Staffordshire chocolate shop to close due to rising costs
The shop's owner also says the COVID 19 pandemic has had a huge impact
A boutique chocolate shop in Staffordshire is set to close as the owner struggles to cope with rising costs.
Meg Davies, 40, who owns Misco’s Chocolates, in Leek, revealed she has lost the will to keep fighting after successive challenges including supply chain issues and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Her energy bills, as well as ingredient and distribution costs, have all played a factor in her decision. But the critical moment came when she found out her landlady was selling the Sheep Market shop which would have forced her to find alternative premises.
Meg’s first chocolate shop was at Getliffe’s Yard which she opened more than 10 years ago before moving into bigger premises. She’s been selling chocolates from her current shop since September 2021, but this will be closing for the final time on Sunday, April 30.
Meg said: “We’ve been going for 11 years now, and we’ve grown every single year, but we’ve reached the point where we need to grow again.
“The Covid-19 lockdowns have played a huge part in it – although it was good in some ways because it forced us to diversify and push things forward with growing the website and delivering nationally.
“Basically we didn’t have the revenue behind us to grow in the way that we wanted to. Now the landlady is selling our shop so we were going to have to come up with another way to diversify again and find a new property.
“It just felt too to try to find another shop. It’s a huge investment every time we have to move.
“The cost of living crisis is having a huge impact too – things like packaging and distribution. We’ve had major problems with some of our chocolate suppliers.
“There’s been so many curveballs thrown at us that it’s just become a normal part of business. There’s a lot of people disgruntled that the government aren’t doing enough – business rates, energy bills. It’s difficult to not be angry when bills are going up 300 per cent.”
Meg explained the lack of availability of ingredients after the pandemic had forced her to rethink the range of chocolates she sells.
She added: “For me, it’s looking at the options and saying do I want to keep on fighting and fighting? That’s what it’s starting to feel like – and we’re trying to look after three members of staff, because we need to have enough money coming in to plan for the future.”
Meg says the first seven years of the business were easier, and Misco’s enjoyed organic growth, but more recently it has felt more chaotic due to there being so much uncertainty.
She said: “We decided to shrink back to just myself producing and my husband helping.
“We might bring it back to life next year in a different form, but it’s time to reflect and have a think about what our next steps are.”
She added that she is considering helping new, up and coming chocolatiers on their journey with training and coaching.
The products she makes are high end, and Meg uses a number of cutting-edge techniques in her craft, meaning there is scope for helping budding new artisans develop their skills to a higher level.
She said: “There are so many small, artisan producers setting up now – and we use some quite cutting edge techniques that are quite creative and it’s something I can help other chocolatiers with so they can take their businesses to the next level.”
Although she intends to continue chocolate production, the shop closing has provided Meg with an opportunity to reassess her business and future plans.
She had this message for loyal customers: “A huge thank you, everyone’s been incredible, they’ve celebrated all our successes.
“I’ll be working in the shop during the last week, so it’ll be an opportunity to say a last goodbye. We’ll also be bringing back some of the retro Misco’s for people to experience for a final time.”
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