The Canadian Market is Sweetened with Peruvian Chocolates

The Beginning
The Shattell Chocolates Company was established five years ago in Lima, Peru, as a result of Lisi Montoya, the founder of the company, noticing a lack of quality chocolates in the Peruvian market. Montoya, at that time a veteran in the travel industry, had overseas clients lamenting about not being able to find Peruvian chocolates to take back as souvenirs.  So she decided to leap to the opportunity the market provided.

The Journey
Montoya first attempt at making chocolates were not as tasty as she expected so she decided to travel to different cocoa producing cities in the Peruvian Amazon area in order to find the finest cocoa beans for her chocolate bars. In Argentina she acquired an artisan machine which made high quality chocolate.  She started learning about chocolate making at the Escuela Latinoamericana de Chocolateria in Cuba, after that she took chocolate courses in Mexico and France.

Montoya decided she wanted to enter the international marketplace when she realized that the organic chocolates that she was making would be appreciated more in countries were organic products are in medium to high demand.

Going Abroad
On the invitation of the Peruvian government Shattell Chocolates participated in Le Salon du Chocolat in Paris for 4 consecutive years since 2010 where they showcased the high quality Peruvian chocolates to the European market.  Montoya learnt of new innovations for chocolate production and made new buyer contacts for exporting chocolate bars to Sweden. In 2013 Shattell Chocolate made its first attempt at penetrating the North American Market and exhibited at the Fancy Food Show in the United States, but the company was not successful because of a lack of knowledge of the market. As a result of this experience, and in an effort to learn more about the region’s market for chocolate, Montoya made contact with the TFO Canada. Her interaction led Montoya to take part in TFO Canada’s Market Entry Study Program, a partnership with four business schools and TFO Canada. In 2013, Shattel received their very own Canadian market entry plan from the Concordia University MBA team.

Following the recommendations provided in the final market entry study, Montoya participated in the 2014 Salon International de l’alimentation (SIAL) manufactured foods show in Montréal as part of a Canadian market familiarization project as a result of a partnership between TFO Canada and the Peruvian Asociación de Exportadores (ADEX). At SIAL she developed a business relationship with one of the most important Montreal importers and distributors of gourmet food from all over the world. This new relationship also resulted in a private label deal which increased Shattell Chocolates’ production from 1 to 4 Tons of chocolate per month, leading the company to invest in new markets and infrastructure.

 “TFO Canada coached us in how to structure our company for going abroad. The organization also gave us information about other important considerations such as the local regulations for packaging and labelling, which are important elements that you must add to your product in order to ensure a successful market entry”
-Lisi Montoya, Shattell Chocolates