A Discussion With Crislyn of Chocolateers
Easter Season is upon us and Goa is seeing a rise in the number of customers that crave a more personal feel to their Easter Goodies or Festive Treats. That is where Homemade products enter the picture. These homemade products are the results of skilled bakers or chocolatiers that hone their skills and passion for baking or making chocolates, towards catering to a close-knit community of customers that resonate with their services.
Joining ItsGoa is Crislyn of Chocolateers; to speak about her side-hustle and the current situation with Commercial Bakers or Chocolatiers during festive seasons.
Chocolateers was conceived in the early months of 2020 when Crislyn was still pursuing her studies at College. She was encouraged by her parents to start this business as a way for her to learn to manage her assets – fast forward two years later; Crislyn who is now working at a marketing company has learned to incorporate her marketing knowledge into the business. Chocolateers as it stands is a “book-to-place- order” type of business. She, along with her younger sister, creates a special menu for various festive occasions and takes orders for other special occasions be it birthdays or weddings.
She has a variety of Milk-based chocolates, non-dairy chocolates, and dark chocolates to cater to all customers. Her products are produced and packaged all from the comfort and warmth of her home, and delivery is usually handled personally or via a courier service if the customer is not willing to pick the order up themselves. There is a certain misconception about the safety standards in concern with producing homemade products, but the products at Chocolateers much like any commercial store, are produced and packaged using appropriate Covid safety guidelines: The products are made and handled with gloves and face masks, and delivery is in accordance to the regulated Covid safety guidelines.
Crislyn then went on to speak about how her business has changed over time. She explained that most of her customers nowadays tend to be in the young or middle-aged category and that some of her older customers have reduced their order frequency due to their diabetic conditions. With some of her original customers reducing the frequency of their orders, Crislyn decided to put her marketing knowledge to use and therefore set up a marketing strategy for her online followers – She on occasion will ask her followers for product suggestions for new ideas or modifications, via open-ended questions through online polls. The suggestions she receives along with the research she does on trending products decide the proposition for her new menu. Even her product packaging has changed over the years in accordance with the suggestions that she has received from her close customers. So it is very much a customer-oriented approach to producing chocolates that she has chosen to follow.
She explained that her customers usually place orders from her, as they can be assured to receive fresh homemade products produced from quality ingredients. She pointed out this distinction from commercial stores which during festive seasons, bulk-produce products and skim on quality ingredients in the hopes of making higher profit margins. Crislyn also pointed out that some stores sell day’s old products, which is different from what homemade bakers offer with their “book-to-place-order” business model. Some of her orders have been produced hours before the deadline. That’s the level of freshness Chocolateers and other homemade-product catering businesses have to offer! So this Easter Season, give a local Caterer some support and love by supporting the services they provide.
