When classically trained pastry chefs Daniel Linehan (28) and Georgia Quealy (31) met and fell in love, little did they know that their mutual love of chocolate would lead them to set up their own business.
Their chocolate-making business, Bon Chocolatiers, has just had its busiest season ever, producing 3,500 Easter eggs at their chocolate factory in Tullamore, Co Offaly.
From experimenting in the kitchen of Daniel’s parents coffee shop and cafe, Beans & Leaves in Athlone, five years ago, Bon Chocolatiers has evolved into a business supplying 90 outlets of Dunnes Stores nationwide, employing six people.
Both were still working full-time jobs, but their chocolate creations soon began getting attention through social media and within a short time they were receiving orders for Valentine’s Day and other special occasions.
“It just kind of snowballed, I guess,” says Linehan.
That first taste of success prompted them to look for a facility where they could produce their chocolates full time.
Their first location was a former butcher’s shop in Athlone, but within months they realised they needed a bigger premises, especially as they had just signed a deal with Dunnes Stores to create six products for the Simply Better range.
They then moved to a 3,000sq ft unit in Tullamore that previously was a cold meat production factory, so all the necessary refrigeration and sterilisation facilities were already in place.
The majority of their business – some 80 per cent – is online to Ireland and the UK, most of it driven through social media.
The Bon Chocolatiers range has now expanded to include Easter eggs, chocolate bars and hand-painted chocolates which can be personalised for weddings and other special occasions.
But it is the Dubai bar that has brought them the most attention. The pistachio-flavoured chocolate treat has become a viral sensation, gaining particular popularity on TikTok. .
“All of our large Easter eggs are triple layered, that’s kind of our signature thing. So instead of it just being a hollow shell it’s basically a chocolate shell, then it’s lined with the flavoured filling and then there’s another layer that encapsulates that filling, which matches it as well,” says Linehan.
“So essentially, when you break into it, it’s almost like a large chocolate bar with filling.”
Every egg is made by hand, which takes time, and only the highest quality of raw materials are used, which accounts for the €43 price tag.
“The main ingredients obviously would be chocolate, sugar, we use all Irish dairy, so a lot of butter and a lot cream and we use a huge amount of Irish Sea salt,” says Linehan.
The rising cost of raw materials has fed through into increased prices. Rosemary Daly of the Chocolate Shop in Cork’s English Market says the cost of raw materials throughout the chain of production has increased over the past year.
“The cost of cocoa has increased over 300 per cent in recent years. It went from $3,000 (€2,600) a ton up to $12,000 last year,” she says.
“That was when it really kicked in for me last autumn, which had an impact on our Christmas chocolates. We had no choice but to increase prices accordingly.”
Customers are tolerant of the higher prices because of the higher cost of ingredients.
“But people are quite understanding, I think, because the rise in the cost of cocoa has been well publicised,” she says.
“There will be a cocoa shortage as the demand increases. Climate change obviously is massive, ageing farmers is massive. The next generation aren’t taking up farming.”
Despite having to increase prices this year – €14 for the smallest Easter egg to €58 for the largest – Daly says that pre-orders have remained the same.
“When it comes to traditional seasons, people still want their key thing that they always want, whether that’s a chocolate gift at Christmas or an Easter egg or whatever, the tradition plays a very strong part,” she says.
Lent is still a feature, she says, with many still “depriving” themselves and then having a “splurge” on Easter Sunday.
“I’m in business 25 years now, but I’m still seeing people observe Lent, although it is in decline,” she says.
Besides cocoa, other ingredients also come from afar. Linehan says Bon Chocolatiers imports nuts such as hazelnuts and pistachio from Italy.
“This year has been great, every year we hope that we do better than the previous year. That’s the goal. But this year has gone exceptionally well,” says Linehan.
“January was the busiest January we have ever had. I don’t know if it’s in relation to the viral trend stuff, that obviously is a boost, but in general it is just busier.”
Linehan points to the increase in staff numbers to six as an indication of how much busier they have become.
“That’s a good sign, I guess,” he says.
