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Locals Guide: February 2018

Interview with the Locals Guide

Locally owned and locally produced Branson’s Chocolates is located at 1662 Siskiyou Boulevard in Ashland. Owned by Deena and Kevin Branson, the boutique chocolate factory has steadily grown over the past 12 years and is now processing more than 1000 lbs of chocolate per month. With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, Branson’s Chocolates has been busy stocking up and getting ready for the holiday rush. In our interview today we speak with Deena to talk about some of her favorite creations and her plans for 2018.

Deena, thanks and welcome back to Locals Guide. We always enjoy your monthly business column in which you share your latest and greatest creations. 

Thank you, and thank you to all our readers… Having the column helps to keep us pushing to create new chocolates, and we also get to showcase our favorites.

Just to bring things into context, exactly how much is 1000 lbs of chocolate per month?

When we moved to our current location we were bringing in about 250 lbs per month, now we are at about 1000—we’ve quadrupled our chocolate production in less than three years. Let’s just say that 12,000 lbs is roughly equivalent to a full size elephant.

Deena catch us up on how the year went year for Branson’s.

It has been a crazy good year.  We decided to take another leap of faith, the third big leap of faith we have taken.  The first was to move the business and open retail, the second to expand our location and take over the adjoining section of the building.  This time we decided that Kevin (my husband) would retire from his job of over 28 years and come work with me.  He has spent the last couple of months learning the systems and getting familiar with the day to day operations at Branson’s Chocolates.  Over the past 12 years he has helped with all the events we go to and has spent plenty of his vacation days helping me.

What have been some of the local favorites this year?

Our Marzipan Creams have been a favorite right from the beginning.  The have the wonderful almond flavor that the traditional Marzipan has.  But ours is different than most it is smooth and creamy like a cream and that is why we call it a Marzipan Cream.

Deena, on top of running a chocolate factory you also have a retail space.

Yes, we are continually putting the word out about our retail store. We are located at 1662 Siskiyou Boulevard (the old Mongolian Grill).  This is where you can get our rotating Item of the Month, Oops!’s (discounted, visually imperfect) products, and all the other goodies that we make.  We have quite a few places where you can purchase a variety of our product, but our retail store is the only place you can see everything we make.

Tell us about some interesting projects you have been involved in recently.

Last March I taught a Truffle Making class in conjunction with the Oregon Chocolate Festival.  It was my second time to teach a class, but my first truffle class.  Every attendee left with a recipe, a set of dipping forks, and truffles that they got to personally dip, so they could go home and make their own truffles.  I will be teaching another Truffle Making class this year, in conjunction with the Oregon Chocolate Festival March 10-11, 2018.

Destination Oregon: Branson’s Chocolates in Ashland

Deena, please tell us about some of your treasured recipes.

When we started, we purchase the equipment and recipes from Ashland Fudge Co. The recipes we use for creams, caramels, and truffles are based off of those original recipes. The fudge recipes that we use originated in the late 1800’s on Mackinac Island, Michigan.  And we have the recipes that I have created on my own.

You recently completed a successful internship with a local high school student?
Yes, I had a student from North Medford High School doing her senior project with me.  North Medford requires that the student do their senior project in the area of field they want to go into and they have to volunteer between 20 and 40 hours.  When this student asked if she could do her project with me, my requirement was that she create a product that we could sell, a product that we could potentially make a regular item.  She did, and came up with December’s Item of the Month, Port Ganache Square.

Please tell us about your store’s hours and opportunities for the general public to come and visit.

We are open Monday – Saturday 10-5:30pm and closed Sundays. When you walk in, you can see right over the retail counter to the production area, and watch everything being made. There is no wall between the production and the retail areas so we can work and interact with the customers. Our packaging room has huge windows, so you can see how we hand wrap and label all the chocolates bars.

Deena, please tell us about the array of custom products you make.

There are several ways we customize chocolate for our customers.  One is with custom flavors like our very first chocolate bar, Marion Blackberry Dark Chocolate Bar, which was requested by Ashland Springs Hotel. The Lavender Sea Salt Caramels and Salted Lavender chocolate bars for the English Lavender Farm use their lavender oil, and we make chocolates with essential oils for Blue Giraffe, to name a few.  Another way to customize our products is with a custom label like we do for Paddington Station and Grange Co-Op.  We can add a customer’s logo, picture, or artwork to our labels.  Custom molded chocolate is another way to customize chocolates. You can have a chocolate mold made with your logo or artwork.  We do custom molded chocolate for Butler Automotive Group and the Holly Theatre.

Product sourcing and quality are an important consideration that goes into all of your creations.

Yes, it is very important to us.  We source locally, and directly from farmers and distillers whenever possible. For example, our macadamia nuts and hazelnuts come directly from the farmers. Our mint oil comes directly from a farmer up in Clatskanie, Oregon. I choose Oregon-produced products and liquors over nationally-produced products.  I believe in using the best, and supporting local businesses.

Deena, are there any last thoughts or comments you would like to share with our readers?

February’s Item of the Month is all about Valentine’s Day, Raspberries and Strawberries.  We will be featuring our Raspberry Chambord Truffles, Raspberry and Strawberry Creams and a couple brand new items, a Raspberry Dark Chocolate Bar and a Strawberries and Cream White Chocolate Bar.  We will be doing our Valentine’s Day Special again this year of a free Red Rose with the purchase of Valentine’s Box of Truffles.  The Valentine’s Day Special starts February 12^th while supplies last.

Learn More: =============================

Branson’s Chocolates

1662 Siskiyou Blvd

Ashland OR 97520

www.bransonschocolates.com

541-488-7493

 

 

(c) 2018

Locals Guide: February 2017

Interview with the Locals Guide

Ashland’s favorite home town confectioner has been hard at work in her chocolate factory making chocolate delights of all shapes and sizes. With recipes dating back to the late 1800’s, Deena Branson keeps traditions alive and Ashland coming back for more. I met with Deena to learn more about her chocolate adventures.

Deena, thanks so much for doing this interview with us today. 

Thank you, I love talking about chocolate!

Deena, I’m sure that many in Ashland know of your success story, but I know that some do not. Would you mind taking us back and tell us about your story?

I managed Ashland Fudge Company for almost 10 years. I had been gone almost 3 years when my husband came home one day and said, “Did you know that Ashland Fudge Company closed?”So we bought their equipment and recipes and started Branson’s Chocolates from scratch. That was 11 years ago.

Did you ever have any doubt that it might not work?

It never crossed my mind. I just knew it would work one way or another.

Who were some of your greatest supporters and how did their support help you power through the challenging times?

Besides the help and support that my family has given us, there are also our wholesale customers. Paddington Station was the first customer that I did a custom mold for. They have always believed in us, so when they asked if I could make English Toffee, I figured it out and never looked back, and it’s become one of our biggest sellers. The Grange Co-op has also been a huge supporter; it all started with an “It’s A Girl!” chocolate bar. They were the ones that gave us the boost we needed to be able to move into our current location and add retail. Those are just a two of our many wholesale customers that believe in us and support us.

Please tell us about some of your treasured recipes?

Ashland Fudge Co. started as a franchise. When the second owners purchased it, they bought out the franchise and the rights to the recipes. The recipes we use for creams, caramels, and truffles are based off of those original recipes. The fudge recipes that we use originated in the late 1800’s on Mackinac Island Michigan.

What kind of training do you have?

The first owner of Ashland Fudge Co. knew that I liked to know how things worked, so he would explain how the different machines worked and why he would do things the way he did, not knowing that 9 years later I would be using the same equipment. Other than that, I am self-taught–I’ve learned by watching, reading, and occasionally from trial and error.

How did you learn to do what it takes to make things work?

I grew up with two self-employed parents, my mom is a hair dresser, and my dad was a mechanic with a service station, tow truck, and the longest running U-Haul dealership in the region. I learned all about hard work from them. Dad worked six days a week at 70-80 hours. Mom worked three days a week and kept the house going with four kids.

Did your parents come from an entrepreneurial family?

My dad did. His father owned a trucking business before opening the service station with my father.

Customers love your chocolate and it’s also very affordable.

We have always wanted to make our chocolates affordable enough to be an “Everyday Indulgence”.

Deena you are continually pushing the envelope to try new things. What are some of your new creations and will you have any of these as the Oregon Chocolate Festival?

My husband keeps challenging me to make new creations, but it took me three years to make his first challenge; I didn’t think it would sell. Boy, was I wrong. Six years ago I started making the Tequila Truffle; I use Patron Silver in the ganache, and topit with a sprinkle of lime-flavored white chocolate and sea salt. He also challenged me last year to make a Wasabi Ginger Chocolate. I mix wasabi powder into a dark chocolate ganache center, dip it in milk chocolate, and top it with crystallized ginger. I started making Jasmine Tea Squares last year with jasmine tea infused into the dark chocolate ganache, which is dipped in milk chocolate. The newest one is a Matcha Green Tea Squares, made with ceremonial grade Matcha Green Tea powder mixed into a white chocolate ganache, dipped in white chocolate, and topped with a sprinkling of the Matcha Green Tea Powder.

Please tell us about your store and hours and opportunity for the general public to come and visit.

We are open Monday – Friday 10-6pm, Saturdays 11-5, and closed Sundays. When you walk in, you can see right over the counter to the production area and watch everything being made. There is no wall between the production and the retail areas. It makes it so we can work and interact with the customers. The packaging room has huge windows, so you can see how we hand wrap and label all the chocolates bars.

What surprises you most about your growth?

How steady of a growth we have had over the years. When we started, it took a year to go through 500 lbs. of chocolate. I now bring in over 500 lbs. a month. We make 200 to 300 bars a day, plus all the hand-dipped chocolate that is made daily.

Deena, please tell us about the array of custom products you make.

The first chocolate bar that I made was a Marionberry Dark Chocolate bar, which was requested by Ashland Springs Hotel. We make Lavender Salted Caramels and Lavender chocolate bars for English Lavender Farms using their lavender. And we make chocolates with essential oils for Blue Giraffe, to name a few.

Product sourcing and quality are an important consideration that goes into all of your creations. 

I source locally and directly from the farmers and distillers whenever possible. For example, our macadamia nuts and hazelnuts come directly from the farmers. I choose Oregon-produced products and liquors over nationally-produced products. The mint oil that I use comes directly from the farmer in Clatskanie, Oregon. And we make everything in small batches with care to ensure the quality of our products.

Deena are there any last thoughts or comments you would like to share with our readers?

We have exciting things to come this year so stay tuned.

 

 

Learn More: =============================

Branson’s Chocolates

1662 Siskiyou Blvd, Ashland

www.bransonschocolates.com

541-488-7493

Paddington Station’s Holiday Open House

For the past 43-years Paddington Station has hosted their Family of Stores Open House event. This event is a really exciting way to kick off the holiday season! They offer grand prize drawings, music and entertainment, hourly door prizes and all proceeds benefit the Ashland Emergency Food Bank.

Paddington Station is one of the many Southern Oregon locations that you can purchase Branson’s Chocolates. I have participated in their open house for the past seven years handing out samples of the product that they carry. This year I had samples of Peppermint Squares and Peppermint Candy Bars. Among these items Paddington Station also carries our Chocolate Bars, Toffee, Salted Caramels, and Hazelnut Clusters.

There are many local places that you can pick up a piece of Branson’s Chocolates. Visit our website for a full list of places you can purchase our chocolate this holiday season!

 

 

 

 

 

Local’s Guide: May 2015

When we (Deena & Kevin Branson) started Branson’s Chocolates in 2005 we were working out of an industrial kitchen in a business complex producing mostly for wholesale customers.  About 18 months ago we moved to, 1662 Siskiyou Blvd (where the Mongolian BBQ used to be).  Now we have a retail space as well as production space, so you can get Branson’s Chocolates at our retail store or at your favorite stores around town.

We make everything by hand on site, which means when you walk in to buy chocolate you can smell the delicious chocolate, you can see all the production and packaging happening, and you can even talk to us while we work.  We have kept some of the traditions from Ashland Fudge Co. (where Deena got her start in chocolate), and added many signature products.  So you will find Ashland Nuggets (formerly Porkers) and the traditional clusters and caramel sticks along with some nontraditional items, like Tequila Truffles and Cayenne Cherry Chocolate Bars.

We strive to support other local small businesses so we buy our peppermint and lavender oils and some of our nuts directly from the growers.  We also use as many natural ingredients as we can.  The chocolate that we use is high quality Belgian chocolate that is extremely smooth and creamy.  YUMMM!!  We try very hard to keep our case Gluten Free as well as offer Dairy Free and Sugar Free options.

We get asked quite often if we have dark chocolate.  Our response is always “Yes, we do!  You can choose from 58% Semi-Sweet or 72% Bitter-Sweet.”

We price our chocolate for your “Everyday Indulgence” and not just that occasional gift.  We love getting to know our long-time customers more every time they come in.  we also love meeting new people that have “just found” us or have “been meaning to stop by” and finally did.  We want to become the place you go for special occasions, that gifts, and especially the “Everyday Indulgence”.

Please stop by, say “Hi”, and get yourself a piece or two of chocolate for your own “Everyday Indulgence”.

We have the best customers in the world, and they say the nicest things…

“Oh my Gosh. YUMMMM. The best chocolate ever!!!!!  So many kinds to choose from.  This is high quality stuff, and the price is unbeatable.”     ~Angela Rae