Business Plan: Leave a sweet taste in the customer's mouth.

By Ann Wilmer

After 20 years in uniform, Dave Bruner was ready for a new adventure. His wife, Michelle, was glad he'd be grounded for a while (he served in the Air Force) and urged him to select an adventure they could both enjoy. Believe it or not, that's how he became a candy maker. The Bruner's new business, U Oughtta be on Chocolate, is one of a handful of vendors in the USA who produce chocolate confections imprinted with must about any image you can imagine. The process Bruner uses, imprints a full-color image on a thin layer of royal icing rather than directly on chocolate. The product, which is completely edible, is also kosher: Star K, Star D (milk chocolate) or Parve (dark chocolate). Bruner uses an FDA-approved food dye, which comes out of ink jet cartridges. "Every time we make a product for someone they are reluctant to eat it," said Bruner. Usually, the printed chocolate is an insert so they can take out the insert and save it if they just can't bear to part with it, he said. "We offer over 40 different items of chocolate that are available in milk, dark and Belgian chocolate. We can print a picture on a chocolate portrait, 4 by 5 inches and shrink that same picture down to one-half inch to fit on a Belgian chocolate truffle with all the details," he said. Their sweet products come in a variety of shapes and sizes and can be personalized with a photo, logo or greeting. Favorite items for children include lollypops and chocolate coins which retail for as little as 85 cents each. There is a minimum purchase requirement for most items and a set-up fee for $5-10 for the low-end items, but these are still inexpensive enough to purchase as party favors for birthdays or bar mitzvahs. All their chocolate is kosher. All their candy is solid chocolate: milk chocolate, dark chocolate or Belgian chocolate. If the order is large enough, he'll talk with you about white chocolate. Shape doesn't matter, the Bruner's charge by the ounce. The jumbo lollipop is a hefty piece of chocolate to which they add a decorative bow. Florists buy them to put in floral arrangements. Chocolate bars imprinted with a portrait are popular items for adult gift giving. A portrait on chocolate can also be the centerpiece of a box of chocolate candies making very personal and unusual gift, popular for anniversary parties. Even the frame can be made of chocolate. Another adult favorite is business cards. Bruner suggests that customers back the chocolate card with a paper card so potential clients will be able to find them after they have eaten the candy card. They learned this from personal experience. The same slice of chocolate used to manufacture business cards can be used as edible place cards for a wedding or other fancy event. One of Bruner's favorite products is an "edible heart-shaped white chocolate box with edible truffles inside." It can be imprinted with a photo but some of his customers have used it as an engagement prop by having "Will you marry me?" imprinted on the box and putting the ring inside. Sounds safer than putting the ring in the bottom of a fluted glass filled with champagne; no wonder it creates a lot of buzz at wedding shows. Another product they feature is a "save the date" card for couples planning a wedding. And Bruner has found it a good marketing tool at the bridal shows to offer a small quantity of these as a door prize at bridal shows. One of the most unusual candy products they have produced is a reproduction of a CD, complete with cover art, in chocolate. They have already branched out to offer cookies. They use dough from a cookie company in Maryland to produce "a very good, homemade-tasting cookie." Ordering and shipping must have a three-days turnaround for the product to have optimum taste. Bruner can print on them, too. Bruner said that they recently celebrated their one-year in business anniversary of their home-based business. "I think we've moved ahead very well," Bruner said. Like many young businesses, they wear multiple hats and try to do everything themselves to encourage their fledgling business to grow. He does the camera work using a software program to manipulate the image and ready it for printing, he prints the candy and he packages and ships it. It's a labor-intensive operation. He opens their display room by appointment and he sends out samples to encourage businesses to buy their product. His wife does the paperwork and bookkeeping as well as generating sales leads. Even their son helps out and sometimes has good marketing ideas. His favorite activity is to hand out chocolate business cards to generate sales and he's apparently pretty good at it. But U Oughtta be on Chocolate has 13 sales reps that pitch their product to customers in the Carolinas. Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania as well as Delaware where three of them are based. And he's also thinking ahead to the day when he might franchise the business. One of the things he really enjoys doing is live special events. Bruner takes his equipment and chocolate blanks and demonstrates the printing process on site. He will be at Macy's in Dover on October 13 for their customer appreciation day. They will be printing out Macy's logo on their coins giving customers a sweet treat and getting the word out about the their product. They are also doing a fundraiser for parent-teacher organization at Star Hill Elementary, near Magnolia where their 10-year-old son is a student. Bruner said that 30 percent of all proceeds go back to the school. Customers can order candy through the school until October 31. If it goes well, they may do a similar offering for Christmas. He has even applied for and received approval to bid on federal contracts for events that might require a novelty item to celebrate an important occasion. Maybe for the next presidential inauguration will feature a chocolate product made in Delaware. For more information, contact Bruner via phone, 302-335-5234, or visit their website at www.yoboc.com.

www.yoboc.com