Case Studies

Miss COCO

Sarah Finlay graduated in geography from the University of Glasgow but now she is navigating her way along an entirely different learning curve, having decided to become a chocolate-maker.

The Cumbernauld-based young entrepreneur wasn’t entirely new to either chocolate making or commerce when she decided to launch Miss COCO.  “I have basically just taught myself chocolate-making, and probably have bought every book there is going on the subject,” she begins. “I’d say geography is quite an open subject, for people with an outgoing nature and certainly I would describe that of my own.”

Miss Finlay, who was crowned Miss Earth Scotland 2009 has spent the last 12 months as an ambassador promoting environmental awareness for a clean, natural and healthy environment.  Her experiences she says, have played an instrumental role in helping her define her Miss COCO  chocolate brand.

“As Miss Earth Scotland, I’ve been taken to places that I would never have otherwise been able to visit and I’ve tried to infuse some of that glamour and sparkle in my chocolates. I use different-coloured chocolate and edible glitter to decorate my chocolates. There are also over 20 luxury varieties to choose from which are guaranteed to delight even the most ardent chocolate fans!”

Miss COCO recognises the importance of having an up to date website too, "keeping it updated means people have more than one reason to visit it on a regular basis. I write a blog and am in the process of adding recipes.

“It’s all part of developing brand awareness and what’s happening more and more is that I am coming across people who have already heard of Miss COCO and that has to be a good thing for business. I started in December 2009 but only really got going in March 2010 and while sales were initially a bit slow, they have started to really pick up and the increasing brand awareness can only help increase my sales further.”

Miss COCO chocolates are available to buy online at www.misscoco.co.uk. They are also available in selected boutiques throughout Glasgow and for weddings, events and corporate clients.