Bringing teams together through the love of chocolate
Bringing teams together through the love of chocolate
BoomPop Team · 10/26/2022
At its heart, tinyB Chocolate is about the happy love story between me, a Brazilian chocolatier, and Andrei, a San Francisco tech entrepreneur (and my now husband). We fell in love, got married, and started tinyB 8 years ago with the hope of sharing some Brazilian chocolate magic with the rest of the world.
But my connection with chocolate started long before I met Andrei. My sisters and I were brought up in Brazil by our single mom who made ends meet by making chocolate for the local community. We spent countless hours with our mom making chocolate and brigadeiro truffles for our whole community. It was hard work, but we all learned the importance of hard work, helping others, and being authentic in work as well as life.
When I moved to the US with Andrei, I wanted to take some of my passion for Brazilian chocolate and share it with others. Brigadeiros felt like a natural starting point because they’re sweet, beautiful, easy to eat, and perfect for parties and weddings. However, despite our enthusiasm, it was hard to make ends meet. No one knew what brigadeiros were, they seemed expensive, and there were a lot of cheap alternatives around.
We went back to the drawing board and looked for other ways to share some of that Brazilian chocolate culture that was an important part of my identity and my passion. I tried new products, flavors, and events, however eventually realized that the magic lay in actually bringing people together to make the chocolate, rather than just taste it. Just like in Brazil.
As a result, we pivoted the business and started offering unique chocolate experiences where teams, families, and friends could come together to make their own Brazilian chocolate treats. It felt authentic, true to us, and a natural path forward.
“We’ve brought the magic of Brazilian chocolate to literally thousands of people all over the world.”
Since then, we’ve rolled and sold thousands of brigadeiros, built a chocolate factory, reinvented our business during a pandemic to offer virtual events, launched new products and experiences, and brought the magic of Brazilian chocolate to literally thousands of people all over the world. Each of our six chocolate experiences is a unique cultural experience where you’ll go on a trip to Brazil, learn about Brazil’s favorite chocolate treats, play some games, and make and eat lots of chocolate. Participants love them because they’re fun, high energy, and authentic.
The journey over the past 8 years has been a rollercoaster of ups, downs, and countless learnings along the way. However, all that aside, it brings me so much joy to know that our team of chocolatiers is sharing the Brazilian culture and treats that I love so dearly with so many people every single day. It makes it all worth it.
And whatever comes next, I’m sure we’ll be sure to stay true to our Brazilian roots and focus on bringing people together through the magic of chocolate. And if you haven’t already, be sure to check out some of our tinyB events right here on BoomPop. Two of my current favorites are our holiday donut cookie event and our holiday chocolate truffle making event.
tinyB Chocolate is a San Francisco artisan chocolate experience company with a Brazilian heart. Co-founder Renata grew up in Brazil where she spent countless days in the kitchen with her mom and sisters making chocolate for their local community. Since Renata and her husband founded tinyB eight years ago, they’ve brought together over 1,500 teams and 60,000 participants in 54 countries through the magic of Brazilian chocolate.
