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Crowdfunding campaigns are a great way to help a small business grow and thrive while engaging a loyal base of consumers and followers. I often find myself trawling through the Kickstarter listings to see what unique and interesting ideas are out about about right now.
The last one I came across was The Chocolate Society's Hot Chocolate Shaker. I was sceptical at first, watched a demo, and loved the concept so much I bought one.
When I heard Leeds-based Frank Laws was setting up a campaign to grow his Frankly Delicious chocolate business, I was intrigued. So I got in touch with Frank to chat about his campaign on Kickstarter.
Frank's Story So Far
Frank openly admits that as recently as 2019, he was happy to use Belgian chocolate couverture to produce his chocolate bonbons and creations. It was Season 2's Bitter Chocolate episode of Netflix documentary, Rotten, that opened his eyes to the realities of the chocolate supply chain. He was taken aback by the brutal realities of the industry he loves so much, citing "unfair pay, child labour, and murder" alongside deforestation as the catalysts for change.
He looked for a way to continue producing delicious chocolates but in a sustainable and ethical manner. At the beginning of his chocolate journey, Frank was adamant he wasn't going to become a bean-to-bar maker, but it transpired to be the only way he could be sure his chocolate was making a positive impact on the world.
He began 2020 by adapting his bars and bonbons to use his home-made bean-to-bar chocolate instead of chocolate couverture callets. Frankly Delicious currently boasts six bars in the range: a vegan Madagascan 70% dark chocolate bar; a vegan Indian 70% dark chocolate bar; an Indian 40% milk chocolate bar; a vegan coconut milk chocolate bar; a gloriously vivid pink vegan raspberry white chocolate bar; and a bronze blonde white chocolate bar.
His premium cacao beans are sourced through an ethical wholesaler from plantations in North West Madagascar and the Idukki hills of India.
Frankly Delicious Kickstarter Campaign
Frank wants to scale up the business to add two new flavours - a coffee white chocolate bar and a vegan oat milk chocolate bar - this Autumn.
He's seeking funding to invest in a chocolate tempering machine to streamline his production process, making it more efficient and cost effective.
He also wants to invest in greater stocks of packaging to make this aspect of the business more affordable. He plans to introduce bespoke and sustainable Frankly Delicious postal boxes to add to the excitement of receiving a chocolate box through the post from the very moment it gets to the doorstep.
Frank's Kickstarter campaign pegs all these costs at £10,000.
Kickstarter Campaign Rewards
While you can pledge any amount, perk options start from £30. On top of a sense of pride in helping a small business, this level of support gets you four Frankly Delicious chocolate bars, while £50+ gets you eight bars. Pledge at least £75 and you'll get a three-month chocolate box subscription (that's three bars through your letterbox each month) while £150+ sees that double to six months.
For support of £195+, you'll get a bumper box of 16 chocolate bars plus a limited edition box of 36 chocolate bonbons. Stump up £795+ and you'll get a year's supply of chocolate in form of 200 chocolate bars delivered quarterly (so a whopping 50 bars every 3 months!).
The reward tier that sounds most interesting is also the level that is capped to just five spots. Pledge £595+ and you'll enjoy a consultation with Frank himself, where you will develop your own chocolate bar recipe for Frankly Delicious, complete with bespoke packaging. You'll then receive 50 of your very own bars. Get thinking of unusual flavour combos right now!
All reward tiers are subject to change and you should back this project early if you're particularly keen on any of the perks listed on the Kickstarter page.
At the time of writing, support had reached £3,616 of the £10,000 goal in less than 24 hours of going live, thanks to the generosity of 32 backers.
Support the Frankly Delicious Kickstarter campaign
Let me know if you choose to support this Kickstarter campaign in the comments below. Also let me know if you'd like me to cover more crowdfunded chocolate campaigns around the world.
