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[4:08] Theo Chocolate Founding and Product Insights: Flavors, Factory, and National Distribution Strategy

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This article introduces the founding background of Theo Chocolate, the product development process, unique chocolate flavors, as well as its Seattle-based factory and national sales strategy, including online sales and distribution channels.

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My name is Drew, Zandinella Stannard, and I am the Marketing Manager for Theo Chocolate here in Seattle. Theo Chocolate was founded in 2006 and we were the first bean-to-bar chocolate maker with organic fair trade chocolate in North America. We decide on our chocolate flavors as a team. We do have a product development team, but everyone gets involved to throw out ideas and see what works after extensive testing.

At our Seattle Factory Store, we offer many wonderful seasonal items loved by the community. Nationally, our most popular chocolate flavor is the Dark Salted Almond Classic Bar because of its perfect balance of sweet and salty. My personal favorite is the Dark Salted Almond Cups, similar to peanut butter cups but made with almond butter, which is delicious. Theo experiments with many flavors; some succeed, some fail. For instance, I once tried a caramel with cheese that was a little funky—specifically Roquefort—which did not work. On the other hand, our Walla Walla onion caramel is surprisingly good; its savory taste is appealing once you try it.

Our factory is located in an old trolley barn, a large brick building in Fremont, Seattle. We chose this location to conduct tours and welcome the community to our Factory Store to enjoy chocolate and learn about its origins. Fremont was ideal due to its walkability and summer tourist traffic, allowing us to reach more people and educate them about chocolate.

We aim to make Theo the All-American Chocolate Bar. The most impactful way to support the farmers we source from with the fairest trade of organic cocoa is by achieving national distribution. We have expanded into grocery retailers, though we haven't opened additional small confection shops yet, which remains a future possibility. We serve local coffee shops, bakeries, gift stores, and provide chocolates for weddings and events. We also work with national distribution chains and natural grocery distributors to bring our products to stores. Online sales occur through the Theo Web Shop, though shipping chocolate can be costly in summer due to melting concerns, requiring ice packs or overnight shipping to hot locations. Additionally, we sell merchandise on our web shop.

Listening Comprehension

organic
noun
1. a fertilizer that is derived from animal or vegetable matter
Synonym: organic fertilizerorganic fertiliser
trolley
noun
1. a wheeled vehicle that runs on rails and is propelled by electricity
Synonym: streetcartramtramcartrolley car
development
noun
1. act of improving by expanding or enlarging or refining
e.g. he congratulated them on their development of a plan to meet the emergency
they funded research and development
2. the act of making some area of land or water more profitable or productive or useful
e.g. the development of Alaskan resources
the exploitation of copper deposits
Synonym: exploitation
3. (music) the section of a composition or movement (especially in sonata form) where the major musical themes are developed and elaborated
4. a recent event that has some relevance for the present situation
e.g. recent developments in Iraq
what a revolting development!
5. a district that has been developed to serve some purpose
e.g. such land is practical for small park developments
6. processing a photosensitive material in order to make an image visible
e.g. the development and printing of his pictures took only two hours
Synonym: developing
7. a process in which something passes by degrees to a different stage (especially a more advanced or mature stage)
e.g. the development of his ideas took many years
the evolution of Greek civilization
the slow development of her skill as a writer
Synonym: evolution
8. (biology) the process of an individual organism growing organically
a purely biological unfolding of events involved in an organism changing gradually from a simple to a more complex level
e.g. he proposed an indicator of osseous development in children
Synonym: growthgrowingmaturationontogenyontogenesis
9. a state in which things are improving
the result of developing (as in the early part of a game of chess)
e.g. after he saw the latest development he changed his mind and became a supporter
in chess your should take care of your development before moving your queen
distribution
noun
1. the act of distributing or spreading or apportioning
2. the commercial activity of transporting and selling goods from a producer to a consumer
3. the spatial or geographic property of being scattered about over a range, area, or volume
e.g. worldwide in distribution
the distribution of nerve fibers
in complementary distribution
Synonym: dispersion
4. (statistics) an arrangement of values of a variable showing their observed or theoretical frequency of occurrence
Synonym: statistical distribution
funky
adj
1. in a state of cowardly fright
2. stylish and modern in an unconventional way
e.g. she likes funky clothes
we did it all in black and white in a very funky sixties style
3. (of jazz) having the soulful feeling of early blues
Synonym: low-down
4. offensively malodorous
e.g. a foul odor
the kitchen smelled really funky
Synonym: fetidfoetidfoulfoul-smellingnoisomesmellystinkingill-scented