Planning quantity of bonbons to produce for high season

[eglies]

I have just started my own chocolaterie. We opened two weeks ago, we are only online business. It’s 15 days before Easter here. I have produced Bonbons but don’t know if it’s enough. I have budgeted for this but nobody can tell me how it will go right? I’m scared we won’t cope with last minute orders that week...

[pastrygirl]

Where are you again?  Someplace that celebrates Orthodox Easter more than Western Easter, apparently? 

 

Regardless, it's all a "live & learn & take notes for next year" situation.  If you sell out, make more.  If you don't sell much, look at your marketing strategy/reach and how it can be improved.  Consider your website, product and packaging and how they could be more appealing.  Repeat forever ... or as long as you're in business.

 

Easter's a weird one.  It's my favorite candy-making holiday but not as busy as I'd like.  Non-Christians celebrate Christmas and give gifts, but Easter is more for practicing Christians and children.  Like Halloween, there is a ton of cheap holiday candy out there that most people are perfectly happy with.  I don't know if the Orthodox market is any different from the Western market but for me, only half of my retailers are carrying Easter eggs and I'm worried I've made too many.

 

Good luck, let us know how it goes.

 

 

 

 

[Jim D.]

3 hours ago, eglies said:

I have just started my own chocolaterie. We opened two weeks ago, we are only online business. It’s 15 days before Easter here. I have produced Bonbons but don’t know if it’s enough. I have budgeted for this but nobody can tell me how it will go right? I’m scared we won’t cope with last minute orders that week...

You haven't been in business long enough to have reliable statistics, so (as pastrygirl suggested), this will be a best-guess situation--and a note-taking opportunity for next year. If you have the means of freezing bonbons, I would make more and get the unsold ones into the freezer after Easter. On the other hand, if you run out, that (I have discovered) is not a total loss as it creates a kind of "buzz" about your business--these are the chocolates to have, and you have to get there early if you want them!

[Bentley]

Definitely learn how to properly freeze, store and thaw bonbons.  That way you're production is limited only by your available capital for supplies, your time and your freezer space.   We are highly seasonal here and I know chocolatiers who will be planning their Christmas collections soon and will have them in the freezer before summer ends.  Great way to stay busy in the down months so you don't have to lay off staff and also get a big production out of the way so when it gets busy, you arent overwhelmed. 

[Merry Berry]

41 minutes ago, Bentley said:

Definitely learn how to properly freeze, store and thaw bonbons.  That way you're production is limited only by your available capital for supplies, your time and your freezer space.   We are highly seasonal here and I know chocolatiers who will be planning their Christmas collections soon and will have them in the freezer before summer ends.  Great way to stay busy in the down months so you don't have to lay off staff and also get a big production out of the way so when it gets busy, you arent overwhelmed. 

 

Is the agreed upon freezing method for most of the choclatiers here still to place the chocolates in a box, triple wrap in plastic wrap, place in cooler for 24 hours, then move to the freezer and reverse the process to thaw?  If so, what type of box do people use?  Flattish cardboard for one layer?  I have read through the main threads on this site discussing the various method for freezing chocolates and this way appears to be the consensus pick.  I have two large chest freezers ready to be filled.

[eglies]

I love it how when I find to come back here so many people eager to help! Love you guys seriously!!!

ok will do our best this Orthodox Easter and see how it goes! Thank you!

 

I would love to know about Merry Berry s comment as we read so many threads about freezing bonbons:

So what do you vote:

A. Put in a cardboard box, vacuum in a machine that has regulating pressure so they don’t crack

B. Put in a cardboard box wrap in cling film many times

C. Put in plastic airtight container and freeze

thawing is fridge, freezer, fridge I suppose? 

[curls]

D. Put them in a box, put box in foodsaver bag, suck a bit of air out with food saver, seal bag before box is crushed. Manual process, no setting on the machine to control pressure levels.

[pastrygirl]

1 hour ago, curls said:

D. Put them in a box, put box in foodsaver bag, suck a bit of air out with food saver, seal bag before box is crushed. Manual process, no setting on the machine to control pressure levels.

 

Even lower tech: put the box in a ziplock bag, zip most of the way, suck the air out with your lungs, zip the last bit.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Sounds a bit unsanitary?

 

[Chocolot]

https://www.snapware.com/

I use snapware. It is water tight, therefore air tight. I put my finished bon bons in layers, refrigerate for 24 hours then freeze. No need to FoodSaver anything. Been doing it this way for 10 years without an issue.

[Tiffany B]

On 4/14/2019 at 8:32 PM, Chocolot said:

https://www.snapware.com/

I use snapware. It is water tight, therefore air tight. I put my finished bon bons in layers, refrigerate for 24 hours then freeze. No need to FoodSaver anything. Been doing it this way for 10 years without an issue.

 

Hi Sorry to jump in on an old conversation. When you put the bonbons in layers do you put parchment paper in between layers before refrigerating and freezing? - I have a few snapwares and wanted to maximize the space. 

[pastrygirl]

2 hours ago, Tiffany B said:

 

Hi Sorry to jump in on an old conversation. When you put the bonbons in layers do you put parchment paper in between layers before refrigerating and freezing? - I have a few snapwares and wanted to maximize the space. 

 

I use bubble wrap. 

[Chocolot]

10 hours ago, Tiffany B said:

 

Hi Sorry to jump in on an old conversation. When you put the bonbons in layers do you put parchment paper in between layers before refrigerating and freezing? - I have a few snapwares and wanted to maximize the space. 

 

Yes, parchment between layers.

[Tiffany B]

17 hours ago, pastrygirl said:

 

I use bubble wrap. 

 

8 hours ago, Chocolot said:

 

Yes, parchment between layers.

 

Thank you! 

[Beckykp27]

Can anyone post some pictures of the types of cardboard boxes you are using? I'm trying to imagine what this looks like at scale. Snapware seems so small. I'm thinking I'll probably need to freeze upwards of 2000 bonbons for Christmas and I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around how to be space efficient.

[Muscadelle]

Hi everyone, I'll just ask my question in this thread:

 

I made some bonbons with a caramel filling to sell during the holidays. So far in my chocolatier life,  I've only made smaller batches so I stored them in a cellier at 16C and that was enough. but now I had to star a little earlier and would like to be extra careful. In an airtight container, are caramel bonbons good to go in the refrigerator? Should I consider freezing them? Any people have had bad experiences with texture changes due to storage?