By Samantha Poliseno
Princeton, NJ (February 4, 2013) More and more professionals are leaving the corporate world, with its rigid structure, to pursue a more fulfilling role of entrepreneurs. Some people are lucky enough to start a business out of their love for a hobby, while others seem to stumble upon entrepreneurship by sheer necessity. This was the case for Joanne Reilly, the owner of the Chocolate Lovers of Princeton, New Jersey. In December 2012, Joanne opened up her doors to chocolate loving consumers and artisans.
Throughout her years working in corporate America, Joanne spent her free time cooking and entertaining for family and friends. Eventually, her job evolved to require more travel and that meant less time to take care of her children. Joanne and a partner started working on the idea for a mail order cake business. Joanne was going to do the marketing; her partner was going to do the baking. When her partner abruptly backed out of the venture, she had to go back to the drawing board and quickly turned to chocolate. Joanne took chocolate making classes and attended various trade shows to learn more about the trade. Fortunately for Joanne, she found out that she and chocolate do get along. Her business concept has evolved over the years. What started as a "cakes by mail" business has now morphed into The Chocolate Lovers of Princeton (located on Rt. 206 next to Lucy’s Ravioli): a chocolate storefront and event venue.
But Joanne is not the only one selling her chocolate out of the shop. Chocolate Lovers has become home to several other artisans throughout New Jersey. These were people who, just like Joanne, loved working with chocolate. Whether as a hobby or part-time business, Chocolate Lovers has given local artisans an opportunity to sell out of a storefront and expose their products to new customers.
The co-op consists of The Madison Chocolatiers West, a team of chocolatiers that create unique and exemplary chocolate truffles and bars by using the best fresh fruits, herbs and spices. Joanne has also included a party planner, Nicole Helme of LuLu Loves Parties, a young woman who was running a party planning and baked goods business out of her home. Chocolate Lovers is also now home to a “bean-to-bar” chocolatier, Melanie Flores of Anahata Cacao, who started off as a nutritionist and got involved with chocolate-making for a healthier lifestyle. Last, but certainly not least, there’s Fernanda Venancio Filho of Passion Fruits Artisanal Ice Pops for when the weather warms up.
With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, the new shop has opened up in perfect timing. The holiday will give the team of chocolatiers a chance to prove themselves against big commercial brands such as Lindt, Godiva and Whitman’s. According to Nielson Research, in the U.S. alone, more than 58 million pounds of chocolate candy are sold during Valentine’s week. Joanne intends to make sure as much of that as possible comes from Mercer County this year. Joanne’s customers know that the chocolate found at The Chocolate Lovers Co-op is superior because of the ingredients they use and the care they put into making the products. “One of the first things people want to know when they walk into the shop is if the chocolate is made on site. People are looking for something different than what they’ve already had time and time again. And we hope that by offering a variety of treats from different producers, we can give customers what they’re looking for while creating more jobs in the community.” So on this Valentine’s Day, make sure you show your loved one how much you care by giving the finest chocolate in the area. And keep your eyes out for the next installment, Chocolate Lovers USA, a portal website where chocolate lovers can order craft and rare chocolate off the website to be shipped anywhere in the country.
