If your bean-to-bar chocolate was in any way sub-par, you’d surely be setting yourself up for ridicule by packaging your wares to resemble gold ingots.
Happily, with silver and bronze Academy of Chocolate awards to its name, Bullion’s small-batch bars are pretty precious commodities – loved by fine chocolate fans, fancy-pants hotels, and the UK’s premier department stores alike.
But in spite of the Mayan’s historical use of cocoa beans as currency, you can’t currently walk into the bank and exchange chocolate for capital.
And herein lay the dilemma for Bullion’s entrepreneurial founder Max Scotford, a 25 year-old graduate who yearned for an empire built not of bars but bricks. His dream venue would be sited in Sheffield’s new Cutlery Works food hall; comprising an expanded chocolate factory and café.
So, with plans a wee bit bigger then the available bank balance would permit, the young chocolate company has just gone live with a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign.
A journey of £10,000 starts with a single penny, and it’s not always easy to get the cash flowing. But, with a generous incentive scheme including rewards like factory tours, free coffee and chocolate-making classes, Bullion’s campaign got off the blocks faster an Olympian athlete – raising an impressive 43% of the target in its first week.
With just over a fortnight to go and less than 30% of the total amount left to raise, Bullion is edging ever closer to opening that dream destination, where visitors will be able to feast not only on-site-crafted bean-to-bar chocolate but also fresh-baked brownies, locally-made ice cream, and cups of coffee made with Caravan Roasters’ brilliant beans.
It’s safe to say that Max is really going for gold with Bullion’s Kickstarter. He’s got the drive, he’s got the determination, and he’s got the damn delicious chocolate – now why not help him wrap it up so his masterplan doesn’t get foiled?
- Bullion Chocolate’s Kickstarter campaign runs until Sunday 7 October
- To view and back the project, click here
- To visit Bullion Chocolate’s website, click here
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