ASHEVILLE – Asheville chocolatier Jael Skeffington and business partner Dan Rattigan visited and then lived in Costa Rica for nearly two years beginning in 2004, which inspired a deep devotion to cacao and leading to purchasing an abandoned cacao plantation.
In December 2006, Skeffington and Rattigan incorporated French Broad Chocolate, opening its Chocolate Lounge in its original location in February 2008.
“It started out as a passion and fun,” Skeffington said. “It was something I did to share love and connection while I was in grad school in Minnesota, and I had a moment where I felt this clarity that chocolate was meant to be my path.”
The company has grown beyond Skeffington’s imagination with a rich inventory that includes bonbons, chocolate bars and cups of hot cocoa. It’s expanded to a more spacious downtown chocolate lounge, a chocolate factory and store on Riverside Drive and a nationwide distribution market.
More people will soon know French Broad Chocolate’s name as its classic hot chocolate collection was selected for a coveted spot on Oprah’s Favorite Things list, showcasing ideal gifts recommended by media mogul Oprah Winfrey.
However, it’s semisweet news as Skeffington must decide how to move forward after two major unexpected events, the COVID-19 pandemic and Tropical Storm Helene, that have set the company back.
“It’s all uncertain,” Skeffington said. “It feels like our business is being reshaped by this.”
Oprah’s Favorite Things: French Broad Classic Hot Chocolate Collection
Skeffington said she cried when hearing the news about making Winfrey’s must-have list and the team was supportive and encouraging after learning how Tropical Storm Helene impacted French Broad Chocolate.
Helene arrived in Asheville on Sept. 27, swelling the French Broad River to record-high levels, flooding the chocolate factory and café at 821 Riverside Drive.
Its downtown chocolate lounge was not physically damaged but closed for several weeks due to the citywide water outage caused by the storm. Skeffington said it’s been a struggle to meet sales goals due to the drastic tourism decline in Helene’s aftermath.
She said the company faces an estimated $1.5 million revenue shortfall over the holiday season and fourth quarter and there is no way to make the money back.
Skeffington said the holiday season sales make up about one-third of French Broad Chocolate’s yearly revenue.
The national spotlight may generate new orders and increase sales, but it may not be enough to supplement what the company lost in Helene.
“The big challenge for us, we can’t catch up. It’s not feasible for us,” she said. “We have the production capacity and a trained team, and we can’t just add more people. We want to be careful with money balance as well and make sure we are financially safe through this uncertainty.”
On Nov. 12, Oprah’s Favorite Things will be published in the Oprah Daily’s special print 2024 Holiday Edition, available on newsstands nationwide.
The holiday shopping guide features tech, fashion, kitchen, beauty, wellness, food and more. French Broad Classic Hot Chocolate Collection includes three 8.4-oz. decorative canisters of the organic and sustainably sourced powered beverage treat.
“When it comes to hot chocolate, I trust Gayle, who loves this trio in vanilla bean, classic, and cinnamon flavors,” the website stated, attributed to Winfrey.
It’s sold for $54 on French Broad Chocolate’s website, frenchbroadchocolates.com.
From Nov. 12-23, Oprah Daily will host the 12-Day Give-O-Way Sweepstakes in which 12 entrants will win all the items on Oprah’s Favorite Things list. Enter at oprahdaily.com/favoritethings.
French Broad Chocolate’s revenue woes
Skeffington said the recent issues add to the existing financial issues as there’s still a burdensome loan to pay off acquired in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Skeffington said that on Sept. 27, floodwaters stretched past French Broad River’s banks and across Riverside Drive and steadily rose to the facility’s production floor level.
Sandbags were stacked at the main entrance, which she said likely prevented the glass doors from shattering and allowing more water to rush in. Yet, the river seeped into the building, filling the retail store area but sparing the production room floor that was built higher.
She said the irony of the French Broad River nearly devastating French Broad Chocolate isn’t lost on her.
Repairs will include repainting, grinding down the floor to remove muck, repolishing the surface and replacing equipment on the ground level, including ice cream freezers, a refrigerator, a dishwasher and chocolate displays.
Skeffington said the flood insurance would not cover the full costs to replace the items, but she was approved for a Small Business Association loan following Helene.
The business still owes nearly a half-million on a loan acquired during the COVID-19 pandemic, which she has the same initial balance.
More: RADFest 1.0 celebrates the soft reopening of the Asheville River Arts District
Skeffington said the chocolate company operates in a low-margin industry and creating a financial safety net wasn’t possible.
Skeffington said the Asheville market accounts for about 70% of the company’s revenue, and of that, 70% of sales come through the downtown chocolate lounge and factory café and tourism program on Riverside Drive.
She estimated that $500,000 in revenue was lost when the store was closed during October, its busiest retail month.
Skeffington said, on average, an estimated 15% is generated through online sales and another 15% of sales comes from indirect sales by other retailers. She planned to diversify the market and put more energy and effort into boosting wholesale and online sales as the city recovers.
Chocolate factory production plan
Skeffington said 75 staff members were laid off after the storm. As of Nov. 1, 50 workers had returned with limited hours.
“This happened Sept. 27 and we had no safety net, no way to sell chocolate and a big fat payroll coming out on that Tuesday (Oct. 1) and wiping us out,” she said.
French Broad Chocolate’s distribution center in Weaverville was not impacted, allowing the company to resume shipping existing products in the days following the storm to earn revenue and rehire some staff.
“It feels good to everyone. I’ve never had people more eager to work,” Skeffington said. “Nobody expected it, nobody was ready for it, and nobody wants it. COVID was harder to get everyone back because it was unsafe, but this is like, ‘Please let me get back to having a normal life.’”
At the production facility, Skeffington acquired a 3,000-gallon tank to store potable water to wash hands, dishes and equipment as the city’s water source, North Fork Reservoir, is rebuilt and water brought up to code after washing out during Helene. The costly water supply allowed French Broad Chocolate to resume production on Oct. 23.
“This is our main opportunity to produce during our busy Christmas season so we’re incredibly behind in production,” she said.
More: River Arts District restaurant, wine bar taken down to their foundations in historic storm
On Oct. 28, the downtown chocolate lounge reopened with a limited menu and staff at 10 South Pack Square. The Riverside Drive café and factory remain closed to the public.
“We’re coming in at about 25% of pre-flood revenue out of the chocolate lounge,” she said.
She said total retail sales are nearly 18% of what they were before Helene.
French Broad Chocolate’s Ponce City Market in Atlanta is open.
Limited chocolate sales
Skeffington said she expects more missed opportunities in wholesale, online and retail markets, predicting about a $1.5 million revenue loss in the holiday season.
She said it would challenging to meet regular holiday sales order volume. Difficult decisions were made to scale down on certain offerings, like pausing the production of chocolate bars.
Fewer bonbons will be available, but customers may still order a collection of four- and six-packs.
The company is ramping up peppermint bark production and making it a top priority as a holiday bestseller.
“It feels crazy for a chocolate company to not make chocolate bars but it’s not going to yield as much return as the peppermint bark so that just has to wait,” Skeffington said.
She said 2025 is a “shrouded mystery” but plans to regroup and determine where to go from Helene.
“We’re going to be a leaner shop,” Skeffington said. “We’re getting practice at asking customers for patience as things are taking longer.”
Despite Helene and the other challenges, Skeffington said Asheville was the right place to live and launch the business after living in Costa Rica.
“It’s taken us through a lot of revolution,” Skeffington said. “We never seem to stop changing and growing and Asheville has been such an amazing place of support and community and connection to create a grow a small business.”
Stories you may have missed:
Tiana Kennell is the food and dining reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. She is a graduate of Michigan State University and covered the arts, entertainment and hospitality in Louisiana for several years. Email her at tkennell@citizentimes.com or follow her on Instagram @PrincessOfPage.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville chocolate shop picked for Oprah’s Favorite Things 2024 list
