Toffee, Chocolate And Matzah Make A Recipe For A New Business
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It may not be the first thing you think of when you crave a sweet treat, but mix matzah with chocolate and toffee, and you have a recipe for a new business.
“I never thought it could be something. I made it for fun,” says entrepreneur Phillip Guttman. “I made it for people and I had no clue in my mind at all that this would be a company or go anywhere.”
However, Abigail Levy, did see the commercial potential in Phillip Guttmann's old family recipe. After months of persuasion, she convinced her friend and now business partner to launch Matzel Toff! She knew the road ahead would be difficult, but could be made easier by a good dose of self-confidence.
“I think the main thing you have to do is, you have to love your product. You have to really believe that you have something that everyone in the world should enjoy just as much as you do,” says entrepreneur Abigail Levy.
Shortly after incorporating the company, the duo invested nearly $10,000 into research and development. A big challenge was to give this homemade concoction a shelf life. So they opened up their rolodexes and started to network.
“It took several months of a lot of painstaking research and traveling to meet with people and pick people's brains and ask lots of questions, and there is a lot of frustration that goes along with it,” says Guttman.
But success followed. They were able to extend the shelf life of the sweet and salty snack and teamed up with Tumbador Chocolates to perfect and mass produce it. A cold call to Dylan's Candy Bar was met with a warm welcome. The sweet shop launched Matzel Toff! in April 2008.
Currently it's only available in bulk at two stores and at www.matzeltoff.com, but come fall, individually-packaged Matzel Toff! will hit store shelves. The company has already broken slightly more than even and hopes to cook up more profits.
“Our hope is that we have a low six figure revenue source coming in for next year,” says Levy.
Being a two person company, Abigail and Philip find themselves wearing multiple hats- everything from sales to branding even delivery.
The partners recently quit their day jobs to meet the demand. They understand the risk involved and they say baby steps are key.
“This is not something that overnight, we're going to become a huge success. It takes a lot of work and it's a slow process,” says Levy.
But it can pay off.