Interview: Matt Caputo, CEO of Caputo’s Market & Deli

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“I do wish that more people had an understanding for what an enormous labor of love goes into making handmade chocolate, and how this is not an industry for people who want to get wealthy,” you say. “It is not an industry for people who want to become rich.”

-Matt Caputo, CEO of Caputo’s Market & Deli

Matt Caputo is a well-known name in the world of chocolate. In 2002, he launched the speciality chocolate component of his family’s store, which led to his being a prominent figure in the chocolate industry. Since then, they have proceeded to broaden the range of products they provide, to the point that they often have to decline requests to stock new chocolates. Matt has established himself as the go-to man for anybody wishing to launch a craft chocolate firm as a result of his almost two decades of expertise in the sales of craft chocolate as well as an amazing repertoire of knowledge in related marketing.

But what is it about a new bar that makes him want to purchase a stake in it? We go into the role of craft chocolate shops, the economics of chocolate, and the tipping point that may make or ruin the artisan chocolate business from his office in Salt Lake City, Utah, in the United States. I really hope that you take as much pleasure in hearing about our talk as I did in having it.

Note that the issue of purchasing and reselling artisan chocolate features prominently in my inquiries as a direct result of the podcast episode for which I had Matt on to answer my questions.

Matt with his wife & kids.

Topics We Cover

• his involvement in the family company and how he got started in the handmade chocolate industry
• the part that chocolate shop owners play in the expansion of the industry
• the story of how they got their renowned chocolate tasting classes began
• handmade chocolate’s turning moment as an industry
• what the artisanal chocolate industry may learn from other specialized food businesses
• maintaining a connection between customers and the farms from where their chocolate comes and educating them about the processes that are required to produce a chocolate bar