Karl Kummerle

Dutché chocolates is a business that’s anchored on sweetness.

BOTH having a sweet tooth, husband and wife Ricky and Theresa Valerio decided that their business will be anchored on sweetness. This led to the birth of Valmarce Food, the maker of the Dutche brand of chocolate.
“We noticed that there was demand in the industry. Our idea then was to come up with delicious and affordable chocolates. We started practically as a home business using only cauldrons. We used mostly local materials and imported materials, too such as milk from Australia and New Zealand,” says Ricky

Later, the company was able to develop other chocolate products like the choco spread, which was introduced through food exhibits. After that we introduced products used in bakeries, followed by chocolate bars, biscuits and candies before finally coming up with fondue that’s used for chocolate fountain Ricky adds.

Sales ladies were also utilized to give the products wider market coverage.

“When we were starting, we also did lots of product sampling,” added Theresa Valerio. “To ensure we keep up with the needs of our customers, we ask them to have a taste of our products then we adjust according to their recommendations. We would also h e sales girls who would go around different neighborhoods to peddle our chocolates.’

According to Theresa, their business had a rough sailing at the start. The initial delivery of 100 kilos of chocolate proved to be a mistake because some of the deliveries got spoiled. However, the couple remained unfazed and instead used this experience to strive even harder. As a customer-oriented business, they treat customers with care and
professionalism.

“If they have a problem with our products, they can return it. We will replace it with no questions asked. We like to make life easy for those we deal with be they our customers or our suppliers,” Ricky says.