Today we’d like to introduce you to Christina Hedrick.
Christina, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My name is Christina, but my friends call me Weena. My husband, Tim, and I have always loved feeding people. Our oldest daughter, Morgan, had a dairy allergy until very recently, and that meant a lot of disappointment around chocolate-centered holidays like Halloween and Christmas.
Tim and I are also big believers in eating whole foods, or at least the simplest version of a food, whenever possible. So I came up with this raw chocolate recipe: just raw organic fair-trade cacao, virgin cold-pressed organic fair trade coconut oil, and local honey. And although, as these things tend to go, Morgan was not a big fan (!), everyone else was. Enough people told us that I should start selling it that I finally did. Morgan (now 12) did eventually come around to dark chocolate-and we’ve since added another chocolate taster (Rowan, 3) to our family.
We started selling at farmers’ markets at the end of 2014 and found an unexpected home there. The energy you get from sharing your products with people and trading with other vendors is invaluable. If you find the right market, you end up with a second family. For a long time, we thought we were working towards big stores like Whole Foods, but then we partnered with Deepa Shridhar of 33 Tigers Supper Club and found our real calling. Deepa and her partner, Sakif, create pre-fixe Indian fusion menus and form dinner parties around them. At first, Cru Bom was packed into swag bags for these events, but then we started creating a custom pouco (like a cross between a truffle and a brigadeiro) to complement each menu. Every time I went to one of their gatherings, I would pop my latest creation into my mouth while sipping a glass of red, and catch myself smiling like I hadn’t ever eaten my own chocolate before.
So I’ll continue to make chocolate for farmers’ markets and do limited online sales and sustainable shipping for gifts. But at the end of the day, I just want to make a dessert (or cheese plate chocolate) for your next event.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
One of the most challenging parts of this endeavor has been keeping our packaging sustainable while growing our brand and becoming more streamlined. There are a million cheap plastic and recycled-looking packaging options out there, but very few compostable or 100% post-consumer recycled options, especially in small business quantities. Not to mention, the price of caring what you put your products in is usually 3-4 times higher.
Luckily, I had a friend in this mission. KC of Conscious Goods and I have been trading resources and encouragement for several years now. So one of the best pieces of advice I can offer is to find at least one other woman with a similar vision to keep you on track or just pull you up by your bootstraps when you feel like you’re sinking. I was lucky enough to have several others {Cheree Jetton, Kolby Monnig, Deepa Shridhar, Jessie Kempf, Remi Almani, Angel Powers} building me up and I don’t think I would have kept this going without their support. I’ve also been incredibly blessed to have my husband/best friend as a partner in this. He asks questions I would never think to ask. I’m pretty sure I could write an entire article about all the ways in which these people have carried and inspired me. That being said, if there’s anyone out there who needs a sustainabili-buddy or just some guidance, shoot me an email (info@crubom.com). We’re all in this together.
The same challenges also apply for ingredients. Most people don’t think about whether the chocolate they buy is made with organic or fair trade ingredients and how much more it costs the maker to use kinder, less processed materials. It’s taken us a long time to realize that this means we are not looking to sell to the average consumer. Our chocolate is an experience. And it’s as healthy and delicious as it gets.
Oh, and one other thing: If you don’t love something about your business, change it. Don’t be afraid of losing what you’ve already put in. This is a journey and you’re going to have sunk costs. Sometimes you can’t know a path isn’t right until you’re on it. Just saying.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Cru Bom Raw Chocolate Brigadeiro – what should we know?
There are several things that set us apart:
1) Our chocolate is raw. What does that mean? Well, whenever you buy chocolate off of a shelf at the store, the beans have been roasted and the chocolate has been tempered to make it more shelf-stable. This also depletes some of the naturally occurring trace minerals and nutrients. Our chocolate does encounter heat on its journey, but only from friction, pressure and the sun.
2) Great ingredients: just raw organic fair-trade cacao, virgin cold-pressed organic fair trade coconut oil, and local honey
3) For now our chocolate is made in a shared kitchen, so it’s not recommended if you have Celiac, but we’re working on that. Meanwhile, it is made without dairy, gluten, soy, corn, or processed sugars. Most of our chocolate is made without nuts, though we occasionally slip some into a custom order upon request. Eating on a restricted diet is hard and we want our chocolate to be accessible to as many people as possible. So whether you’re avoiding those ingredients due to a sensitivity, autoimmune disease, or just to feel better in general, we’ve got you. This is chocolate you can feel great about eating.
4) Cacao itself is not sustainable, but we have made it our mission to stay small and be as conscious of our mother (the earth) as humanly possible.
Do you recommend any apps, books or podcasts that have been helpful to you?
My biggest and most valuable resource has been the other women makers I’ve met along the way.
Pricing:
- Quadrado {square} bars: $10
- Poucos {4pc pouch}: $12
- Bulk, unwrapped event poucos: $2/pc
- Bulk, custom unwrapped event poucos: $3/pc
Contact Info:
- Website: www.crubom.com
- Phone: 5126904420
- Email: info@crubom.com
- Instagram: @crubomboms
- Facebook: facebook.com/crubomboms
Image Credit:
Remi Almani
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