GILLIAN Warden set up In House Chocolates By Design in 2003 in the deli she managed. Her chocolates quickly became the best-selling side of the business and in 2013 she turned the deli into a chocolate shop. A graduate of Edinburgh School of Art, Gillian has combined her love of design with her chocolate-making skills to create unique treats including chocolate Galloway cows and the 260,000 handmade Brussels sprouts she made in 2015.

Name: Gillian Warden
Age: 46
Position: Founder

The National:

WHAT’S YOUR BUSINESS CALLED?
In House Chocolates By Design.

WHERE IS IT BASED?
Castle Douglas, Dumfries and Galloway.

WHY DID YOU SET UP THE BUSINESS?
AFTER graduating from Edinburgh School of Art I wanted to go back to Dumfries and Galloway. I always had a fascination with chocolate. The shop was set up in 2003 as a deli but we got rid of the deli in 2013 because it was too hard to compete against supermarkets. The chocolate was the most profitable side of the deli business and I saw a gap in the market for handmade chocolate where I get to use my design skills.

I did a two-day chocolate course in Sheffield which taught me the basics. When I came back I developed my own chocolate but I’m still learning. We follow some trends like chilli, salted caramel and gin flavoured chocolate but for a small town some of them are a bit extreme. There are new distilleries opening in Scotland and rum-flavoured food is the new trend.

The National:

The changing market keeps the business fresh and makes the job interesting. We try to produce products that promote the area like when we used Galloway Chillies at Christmas. We also try to collaborate with local gin distillers. Our Galloway cow moulds are really popular with locals and tourists and are quite iconic. They help us get the Dumfries and Galloway name out there.

HOW IS IT DIFFERENT FROM COMPETING BUSINESSES?
EVERYTHING is produced in-house and by hand. A lot of chocolatiers sell in supermarkets and places like John Lewis but people like how ours is unique and compare our shop to the film Chocolat. We try to create an experience.

We have 26 different types of coffee and products for all ages as prices range from 50p upwards. What we do is something a wee bit different, like the chocolate Brussels sprouts we made for a company in Edinburgh.

Our chocolates are always made by hand and we will never put machinery in. We have more control over the process when we make it this way as we can do product development and produce a small run, but for larger companies we can do an order of more than 1000 chocolates. We can also do one-off requests.

WHAT IS YOUR TARGET MARKET?
WE have really good local trade. It’s not a big town so I can’t believe what we sell in a week. People of all ages buy our chocolate as the prices start from 50p. We do our own hot chocolate so the shop is popular with school kids. There are lots of tourists who come back every year. We have a good variety of customers from all over and locally – lots are from Dumfries and Stranraer. There’s lots of specialist shops here like butchers, so people go there and then buy chocolate from us too. There’s an increase in interest in good-quality chocolate and we have customers who will spend £2.50 on a chocolate bar or £25 on a box of chocolates for themselves. The higher the amount of cocoa the better it tastes.

The National:

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT RUNNING THE BUSINESS?
A HIGHLIGHT was the success of the Brussels sprouts. They weren’t in our name but they got a lot of press. They made the front page of the Not On The High Street Christmas catalogue. It’s a nice job because every day is different. I like trying out new recipes and there’s always something new to do.

WHERE DO YOU HOPE THE BUSINESS WILL BE IN 10 YEARS’ TIME?
WE’RE trying to look at funding. We received a small grant, invested ourselves and friends and family helped out. There are certain things we need funding for – we want to print our own label products and we are looking for more investment for that. We have spoken to local agencies like Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Food and Drink. In 10 years’ time I would like the brand to be more recognised which will promote the area. We would like to franchise to create a shop within a shop.