SANCAP CHAMBER
\nThe SanCap Chamber and Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce’s business luncheon on April 14 in Fort Myers featured guest speaker and Norman Love Confections’ co-founder Norman Love.<\/p>\n
The SanCap Chamber and the Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce held a joint business luncheon meeting on April 14 at the Marriott Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa in Fort Myers.<\/p>\n
Celebrating Norman Love Confections\u2019 25th year coming up in October, co-founder Norman Love shared insights from his journey building one of the country\u2019s premier luxury chocolate brands.<\/p>\n
\u201c(Customers) have an expectation, an expectation for a product. But if you exceed that expectation, you gain loyalty in a customer,\u201d the award-winning chocolatier and Fort Myers entrepreneur said as he expressed his business philosophy.<\/p>\n
After a career overseeing pastry and baking operations for The Ritz-Carlton worldwide, Love spearheaded a TV pastry competition on the Food Network, then turned to making chocolate as a way to deal with job demands.<\/p>\n
Bringing two innovations to the chocolate industry quickly elevated his Fort Myers-based retail business to a world-renowned luxury chocolate producer.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow, I didn\u2019t create the technique of applying colored cocoa butter to a surface of chocolate, but I was the first in the world to put it on confections,\u201d Love said. \u201cAnd I have to tell you, honestly, the flack that I got from my friends around the world \u2014 \u2018you can\u2019t put red on chocolate and green on chocolate\u2019 \u2014 mostly in the Swiss. And today, I\u2019m so proud to say that the world does love this technique, and that chocolates today are beautiful to look at.\u201d<\/p>\n
When he discovered a method of shipping chocolates using medical packaging, his operation truly got legs. The company ships more than 150,000 packages a year around the country. It has grown to eight locations across Florida and 180 employees.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a rare opportunity to corral the very busy Norman Love to speak, and we feel so honored to have heard his message,\u201d SanCap and Greater Fort Myers chambers President and Chief Executive Officer John Lai said. \u201cNot only does he orchestrate an entire empire of chocolate, he shows up over and over for the community. His importance to Southwest Florida can never be understated.\u201d<\/p>\n