Tyler Cagwin of Nostalgia Chocolates on Selling Cacao to Breweries
In today's episode, Tyler Cagwin of Nostalgia Chocolates gives advice for craft chocolate makers on selling cacao nibs and other ingredients to craft breweries. Tyler has sold cacao to many breweries in upstate New York and now in North Carolina, and it's become a substantial part of his business at Nostalgia. Here he walks us through things to consider in advance, how to approach prospective brewery partners, what he presents when he meets with them, how he builds these relationships, and how he schedules cacao roasting for his brewery customers in his regular chocolate production schedule.
This interview is filled with great advice for craft chocolate makers who would like to begin working with breweries.
At the end, we also talk about the newest edition of Nostalgia's Hop Aged bar.
You can listen to my past episode with Tylerhere. You can also read a blog post about his Hop Aged bar here, and his work with New York breweries here.
Episode timeline (approximate):
1:00 - Introduction
3:10 - How Tyler got started selling to breweries
6:30 - The knowledge level of brewers in regards to cacao
13:55 - Consistent questions he expects
15:10 - Info he provides proactively
17:20 - Pricing and sticker shock
21:50 - Workflow for providing nibs
23:55 - Marketing and co-branding
28:45- Production schedule considerations
29:55 - Roasting profiles
31:45 - Impact on his own cacao bean orders
35:40 - Providing husks and other ingredients
39:25 - Final thoughts on selling to breweries
42:20 - Hop Aged bar
Check out David's book Pairing Beer & Chocolate: A Guide to Bringing the Flavors of Craft Beer and Craft Chocolate Together.
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The music for this episode is by my dear friend, indie folk musician Anna ps. You can find out more about Anna’s music in the show notes or at their website annapsmusic.com, where you can also get in touch to book them to play at your brewery or other establishment.