INTERVIEW: Erin Andrews, Founder of indi Chocolate

03/19/21 • 52 min

Even over the phone, Erin Andrews is someone you just feel drawn to continue chatting and laughing along with. Having founded her first chocolate company in Belize in 2008, over the last thirteen years Erin has used this extroverted superpower to build up a subsequent chocolate company in her home of Seattle. That company is indi Chocolate, named after her oldest daughter, who actually inspired the brand’s oldest product line: cocoa butter-based lotions. indi has since grown into a large fishbowl-style café in Pike Place Market, where Erin has managed to keep on her staff and even take in new business, thanks to some pandemic-fueled creativity. This is actually a hallmark of her approach, as Erin maintains tabs on what her customers are interested in, and then finds the most delicious and sustainable way to satisfy them. In this interview, we discuss topics like working at origin, slave-free chocolate, and community-based business building. I hope you enjoy listening to our conversation as much as I enjoyed having it. Show Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ch (https://www.instagram.com/chocolateontheroad/)ocolateontheroad/ (https://www.instagram.com/chocolateontheroad/) Show Notes: https://damecacao.com/interview-erin-andrews-indi-chocolate/ (https://damecacao.com/interview-erin-andrews-indi-chocolate/)

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INTERVIEW: Will Marx, Founder of WM Chocolate

Very few chocolate makers are truly going down a new and unusual path these days, and honestly, at first glance, neither is Will Marx. He’s making (mostly) plain dark chocolates from ethically sourced single origin cacao. But simplicity can be a good thing— it takes away the complicated window dressing and opens up the world of artisan food to a larger group of consumers. In it’s own way, that’s sort of revolutionary. Over the last year in particular, Will’s been restructuring his business in uncommon ways in order to more closely match his core values of high ethics, high flavor, and low environmental impact. So in this interview, the two of us dig into refined sugars, fine liquor, and enlightened outsourcing. Show Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ch (https://www.instagram.com/chocolateontheroad/)ocolateontheroad/ (https://www.instagram.com/chocolateontheroad/) Show Notes: https://damecacao.com/interview-will-marx-wm-chocolate/ (interview-will-marx-wm-chocolate)

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INTERVIEW: Gillian Goddard, Activist Chocolate Maker at Sun Eaters Organics

Gillian Goddard puts her money where her intention is, carefully choosing how her business spends its resources in order to have the greatest positive impact. She’s a self-proclaimed “disruptor” in the chocolate industry, and I’ve seen no evidence to dispute that; her systems bring to life the concept of entrepreneurship as activism. Over the last few decades, Gillian has built up a number of businesses in Trinidad & Tobago, each rippling into and often overlapping with or absorbing the last, but all having to do with challenging existing systems which get our favorite chocolate bars onto shelves and into our hands. Whether you’ve tried her chocolates or not, you’ll certainly connect with her message— everyone deserves to earn a decent living. If you work hard every single day, you deserve to be able to afford the basic necessities plus a bit more. Yet most of the world’s farmers live in poverty. In this interview, Gillian & I dig into topics like diversification of income, bullying, and empowerment through creation. I hope you enjoy listening to our conversation as much as I enjoyed having it. Show Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ch (https://www.instagram.com/chocolateontheroad/)ocolateontheroad/ (https://www.instagram.com/chocolateontheroad/) Show Notes: https://damecacao.com/interview-gillian-goddard-sun-eaters (https://damecacao.com/interview-gillian-goddard-sun-eaters)