Living The Sweet Life

Located in an unassuming industrial park off of Federal Road, Bridgewater Chocolate is easy to miss. However, one trip to this tiny chocolate mecca and it's clear why people pay about $35 per pound for these confections.

Step through the front door and the decadent aroma of chocolate hangs thick in the air. The pristine store displays the chocolatier's various gift boxes and current holiday picks, with a dish of chocolate nibbles to sample at the counter. Lady Liberty, carved out of a solid block of chocolate, stands watch over the tiny shop, while behind her employees produce the goods.

The History

Founder Erik Landegren did not intend on becoming a chocolate guru. In the mid 1980s, he came from his native Sweden to New York City as part of a team to open up the acclaimed Manhattan restaurant, Aquavit. After the restaurant opened, Landegren moved to Connecticut, working as a personal chef for a family in Bridgewater.

When his employer bought the Bridgewater Village Store, Landegren began developing Bridgewater Chocolates and started selling them at the store in 1995.

"I had no idea how to make chocolate, but I had a food background," Landegren said. "I started experimenting — it was a long hard road."

He said his original idea of people picking up some chocolates after lunch "was a complete disaster." Not many people were going to pay $12.50 per pound, the price at the time, for a lunchtime treat.

However, customers began giving the chocolates as gifts and spreading the word, and in 1999, the demand forced Landegren out of the basement kitchen of the Village Store and into the current location.

The Chocolate

Although Landegren, who is married with three daughters, enjoys American candy, he missed European chocolate. He noticed that Americans liked nuts, caramels and toffees mixed with their chocolates.

"A Snickers is a really good candy but a pretty poor chocolate," said Landegren. "I wanted to take these things Americans like but add really good chocolate."

Specialty chocolates tend to be very small and beautiful, Landegren explains, but they don't always look inviting. People want a fine chocolate that they can sink their teeth into and looks appealing.

Mission accomplished. The turtles, one of the most popular varieties, are huge, requiring at least three bites to consume. The roasted almonds are smothered in a chewy caramel and encased in dark or milk chocolate.

Another top-selling confection is the toffee, both the chewy and English varieties. Other creations include peanut butter crunch, marzipan and cherry hearts, hazelnut pralines and solid dark and milk chocolates.

The Business

When Bridgewater Chocolate moved its production to Brookfield, Landegren joined forced with business partner Andrew Blauner, who handles the business and marketing needs.

The company generates most of its sales through its mail-order business, with approximately 65 percent of sales generated online and from catalogs. The remainder is composed of wholesale and retail sales.

Between the first week of December and New Year's Day, Bridgewater Chocolate does about 50 percent of it's annual sales, said Landegren. The company ships chocolate all over the world for corporate clients and has even sent packages to U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan.

Together, Landegren and Blauner have carved out a niche in the competitive arena of specialty chocolates. In 2008, the two opened their first stand-alone retail store located in West Hartford. In addition to the Brookfield store, the chocolates are sold at Villarina's in Newtown and Southbury, the Good News Café in Woodbury and Dean & DeLuca in New York City.