Content Starts Here

Start up case studies: Montezuma's

Business idea inspired by travel

Search: Setting up your own business

- Learn more about Montezuma's
- Search through thousands of businesses for sale
- Get a business mortgage

As co-founder of upmarket chocolate maker, Montezuma's, Simon Pattinson is more likely to be found stirring a pan of chocolate than pouring over the small print of a profit and loss account. But life wasn't always so sweet.

Eight years ago he and his wife, Helen, were both busy corporate lawyers in the City of London. Although they had a joint income of £120,000 they had very little time for anything other than work.

"We knew we were caught in a trap and that trap was getting tighter and tighter," Simon remembers.

They decided to escape before it became too difficult and sold their house in Putney to head for South America.

"The basic aim was to travel and to come back with an idea for a business, using travel as a way to free our minds" Simon says.

Backpacking ideas

They kept a travel journal with a list of business ideas at the back. One of the highpoints of the trip was visiting a remote town in Argentina where the large German population ran specialist chocolate shops.

A few months later they stayed at a cocoa plantation and by then they were both fascinated by the chocolate industry.

When Simon injured his back they returned home after a year on the road. They had a shortlist of three ideas but making chocolate appealed most.

They spent the next six months researching the market, mainly by trawling through industry reports at libraries, visiting towns to look at High Street retailers and reading about companies they admired.

They used money from the sale of their house, plus cash from friends and family to open their first shop in Brighton in 2000. Helen forced them to write a business plan, a move that Simon concedes turned out to be very helpful.

"As mad as it seems to try to come up with projections it helps you to concentrate and focus, to know when you expect to break even."

But the plan did not include what to do when their chocolate supplier went under before they'd even begun trading. In desperation they used a small chocolate machine to make their own.

"We had a lot of support from one ingredient supplier and the first six months were a bit of nip and tuck. But that manufacturer going bust was the biggest fillip for us. It forced us to take control of our supply chain," Simon says.

The taste of success

Simon now spends at least a day a month trying out new combinations for the company's truffles and bars. He finds inspiration from foreign cuisine such as the use of chocolate in Spanish cooking and the different flavours in herbal teas.

His seaweed truffles didn't make it past the trial stage but more exotic combinations such as orange and geranium, sweet paprika and strawberry and "three peppers" chocolate bars have won loyal followings.

Montezuma's makes 200 exotic chocolate products, including mints, lollies and bridal favours, from a factory in Chichester.

Its organic dark milk chocolate bars have become best sellers and the company has won praise from chefs such as Rick Stein.

It sells to 2,500 shops, mainly delicatessens and upmarket food retailers. Waitrose is the only major supermarket customer because Montezuma's feels most big companies don't give the independent food market enough support.

A Family concern

Montezuma's employs 75 people and has shops in Brighton, Winchester, Chichester, Windsor, Lichfield, Newbury and Spitalfields in London.

It will open a new store in Kingston on Thames later this year and in Eden, High Wycombe next March.

Helen focuses on sales and retailing, while Simon concentrates on manufacturing.

He believes that in the first 18 months of a start-up success comes down to "avoiding bad luck."

"It took us 18 months to two years to know that if we had some bad luck we could ride it out."

The couple have two daughters aged seven months and five years. The eldest loves Montezuma's products and is aware that her parents have fairy tale jobs.

They spend longer together as a family than they could have when they were City lawyers. Helen also has more time to run and Simon cycles more often, both essential given the temptations of their trade.

Take a look at www.montezumas.co.uk to see more about the business.

Useful links

• www.enterprisenation.com
• www.startups.co.uk
• http://www.businesslink.gov.uk

page: 1 | 2