Meet Cristina Codinha | Founder and Head Chocolatier of Codinha Chocolate

We had the good fortune of connecting with Cristina Codinha and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Cristina, what is the most important factor behind your success?
The most important factor behind the success of Codinha Chocolate is we truly take the time to build our customer relationships. We’re happy to say that our mission of spreading chocolate happiness is at the heart of what we do, and through connecting with our audience, not only have we built a very personal brand, but a brand that our audience (whom we call, our “chocolate friends”) can really connect with. We pride ourselves on caring about our customers and continuing to make chocolates our customers love as well as being able to ask their input when we are thinking up new ideas whether that be for future collections or special holiday items, for example. Our customers are right there with us every step of the way and we’re grateful for them, for sure.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Codinha Chocolate is an artisan online chocolate shop and an online mentorship for aspiring chocolatiers. I also host a chocolate podcast called “I Heart Chocolate”, in which I share some of my experience working as a chocolatier over the last 13+ years and inspire others to go out and be the best chocolatier they can be. We are most excited about the fact that we are truly doing what we said we wanted to do: make people happy through chocolate, whether that’s customers buying our confections or guiding chocolatiers to discover and get better in the craft. It’s the dream.

The start of Codinha Chocolate was a long time in the making. I always had dreams of opening up my own business back home in LA where I originally from. And after spending more than ten years dedicated to learning from the best in the industry including Jacques Torres, an American Chocolate Master, Melissa Coppel, etc., and running a side hustle all those years, I finally decided to rebrand and build the chocolate business of my dreams. This time, with my amazing, chocolatier husband Bruno beside me.

The road to get where we are today was definitely not easy. The thing about being a chocolatier entrepreneur is that there are always new challenges that occur, and going from doing chocolate just for fun to doing it as a business is a whole other ballgame.

We needed to learn real business things: sales, marketing, social media, branding, how to build customer relationships, along with keeping up with production and everything else. It was a lot to take on, especially as we decided to expand the business and add on mentorship as well.

To overcome the challenges, honestly, we just put our heads down and got super-focused. We invested in a business coach to teach us more about the business side. We constantly try to learn as much as we can, both in chocolate and business, because we know that we don’t have it all figured out. And I think that’s something every entrepreneur has to face. Especially when you’re first starting off, you don’t have all the answers so you have to make decisions about how you’re going to allocate yourself: your time, your money, your investments for what in the end is the best decision for yourself and your business. By taking on this approach of always trying to improve and see challenges as learning lessons, we’ve been able to experience the growth we have and connect with more people who support out brand and what we stand for.

What I want the world to know about our brand and story is….while Codinha Chocolate is fairly new (we just opened last September 2020), there’s a lot of work, heart, dedication behind it. Both myself and my husband have an almost 30 years worth of experience in chocolate and we have both put in the time to really learn this craft and dedicate ourselves to becoming the best chocolatiers we can be. We’re a family brand. We met because of chocolate. We fell in love because of chocolate, so everything we’re built on is based on love for each other and our love for this unique art form.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We’re beach people, so we’d suggest heading on over to Malibu, or checking out a cool art exhibit (we recently went to Van Gogh Immersion and it was AMAZING). We don’t really eat out too much, but definitely, the beach or museum.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are two people I’d like to dedicate a shoutout to, for whom Codinha Chocolate would have never existed: 1) Chef Mark Blaauboer (Chef B, R.I.P.), my very first chocolate mentor and instructor in culinary school who not only helped me to learn chocolate, but was the first person who truly believed that I could pursue it and do something great with it. He always pushed me and made me believe in myself even when I didn’t see it at first. And secondly, my husband, Bruno, who made me a Codinha in the first place and since day 1, has been nothing but supportive and loving of my dreams. I feel so lucky to run a business with him by my side. Absolute best.

Website: www.codinhachocolatementorship.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/codinhachocolate (@codinhachocolate)

Facebook: www.facebook.com/codinhachocolate

Other: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i-heart-chocolate-podcast/id1567809251 (I Heart Chocolate Podcast)

Image Credits
@asightoflove Photographer: Ollie Sangalang