Chantelle Ayling and business partner, Warren Moody set up Naughty But Nice Chocolates in 2018 and since last summer have received support from Launchpad to help them make their mark on South Yorkshire. Keep reading to find out why Chantelle and Warren want to get the local community involved with their business venture.
Tell us about your company?
We set up Naughty But Nice Chocolates a little over a year ago with the goal of creating hand-made chocolates in a variety of flavours that would suit everyone’s budget.
All our chocolates are made on the premises of the International Food Hall in Doncaster and since we created the business, we have mainly worked with milk chocolate, but we are now starting to create new flavours with milk, white and dark chocolate which is really exciting.
We offer ‘pick and mix’ boxes where our customers can choose exactly what chocolates they want which is proving very popular at the moment and we love to experiment with different flavours and create our own recipes – we recently created a ‘rhubarb crumble’ chocolate where we received wonderful feedback.
When did you first decide to start up your own and what inspired you?
Warren and I were both fed up of working long hours with no flexibility, and we both wanted jobs where we could work when we wanted so towards the end of 2018, we decided to start our very own business together.
When you run your own business, you are in control and by setting up Naughty But Nice Chocolates it finally gave us the freedom to work whilst managing our own health and wellbeing.
Warren previously worked as a chef so with his practical experience, making hand-made chocolates was the perfect idea to start our own business, take it forward and have a more flexible lifestyle.
How has Launchpad helped you?
Launchpad offer general support, advice and encouragement which they delivered through their assistance in helping us create a business plan which we are still developing but look forward to working towards over the next few years.
Launchpad also highlighted the importance of social media, encouraging us to be more active on social media which included taking part in a course where we receive training on promoting our business on Facebook and other social media platforms.
What are your hopes and aims for the business?
In the future we hope to be known for our quality chocolate and stand out as an independent business that local people want to use. Through trial and error, we will create new chocolates and get the local community involved by gaining customer feedback on what they enjoy the most. By using their feedback, we will be able to create chocolates that we know people want and love.
Launchpad advisor Irshad Akbar saidChantelle and Warren are passionate about their business venture and have a desire to succeed. When they approached Launchpad there were a number of areas that they were seeking assistance and following a 1 to 1 discussion with their Launchpad Advisor we analysed issues that they faced and at what stage they were at in their business. We emphasised the importance of marketing, networking and developing their business acumen. Warren and Chantelle now have a base in Doncaster market and continue to receive support from the Launchpad team to develop and grow their business.
Starting and growing a business is not easy and that’s why the Launchpad programme was created. Part funded by the European Regional Development Fund and our partners means there is no cost to the entrepreneur, so we can get straight to work on turning those dreams into reality.
Stop dreaming and do it. Contact us for information now on 03330 00 00 39 or email growthhub@sheffieldcityregion.org.uk.”
