Yummmm!
Dragons' Den defeat couldn't melt chef's chocolate dreams
September 05, 2009
Mary K. Nolan
The Hamilton Spectator
http://www.thespec.com/News/Business/article/629411
His Dragons' Den deal went down in flames. But like that other mythical creature, the phoenix, Marc Forrat arose from the ashes and took flight.
The 37-year-old French chocolatier has just opened a little shop on Locke Street where he will sell his signature truffles and other chocolate creations.
He has bounced back from the disappointment of first winning, then losing on the CBC venture capital reality show, Dragons' Den.
"I was devastated, borderline depressed," says Forrat, born in Brazil to Algerian parents, trained in France, married to a Canadian and living in London, Ont. "The crush was unbelievable." Forrat appeared on the show in October 2006, during its first season.
Encouraged by London's Small Business Centre -- which had helped him open a chocolate boutique in the city's Covent Garden Market and a French bistro downtown -- Forrat was among 1,800 would-be entrepreneurs to apply and 36 contestants invited to be on the show.
As per the show's format, he made his pitch for $200,000 in capital before a panel of five "dragons," wealthy business people who would determine whether his business plan was viable and worth investing in.
Within 39 minutes, says Forrat, he had himself a 50-50 partnership with one of the dragons and the financing to expand his chocolate-making enterprise nationwide.
"I cried all the way home," Forrat recalls. "I felt like I'd won the lottery."
But his elation was short-lived.
Forrat says that three months later he was told the deal was off and that his backer, citing creative differences, had decided the chocolate business "wasn't the right fit."
"I got my butt kicked by reality. It was completely devastating, but it gave me the energy to come back and recoup," says Forrat, who'd prefer to focus on where he is going rather than where he has been. "After the first six months, it was a relief."
He says he no longer believes that "50 per cent of a big pie is better than 100 per cent of a small pie."
With full control over his little but promising company, Forrat still has every intention of spreading across Canada.
"I would love to be another Bernard Callebaut," he says, referring to the Calgary-based, fifth generation Belgian chocolatier who now has nearly 30 stores in Canada.
Although Forrat closed his bistro, he still has the Covent Garden location, a concession in London's Remark Fresh Market and a location in Yellowknife. He also has a site in London for corporate offices and overflow production.
At a friend's suggestion, he visited Locke Street in June, met the owners, "fell in love with the place," negotiated the lease and set to work renovating the modest space with his brother-in-law and apprentice, Roger Carlos.
Forrat, who worked in construction and renovations before turning to chocolate full-time, spruced up the former sandwich shop with a palette of Provence yellow, cayenne red, black and, of course, chocolate brown.
The lines and furnishings of La Chocolaterie Forrat are simple and clean, dominated by display cases for his chocolates and truffles. Forrat says he's not a "glass, marble and granite everywhere" kind of guy and would rather invest in the product than in chi-chi decor.
He has about 250 flavours in his repertoire, including lavender and Sambuca, but will carry only 30 of the more traditional flavours in the new store until he determines Hamiltonians' tastes.
His chocolate is kosher, gluten-free and extraordinarily delicious.
Forrat's plan is to establish a presence not only in a municipal market, private market and a storefront, as he already has, but also at a seasonal site, such as the waterfront, a mall and a strip mall.
"I will reproduce one of each and when I have 12, two of each concept, I'll be able to say 'It's working, it's safe, and we can go Canada-wide.'"
Forrat believes the key to his success will be common sense, passion for the product, commitment to the finest quality, ethical business practices and treating the customers "like people, not wallets."
"Put me beside every Laura Secord, every Purdy's, every Godiva, every Callebaut and I guarantee you will have a better experience in our store and that we will revolutionize how chocolate is sold."
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