Joyce Guan from Charles Chocolates invited me to a tasting at the factory in Emeryville, where founder Chuck Siegel wowed journalists with his confections including a sublime lavender honey truffle. I asked Chuck to talk about his retail test store, which I thought was a brilliant concept… he had the opportunity to test a retail space in Laurel Village for 7 weeks. In that short time, they:
- established the brand & created a loyal following
- learned what sold best & got ideas for new products
- gained valuable insights from speaking with customers
This crash course taught them A LOT and if and when they do decide to take the plunge and open a permanent retail store, they’ll know what to expect. Smart! Read about what we tasted that evening in Shuna & Kim’s delicious behind-the-scenes report on KQED’s Bay Area Bites. Above photo of Chuck (with me taking copious notes) by Jason Jao.
