Shopify Masters From Farmers Markets to 5,000 Stores: How Taza Chocolate Stayed True and Grew
Dec 4, 2025
In this episode, Taza Chocolate co-founders Alex Whitmore, a bean-to-bar expert, and Kathleen Fulton, a design visionary, explore their unique journey. They discuss the importance of staying true to product integrity and ethical sourcing, which helped them navigate challenges. Alex highlights how being polarizing creates a strong market niche, while Kathleen reflects on their commitment to craftsmanship. The duo also shares insights on direct trade with farmers and the value of perseverance in business. Tune in for their inspiring entrepreneurial story!
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Niche Beats Scale In Chocolate
- Small chocolate brands must find a defensible niche to survive against multinational producers.
- Taza built that niche with bold stone-ground texture and flavor that polarizes consumers.
Own Manufacturing To Control Flavor
- Do the hard work of owning manufacturing if you want unique flavors and control.
- Bean-to-bar is equipment intensive but lets you craft novel texture and taste like Taza's stone-ground chocolate.
Starting At Farmers Markets
- Alex and Kathleen started by hand grinding cacao in a small Boston workshop and iterating at farmers markets.
- They tested flavors live and discovered customers either loved or hated their stone-ground chocolate.