Barbara & Andreas Dolleschal, founders of Zotter Chocolate and the e-commerce agency Smargesy, share their journey of scaling their chocolate business from $800K to $2.2M in annual revenue. They discuss how they crafted an "irresistible offer" that revolutionized their sales strategy, grew their email list from 4,000 to 25,000 subscribers, and leveraged influencer collaborations to create high-quality content at minimal cost. The conversation also highlights the importance of a smooth user experience and advanced payment options like Apple Pay to meet modern e-commerce standards.Facing setbacks like Hurricane Ian, which destroyed their warehouse and melted $17,000 worth of chocolate, the guests recount how they rebuilt their business in record time. Despite these challenges, they not only retained growth but also strengthened their resilience. The discussion concludes with insights into TikTok as a future marketing avenue, the vital role of technology in e-commerce success, and the creativity behind their 175 unique chocolate flavors.CHAPTER TITLES02:35 - The Key to Crafting an Irresistible Offer04:54 - Scaling from $800K to $2.2M: The Journey07:21 - Email Marketing Strategies: Growing to 25K Subscribers09:35 - The Power of Influencer Collaborations12:10 - Repurposing Content for Maximum ROI14:23 - The Challenges and Benefits of Building Brand Loyalty16:47 - TikTok and the Future of Social Media Marketing19:34 - E-commerce Tech: The Amazon-Inspired UX Formula22:26 - Overcoming Setbacks: Lessons from Hurricane Ian24:45 - A Flavorful Legacy: Chocolate Innovation and Business ResilienceConnect with Barbara & Andreas:Zotterusa.comSmargasy.comConnect with Rudy Mawer:LinkedInInstagramFacebookTwitter
Chapter 1: What is the secret to crafting an irresistible offer?
Yeah, the lifetime value.
Yes, that was a big change for us. And then investing into social media, newsletter content, and that helped us grow.
Chapter 2: How did Zotter Chocolate scale from $800K to $2.2M?
My name's Rudy Moore, host of Living the Red Life podcast, and I'm here to change the way you see your life in your earpiece every single week. If you're ready to start living the red life, ditch the blue pill, take the red pill, join me in Wonderland and change your life.
up guys welcome back to another episode of living the red life today if you like chocolate well you are in for a sweet treat let me tell you why andy and barbara are joining me and we're going to dive into five specific ways that they took their business from 800k to 2.2 million in just one year five tactics that i had the pleasure to wash and help them with that they implemented massive growth and hopefully some big lessons for you guys welcome to the show
So, you know, obviously, we're going to dive into some juicy markets and stuff, right? But if someone doesn't know, you know, the chocolate side, and you know, you have the agency side, you mind just giving a quick overview to everyone on what you guys do?
Chapter 3: What email marketing strategies helped grow their subscriber list?
Of course, happy to start. So the chocolate business started as a fun on the side business. The chocolate maker or producer is an Austrian, very famous Austrian chocolate maker. And we knew them for 20 years already. And they are working with our agency for 22 years now. And when Andy and I immigrated to the United States, we missed the chocolate, really.
African chocolate is not the same.
Chapter 4: How do influencer collaborations drive sales?
Right, right. And then we started talks with the owner and said, how about us starting importing Zotto chocolates to the United States and selling it? And that was like 10, actually exactly 10 years ago. And then we just started. I thought, oh, let's start with 20 flavors. And the owner, Joseph Zotto, said, no way. We make like 500 flavors. So we started with 90.
We knew we can't do it out of our home. We needed a warehouse. And this is how it started.
Right. And then Andy, you obviously help, right? And you help with the business and maybe even some of the chocolate.
Chapter 5: What challenges did they face with brand loyalty?
Right. I have been eating. Obviously, we have to test the chocolate at some point before we bring them to the market.
Of course, that's very important. Right. Business, but also your agency.
Yeah. So our agency, we are, our part, the agency is responsible for all of the technical stuff. Okay. So everything, the e-commerce side, the technical side, that's what the agency does. Everything ad related, the agency does.
And like Barbara said, our introduction to the chocolate manufacturer was actually through the agency side because we met him 20 years ago and he said, you know, I want to have an online store. And I said, I cannot imagine selling chocolate online. Oh, boy, was I wrong. Because now he's one of the strongest e-commerce stores in Europe, and all of that has been built by us.
Chapter 6: What role does TikTok play in their marketing strategy?
And so we have got a lot of experience, obviously, because of that. And then when we came to the United States and we figured, okay, we have to do that, we took all of that knowledge we already had and put it here into place and put everything on there. Yeah.
Yeah, and, you know, so I'm excited to dive in. You know, you came, obviously you've been working with us for a couple of years and, you know, you guys, you follow instructions, you go implement stuff, you know, you're always pushing and innovating. It's been so great to watch. And, you know, obviously today we're going to focus on those tactics for everyone listening.
So let's dive into, you know, obviously what you learned from me there, but I would love the practical application of how you implemented it.
Chapter 7: How does e-commerce technology enhance user experience?
Yeah, I remember it like it was yesterday when we were at your office and you were telling us why not going after the low-hanging fruit, which is the e-commerce store, right? And then building an irresistible offer and like 50% off the regular price. And I was shocked because I wasn't ready to think about it.
selling something not making money on it but you really pushed that mindset and started making us thinking that we should try it and then we tried it and it was like amazing how people took on this offer and we finally had a way getting the chocolate into people's hand who wouldn't have spent more money at the beginning then they got hooked and that's that's what we knew if they try the chocolate for the first time they get hooked keep coming back so this was a
This was amazing. We started this more than two and a half years ago and we haven't changed that offer. It's still the same. Still works great.
Chapter 8: What lessons did they learn from Hurricane Ian?
I think it's so important for anyone listening. If you sell any product that does better when they get it, it's so important to like get it in their hands. And you do have to lose some money or cut the prices or give free shipping. If you really believe in your product and that you believe that once they get it, they'll be lifelong fans, do whatever it takes to get it out there. Exactly.
It's never going to help if they just see an image online, right? Especially any meat where you have to taste, feel, touch, experience. You've got to do what it takes to get it out there. And obviously you've got a lot more customers now because of that, right? Right.
Chapter 9: How do they innovate with unique chocolate flavors?
Because we know, like you said, when people try our product, they love it. But the difficult part is to get them to try. So the 50% off deal, the irresistible offer made sense, but we just didn't have the idea or the mindset for it.
What's important, though, is you have to look at the numbers too, at the data, because we know when we get something to the store and buy the product, we know about 30% of those people stay with us and buy again. So when we look at the lifetime value of those customers, it totally makes sense. But that's something we learned from you because we didn't do that before.
And how many come back generally over time when they buy the first one?
30%?
Yes.
And those 30% probably come back again and again.
Of course.
Yeah, for gifts and Christmas and Valentine's Day, etc., right?
When I say 30% come back, it's more than one time they come back. Because we have some that come back for once and buy a second time in a year or so. But then we have a bunch of them, about 20%, 22%, that buy the whole year, every month.
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