Offering a curated assortment of artisanal chocolates can provide specialty food retailers with incremental revenues that drive traffic and generate high margins, said Matt Caputo, founder of chocolate distributor A Priori Specialty Foods and CEO of Caputo’s Market & Deli.
Caputo is scheduled to discuss trends in the fine chocolate industry and offer advice about how retailers can get the most out of the category during a session at the Fancy Food Show in Las Vegas, tomorrow, Feb. 6, from 2-3 p.m. The session is open to all badge holders, with no additional fee required. It is being presented in partnership with the Fine Chocolate Industry Association.
“I’m going to talk about why fine chocolate is an important category, and about how it has a higher margin than many shelf-stable grocery categories,” Caputo told SFA News Daily.
Chocolate is also economical to ship, and it generates high returns relative to the shelf space it occupies in the store, he said.
Caputo, who is a member of the FCIA, also plans to present new consumer research from the association about trends in the fine chocolate category.
Among the topics will be the emergence of fine chocolate bars that reflect the cuisines of their place of origin, and go beyond the typical ingredients commonly found in dark chocolate bars.
“There are a lot of chocolate makers that are really carving out a niche for themselves by emphasizing their own sense of place — not just where the cacao comes from, but where they're making chocolate in the first place, and how to weave their culture, or maybe even their cuisine, into the actual product itself,” said Caputo.
The session will also delve into other forms of chocolates that craft makers have increasingly produced, such as malt balls and bonbons.
As a chocolate retailer himself who became obsessed with chocolate several years ago, Caputo will also share tips for marketing and merchandising the category.
“We'll probably talk about strategy, and about how stores can amplify their store’s brand positioning while adding to the customer experience with chocolate,” he said.
For example, cheese shops are a natural fit for the category, because of their experience with sampling — although sampling chocolate can be much easier, Caputo said.
In fact, Caputo had first expanded his gourmet cheese assortment at Caputo’s Market & Deli before he dove into the world of fine chocolates. Caputo’s Market & Deli now features more than 500 carefully curated chocolate bar selections, and A Priori is known as the largest distributor of fine chocolates in the country, he said.
Caputo said he also plans to discuss some other real-world examples of specialty food stores that have incorporated fine chocolates into their offerings, and even how mainstream restaurants such as Shake Shack have sourced artisan chocolates for their own recipes.
The session will also cover topics such as how retailers can collaborate with other specialty food brands to promote chocolate, and how they can use community events to raise awareness about their chocolate offerings.
Retailers don’t have to dive head-first into the fine chocolate category in order to get started, Caputo said, but instead can focus on specific niches as they develop their own expertise and knowledge.
“You don't have to have 150 chocolates,” he said. “Find something that really resonates with you, and get behind that.
“It helps if it's not widely distributed, but there are so many emerging brands that are doing incredible things and really haven't gotten deep distribution yet,” he added. “You can easily make it a part of your lineup without having to become expert in the category as a whole.”
Related: Caputo's Perserveres During Pandemic; Fancy Food Goes to Vegas: A Digital Preview.