Posted on 05/08/2005 11:07:19 AM PDT by sully777
If Frank Martin’s plan comes together, the engineer turned business consultant will be producing and distributing fine Belgian chocolates in a few years from Greenville.
Martin, 57, a native of Belgium who has lived in the United States for 25 years, is planning to move to Greenville in about a year.
He and his brother, Jean-Marie Martin, have an agreement with Belgian chocolatiere Jean-Philippe Darcis to distribute high quality pastry and Belgian chocolates under the Darcis brand.
They have set up JC Distribution USA to handle the Darcis venture. Frank Martin said he is talking with venture capitalists about financing the project.
Getting JC Distribution up and running is probably 18 months down the road, he said.
The business plan includes distribution and sales of merchandise to J-P Darcis Cafes and other clients worldwide — except in Europe — managing a string of Darcis cafes in major U.S. and international cities. It also involves operating a U.S. production facility in Greenville.
But Martin is beginning to distribute the chocolates, which are now shipped air freight from Belgium, in a few high-end specialty stores in the United States, he said. “Step by step we are building the business,” Martin said. He is working to secure some additional retail clients, he said.
He has not talked with economic developers in Greenville about the Darcis venture yet because of the early nature of the plan.
Jody Bryson, vice president for public relations for the Upstate Alliance, said the economic development agency would look at what assistance it could offer Martin once he has a more fully developed business plan.
Bryson said the alliance has had some discussions with Martin about his other business, CPQP International. Martin is also planning to relocate the business consulting firm to Greenville.
Darcis is a high-end chocolate produced in Verviers, Belgium. Jean Philippe Darcis is an award-winning chocolaterie and a member of Team Belgium, which won the award for Best Chocolate Showpiece at the 2002 World Pastry Team Championship in Las Vegas.
Darcis chocolates can be compared to Neuhaus and other fine Belgium chocolates, Martin said, and are priced similarly in the upper-end of high quality chocolates.
It isn’t dime-store chocolate. The Neuhaus Web site, for example, offers a 12.7-ounce package for $40. A 30-piece sampler runs nearly $70.
FROM TRADE TRIP
Buddy Bateman, chairman of the Columbia Export Consortium, and members of a Columbia trade delegation, toured the Darcis operation in Verviers this year. They were part of a Midlands International Trade Association trip.
Bateman, who met with Darcis and Jean-Marie Martin, said he believes the parties are committed to the venture.
While early in their business plan, “They are trying to make it go. The are putting a lot of effort into it,” said Bateman, director of economic development for BellSouth/South Carolina.
Martin does not have a site for a Greenville facility, he said. But he expects the plant would have 10 to 20 employees.
U.S. production would start with the Darcis chocolates and then add pastries, he said. A distribution system will be set up out of Greenville.
The chocolates and pastries would be available in the J-P Darcis Cafes.
To maintain the quality of the U.S. products, Martin said he is talking to one of the chocolateries at Darcis in Belgium about coming to Greenville for a few years.
But first up will be relocating to Greenville from Tarpon Springs, Fla., and bringing CPQP International with him.
“It is what you would call a virtual company. My laptop is my office,” Martin said. “The other folks are in the field.”
Martin works with network of global team leaders in the United States, Canada, South America, India, South East Asia, China and Europe.
CPQP provides assistance and consulting to manufacturing and distribution companies on plant and operation relocations and start-ups.
“What we do is set up factories and improve the productivity of factories all over the world,” Martin said.
CPQP has opened 18 factories for employers and clients.
Before founding CPQP in 2000, Martin managed manufacturing operations for Schlumbeger, Siemens, Emerson Electric, Viag and Fortune Brands.
Martin expects to move to Greenville by next March or April, he said.
Why Greenville? He said he has been flying in and out of Greenville for years while serving CPQP clients in North Carolina.
It was cheaper than flying into Charlotte and a way to save his clients some money. “I had to rent a car anyway,” he said.
One day he drove through some Greenville neighborhoods and liked what he saw.
He found a new subdivision on Lake Robinson and showed it to his wife. “She liked it. We bought a lot there, and we are going to build,” Martin said.
The decision to go into the Darcis venture was almost that simple.
A couple of years ago he went to see his parents and his brother. Jean-Marie, a marketing expert, is CPQP’s team leader for Europe and had been working for Darcis.
On a Saturday morning, the two brothers met at the Jean-Philippe Darcis cafe in Verviers.
They sat down, had a cup of coffee, some chocolates and a piece of pastry.
“Suddenly I said, ‘This is great. Why don't we do something?’” Martin said.
I'm sure the Belgians understand...that is one country so bound up in taxation and red tape it's a wonder anything is allowed to be done at all.
Regards, Ivan
You're not alone. With shipping from all over the world here, I can get any chocolate made and I always pick Hershey's. International tasting competitions pick Hershey's too if the Judges are blindfolded and can't read the label.
Did you mean Debauve & Gallais? If so, you can order them online.
Dasani bottled water is coca-cola without the syrup and carbonation.
Now illegal aliens will be making the only chocolate I like. Expect the quality to drop significantly now.
It aint Belgian chocolate if it aint made by Belgians.
"I've had chocolate in Italy, France, Switzerland, Korea, Japan and Russia. I still think we do it best."
I wholeheartedly disagree, with the possible exception of Sees and those charming little mom and pop operations in the historic tourist towns. We produce low-quality, cheap, trash candy.
Americans were known for excellent cars once, when Americans made them. What do we produce and export now? Weapons of mass destruction, cholesterol, diet and erection pills.
Americans were known for excellent cars once, when Americans made them.
" The Swiss know how to mass produced killer chocolate that rivals anything the Belgians can churn out, IMO."
Lindt....manufactured in New Hampshire and California
Hershey's doesn't even come close to good. There are several others producing better.
Dove for instance and the Nestle stuff i also good. Both are American
"Lindt....manufactured in New Hampshire and California"
Researching the Lindt website shows that the American plants are the Ghirardelli plants, which they acquired in 1998. Ghirardelli isn't any slouch in the chocolate department, but the Lindt Excellent line of bars I was talking about have always read MADE IN SWITZERLAND.
Whatever. The best American chocolate, bar none, is Dove.
Would like to try it some time. Thanks for the tip.
"indt website shows that the American plants are the Ghirardelli plants,"
Actually Lindt built the facility in New Hampshire. I was living in Exeter, New Hampshire during the construction.
And I believe you. Lindt bought Ghirardelli. So Ghiradelli is made in the U.S. That doesn't make it bad. The Lindt bars I'm talking about are made in Switzerland. Try both.
Lindt & Sprüngli had opened a manufacturing facility in Stratham New Hampshire to supply their North American Customers. As part of the factory, Lindt had opened up a small factory store. The factory store was such an immediate success that it was decided that they would open up more retail stores.
The Lindt website seems to indicate that the Excellence line is still made in Europe. The bars I get always have said MADE IN SWITZERLAND. Lindt rocks no matter where they are. I think you were correct, though, it appears Lindt is making Lindt chocolate (of some kind) in NH.
My apologies.
I think Hershey's is too grainy, but if I'm desparate, I'll eat Hershey's special dark.
Lindt is good. I like it with the orange flavor dark chocolate. Droste makes good chocolate oranges and pastilles. Lindt truffles are good too because they use palm kernel oil in the filling which makes them very smooth but is SO bad for you.
I had a really great Grand Marnier truffle from some chocolate shop in the Detroit airport recently. It was $1.75 for one 1/2" truffle, but worth every penny!
"I had a really great Grand Marnier truffle from some chocolate shop in the Detroit airport recently."
Sounds goood.
There was a story in the Dallas Morning News a few months ago about the store's owners (the husband and wife team are from Canada; they left the corporate rat race to go into the chocolate business).
I'll see if I can find the DMN article... apparently the high butter fat of Noka's product sets it appart from the competition - including the Europeans.
Pretty cool stuff out of Plano, Texas.
Trajan88
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