the US. While our focus remains the UK, we will now start to devote greater resources to international expansion.

What do you consider to be the unique selling points of the brand? 
The taste of the chocolate is far superior to that of most other drinking chocolate on the market (particularly within
a comparable price range).
The cacao mass that we use is certified Fino de Aroma by the International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO) as providing an exquisite aroma and taste. Only about seven per cent of cacao produced has this certification.

How do you promote and market the brand?
We have been the subject of various encouraging write-ups in trade publications, as well as the Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal.
 
How have you developed your range?
Using the same cacao mass, we have developed chocolate discs that are easier to dissolve than the bar, and we are also working on chocolate shavings, as well as a ready made chocolate milk. We have also started importing small volumes of organic panela, which is an unrefined sugar that has a unique taste and contains more nutrients than refined sugar.

What are your best sellers?
It is the 250g bar, especially in outlets such as M&S. However, now that Tesco and Waitrose are selling the pouches, this may change.

Do you have plans to expand?
We are looking at various ways to raise finance and create new chocolate and non-chocolate products, such as a natural energy drink based on panela.