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Vol. 1, No. 1
EARTH’S SWEET PLEASURES
WEBSITE LAUNCHED
Earth’s Sweet Pleasures official website launched on March 13, 2008. What a day that was! We felt
like we had given birth to our baby. It was an overdue one, that’s for sure, almost 10 months in the
making! Many of you have already visited the site, (which is beautiful if we must say so ourselves).
If you haven’t, please check it out:
www.EarthsSweetPleasures.com
THE BACK STORY
How It All Began
Over two years ago Hawk began to research how to make his delicious fudge recipe organic
and fair-trade. (You can read about what this means on our website on the FAQ’s page
http://www.earthssweetpleasures.com/index.php?p=faq.) For example, instead of using
conventional chocolate chips and white sugar, Hawk figured out how to make the recipe with
organic dark chocolate and organic evaporated cane juice from farmers in Central and South
America. There are a lot of other ingredients in the fudge, of course, and they are all organic
as well!
Hawk has a special way of making fudge, and there was one ingredient that was not available
organically at that time. We thought we might have to apply for the “mostly organic” status
with the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. However, the last ingredient was found, organic marshmallow
crème! A new company sprung up back eastcalled Toonie Moonie and we became their first
customer. After 18 months of trying different recipes, Earth’s Sweet Pleasures
100% Organic Fudge was born!
Website Design and Financial Considerations
Meanwhile, we had hired a website design company called Tech Xpress in San Luis Obispo, California.
Hawk worked tirelessly with Chuck Jehle, (office: 805-541-5310, email: chuckjehle@aol.com),
our friend and website consultant, to create the website you see today. We had no idea how much
detail goes into creating a fully interactive, professional website. Hours and hours, back and forth
with the designers. It was challenging, but worth every minute!
As the website was being constructed, Hawk was also working on our Business Plan; contacting banks
and private investors so that we could purchase the fudge making equipment necessary to meet the
huge demand that we know we are going to have!
The New Plan – aka, “Jumping Off The Cliff”
As it was getting close to the Christmas season and we had not obtained outside financing we had to figure out a
new plan. After 18 months of preparation, we were ready to make fudge! We decided to go with a smaller cooker
and create our own cooling table. We ordered the fudge ingredients and the boxes and found a local restaurant
up here on the North San Juan ridge where we could make our fudge. Then we sat back and waited for our deliveries.
We got the boxes and the ingredients, but no cooker. We waited and we waited. Hawk began calling to find out where
it was. Nobody knew! The shipper had lost a 400 lb. crate! Those two weeks were excruciating. It finally arrived in
Sacramento on Friday, Dec. 14, 2007. A day that will live on in infamy. Hawk went down to pick it up himself, otherwise,
we would have had to wait until the following Monday.No way!
The First Batch
You should have seen Hawk that day. He was like a kid with a new toy. His friends helped him unload the crate and wheel it into
the restaurant kitchen. He couldn’t wait to make his first batch of fudge in a commercial cooker. (I nicknamed it “Robocop”,
because that’s what it reminds me of.) It makes 27 lbs. at a time. It was exciting. We were making the first organic gourmet
fudge in the USA!
Our First Customers
Thanks to all of you who supported us with Christmas orders. We sent fudge all over the U.S: California, Florida, North Carolina,
Texas and Minnesota. We also sold locally at Christmas fairs. It was a great way to sample our fudge and get feedback.
We see now that starting on a smaller scale was the best way to go. It was challenging, but a great learning experience.
For example, we learned about shipping and shelf life, and have subsequently purchased a shrink-wrap machine for the boxes.
Once again, thank you all for your feedback and support.
In order to continue to reach out to the local community after the Christmas fairs, we decided to market our fudge to local stores
and cafes. Instead of selling it by the pound, we created 2.5 oz. bars wrapped in gold foil. We also made hearts for Valentine’s Day.
We would like to say a big thank-you to the stores that purchased our fudge and continue to carry it here in Nevada County:
Mother Trucker’s, California Organics, Briar Patch Co-Op and Natural Selection. Our fudge is also sold locally at The Broad Street
Café, Ridge Stop Café and Magikal Florist, an organic flower shop.
USDA Organic Certification and Fair Trade
After the craziness of the holidays were over, we began the process of applying for organic certification. We chose to go through
CCOF, California Certified Organic Farmers. It took a couple of months, but we had our inspection in the beginning of March, and
we are proud to say that our fudge is now USDA Certified Organic. Also, all of the chocolate we use in our fudge is Fair Trade
Certified. You will see all of these logos displayed on our boxes. This is another exciting milestone for Earth’s Sweet Pleasures!
Speaking of Boxes
We used a professional design company called Vital Design Group, out of Texas, to design our new, beautiful packaging. It looks a
lot like the website design, with the rainforest on the top, our logo in the middle and delicious-looking fudge being stirred on the
bottom. Look for this new packaging to appear soon in the photos on our website. Once we have received our new boxes, we will
be promoting our fudge to a wider retail market.
Shipping
During the first 30 days of our website launch, we have been working out the kinks. The cool thing about a website, is it can be
constantly updated and changed to meet new needs. One of the things we noticed is that the UPS shipping was too high. That
has now been corrected. For now, FedX is our default shipper. However, if you prefer UPS, you can click on that. We may also add
USPS in the future as they are beginning to become more active in shipping on the internet.
CHECK OUT OUR NEW BLOG!
www.chocolatefudgecafe.com
Even the best websites can be a little limiting when it comes to education and feedback. Therefore, we created a blog where we
can continually add articles about chocolate; its history, its industry and people’s interests in it. The Chocolate Fudge Café blog is
under development and will be continually updated. Earth’s Sweet Pleasures newsletters will be archived there, so check-in
frequently and leave your comments!
And finally…Fudge of the Month
After we get our heads above the clouds, we will be creating a special fudge for each month. We’ll keep you posted. |
