From Local Niche Manufacturer to Hot Chocolate Powerhouse: Sillycow Farms Is Serious About Selling Cocoa
"Jonathan Rutstein credits a midlife crisis for spurring him to switch gears from public planning to cocoa making. In 1988, he and his wife, Fran, bought Bread & Chocolate, a small Vermont company that produced Belgian chocolate sauces. After discovering there was demand for locally made hot chocolate, they developed a cocoa recipe, packaged the cocoa in a nostalgic-looking milk bottle with a cow’s image, and dubbed the company Sillycow Farms. Here, Rutstein discusses how those changes led to sweet sales gains. –As told to Karen Angel..."
