From Little Things: We Asked Established Hospitality Pros How They Turned a Small Business Into a Multi-Venue Brand
The co-founder and director of Mörk Chocolate on growing a hospitality business organically and why staying focused is everything.
In partnership with 
In a city where coffee reigns supreme, launching a specialty hot chocolate brand could've easily flown under the radar. But in 2012, the team behind Mörk Chocolate, husband and wife duo Kiril Shaginov and Josefin Zernell, saw a gap in the market.
"Back then, Melbourne's attention was firmly on specialty coffee," Kiril tells Concrete Playground. "But specialty hot chocolate was still overlooked. We set out to change that."
What began as a niche wholesale business-to-business operation supplying chocolate powder to cafés and restaurants has grown (quietly and organically) into five Melbourne venues and a strong, local business. In partnership with the business solution experts at Square, we sat down with Mörk Chocolate's co-founder and director, Kiril, to learn more about how they scaled a retail brand into a booming hospitality business.
Mörk Chocolate Centre Place
From little things
While it may be surprising to hear, Mörk Chocolate never set out to have brick-and-mortar cafés.
"The core of the business has always been wholesale," says Kiril. "We sell our blends to cafés and restaurants. That's what we set out to do."
Mörk Chocolate's first store opened in North Melbourne a decade ago and quickly became a destination for sweet tooths across the city. However, the ensuing venues in the CBD, Queen Victoria Market, and Chadstone weren't the result of any intentional expansion strategy.
"They kind of just happened by accident," Kiril says. "We don't have investors. We don't go and borrow lots of money. All the expansion comes from cash flow, and so for us to [launch] a venue, it's a big deal, it doesn't matter how small or big. That's why it happens with time naturally and organically."
The challenges
Of course, organic growth doesn't equal easy. With five venues in four different suburbs (two are in the CBD), Kiril notes that anticipating what each customer needs is a big part of the work.
"Each venue reflects different concepts, archetypes, and customer habits, which means anticipating customer responses and needs is always part of the journey. Each of our locations is tailored to its market; no two stores look or feel the same. Our focus remains firmly on quality and on sharing knowledge about chocolate. We've found that Mörk Chocolate customers truly value this approach," Kiril says. Across every location, the brand's focus remains clear: offer an exceptional hot chocolate experience, without overcomplicating it.
"We specialise in hot chocolate — that's what we do. We just focus on that and we don't try to do lots of other things."
Mörk Chocolate Queen Victoria Market
Advice for new business owners
Kiril notes that having that "pure vision" of knowing what you believe in and excelling at the one thing is really important.
"I think a lot of new businesses try to do too many things to capture a bigger part of the market, but then the concept gets diluted a little bit."
When asked if good products or good service take priority, Kiril says that both are equally important. "One cannot exist without the other. The key message is maintaining consistency across both."
One way that Mörk Chocolate maintains this service consistency is through Square.
"Consistency and customer experience are our priorities. We're streamlining POS systems to improve reporting and create a more seamless back-end operation," Kiril says.
In the end, Kiril recommends focusing on what you love and believe in. The café side was born from Kiril, and the specialty chocolate side from Josefin. As a business, Mörk Chocolate has proven that focusing your efforts on one well-made product can compound over time. And maybe, a decade later, your business-to-business brand will become a hospitality legend.
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