Tell Us Your Story. What motivated you to start your business? Why are you passionate about what you do?

There is an entire TEDx about my story! I am including it here because it captures my mission the best. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsZ50MlXCMc Where I am today has a lot to do with how I grew up, and what I did before coming to Canada. Raised into an ethical life way, I was always concerned with the story behind a product. I wanted to know how it was produced, what was in it, and whether my consumption would have a positive or negative effect in long term – on the environment, on other people, and on myself. I also wasn't sure what I wanted to after high school, so I decided to travel for a while before making a decision. I did a Yoga Teacher Training in Thailand and came back to BC, among others. What I learned about myself is that situations where I saw inequality and the biggest divide in a population, made me the saddest, no matter if surrounded by natural beauty or not. I also knew that I have at least a million interests, and if I wanted to stick to something and make an impact, it would have to involve helping others. When I was 22, I decided to move to Canada to study Community Leadership and Social Change at Capilano University. This program inspired me deeply and allowed me to work with various 'marginalized' people in Vancouver, like single moms, seniors, people on the autism spectrum, and the homeless population. I also met a chocolatier named Pierre Gruget in my first week and asked him to volunteer for him because his craft chocolate was one of the finest I had ever tasted. 2 years into the program, I learned about Social Enterprises and it immediately caught my interest. A lot of the problems I encountered working with the different community groups, and sometimes the sole reason for someone to live on a low income were due to a lack of inclusiveness in labour norms. It is much better now but even in 2018 'inclusiveness' was a rare term! Needless to say, that this is where I ended up. Still a student, I threw myself into business when Pierre decided to move back to France. I always assumed that the inequalities were caused by bad business, so entrepreneurship was never something I considered before learning about Social Enterprises. Then I grew up and realized I had to make the change from within. Today we are still a small but mighty team of 2 full-time, and 7 casual and part-time employees of which 5 are neurodiverse with a diverse range of skills.

Describe and demonstrate, including metrics, your community support. How do you support and uplift your community, and how do they show that support in return? Minimum 25 words, maximum 2500 characters.

As an employment-based social enterprise, the best metric is how many job opportunities we can generate with our business, how satisfied our employees are, and whether they can build a career they are proud of with their employment at The GOOD Chocolatier. Today, we are a small but mighty team of 2 full-time, and 7 casual and part-time employees of which 5 are neurodiverse with a diverse range of skills. Our motivations are big, my goal was always to help 50 people with barriers to employment. And it is still to this day, but the realities of running a small business in Vancouver are harsh and often difficult! We do as much as we can- whenever we have a job opening, we reach out to our social enterprise partners at PASS (PALS Adult Service Society) and PAFN (Pacific Autism Family Network) first, to find someone who is not only a great fit, but also who this job would truly matter to. I was invited to speak at TEDx in 2020, which one of the biggest and most humbling opportunities I could have ever imagined. We won the Social Impact Award with the BCFB in October 2023, and the NEUROInclusion Business Award 2024 with Employment Works just this year. The reason we won these awards is not just because we hire x number of people with x% annual growth, but because of the ways we treat them after we hire them. We make adjustments to help them thrive, ask for their goals and aspirations at The GOOD Chocolatier and beyond, and truly care about their experience and success. I have never seen happier and more appreciative workers as our neurodivergent workforce. It is worth every dollar and effort. Besides our efforts as Social Enterprise, we also make a product that has a positive impact on the environment. While using only quality, single-origin cacao from Ecuador and supporting farmers in producing countries, we also stay away from artificial fillers, emulsifiers, gluten, and soy. All our ingredients are 100% organic and fairly traded, and we source local whenever we can. Our sea salt is from Salt Spring Island, Blueberries from Falconglen organic farm in Langley, organic Honey from Prince George, and it is all wrapped up in compostable packaging. Good is our suggestion to the world, where chocolate makes us feel AMAZING from lips to belly, from inside to out, and from heart to heart.

Why do you deserve to win the Business Impact award?

This is a difficult question! There are so many fantastic small businesses that deserve this award. I salute everyone who made it through, or even started their business during Covid and has not given up. I admire the businesses and leaders that focus on creating positive social and environmental change and are miles ahead of me in the process. At the end of the day, all businesses contribute to someone’s life and help create a society and culture that we are all surrounded by and can benefit of. We live in a society that values business and money, and it is important to me that none of that comes at the cost of the environment or other people. In my eyes, businesses have the responsibility to lead by example and encourage positive behaviour and change, from company practices, over culture and to the services and products we sell. We are leaving an impact no matter what, but it’s up to us whether it is one we can wholeheartedly be proud of or not. At the heart of The GOOD Chocolatier is our commitment to sustainability and social responsibility. From organic ingredients, fair-trade farms, compostable packaging and employment for people with barriers. This is my favourite thing about The GOOD Chocolatier: The more of our lightly-roasted, ethical chocolate you eat, the better the world gets!

Tell Us About Your Culture. How are you creating a sustainable and healthy workplace where everyone feels welcome? Provide examples of leadership you show in interactions with clients, vendors, contractors, staff and others.

We are small so it is hard to talk about culture in a way that a 50+ employee company would. But here are some examples of efforts we make: - The first interview with a potential new employee is always about values and alignment with what we do. We walk them through the WHY of our company and our aspirations, regardless of whether this has anything to do with their day-to-day tasks. - We ask a lot of questions. We have weekly one-on-ones with some, and monthly one-on-ones with others, where encourage feedback and ask what we can do better. We often hear from our employees that they love their job, and it sounds genuine  - We love BCorps and other mission-based companies. When it comes to suppliers, we prioritize local, employee-based companies and cooperatives, and companies that are aligned with our values. - I am constantly educating myself about how to be a better leader and help my employees thrive. I implement new things, ask if it is welcome and effective, and stop if it isn’t. I read books, ask mentors, and will forever stay curious about the social enterprise space.

Why do you think you should win the Premier’s People’s Choice Award?

I like to think that people vote for a business that makes them FEEL the best. At least that how I would decide and that it what we want to create. A product that is not only healthy and unique, but also goes out of their way to care and leave a positive mark. I think we have arrived at a time that we can, it doesn’t fly anymore to say, “I didn’t know”. I can research unethical chocolate and know what implications that would have on people and the land in producing countries. Maybe what we do and what we truly care about is most visible in crisis situations. During Covid, we could have let our neurodivergent employees go, saying it is safer for them and we don’t want to risk it. Instead, we were the only company that kept them employed. We created an environment that was safe and made it work because at the heart of our business, this is what we care about. We delivered weekly chocolate for them to package, date, and label and received messages from grateful parents who didn’t think that it was possible. During zoom calls, our employee heroes at PASS asked when the next batch of chocolate is coming in, excited to get to work. They kept busy, and felt a sense of meaning and purpose in this already difficult time. Currently, we experience a global cacao shortage due to 40 + years of unethical practices by major players in chocolate, such as Nestle, Hershey’s, Mendelez, Callebaut and such. Global cacao prices have skyrocketed to triple the price, which leaves many in the industry helpless. Instead of switching to cheaper, conventional cacao, we educate our consumers, write blog posts and newsletters so our customers become insiders and understanding. We keep our money where our heart is and try making the changes elsewhere. It is not guaranteed that it will work, as the industry will take at least 2 years to recover from this, but I wouldn’t want to run a business that survives at the cost of others. It’s not why we started The GOOD Chocolatier and I don’t think it can ever be the best solution. When times get difficult, we stay true to our mission and values, and I hope that others can appreciate that.