Etsy Seller Interview with April of sweethotcocoa

How sweethotcocoa got started

Introduce your Etsy shop and tell us your story. How did you begin and decide on what to sell on Etsy, and how do you create your products?

Welcome to Sweet Hot Cocoa! We have been a small, family-run business since 2018. Let me tell you a little about how we got started!

Our grandparents inspired us early in life. We watched as they cooked holiday meals for our huge families. They made so many people happy by bringing them together over food. This core inspiration would carry over into our adult years as Scott's love for cooking and my love for baking grew. We began a decorating business for the holidays, and our clients would ask about food items for their parties. We would whip something up, and our clients would rave about it! We love to eat, but we also wanted to be healthy and eat healthy.

We looked around for healthy drinks like hot cocoa, but we could not find any. Most were heavily processed, or the recipes you could find on the major pinboard sites would require you to purchase said processed food. There were healthy alternatives, but most tasted like cardboard, and we wanted flavor and taste while still being healthy. So, we created our very own proprietary blend of cocoa mix. We took three years to develop our cocoa mix, and we made sure we never compromised on flavor, ingredients, or taste. All our cocoa comes from ecologically sourced and socially responsible harvesting. Most of our packaging is biodegradable plastic (corn-based). We also use only kosher, healthy ingredients. We do not use anti-caking agents such as corn starch or put other fillers like chocolate chips, marshmallows, mixes, or candies in our cocoa. Every order is hand-made in small batches just for you when you order.

 As we have grown our business over the last three years. We have also developed a line of smoothie cocoa mixes, moon milks, apple ciders, teas, dried soups, granolas, and advent calendars. All of these have been handcrafted with the same care and love that inspired our hot cocoas. Currently, we are preparing to launch several new lines. They are cold cocoa drinks that can be made with either frozen milk cubes or ice cream. Then our recyclable single-serve coffee pods (similar to k-cups): We have a limited quantity available on Etsy, but for the entire range of products, come visit our website.

Favorite items

What are your favorite items? What makes these so special? Why do you think these items might be selling well?

First is our white chocolate. I love a simple cup of cocoa to drink when relaxing, watching a movie, or sitting outside near a bonfire. It has a great vanilla taste and never gives you that heavy feeling that other hot chocolate or overly processed hot cocoa does. Yes, there is a difference between hot chocolate and hot cocoa. Ours is categorized as hot cocoa. This is our third-highest-selling product.

The second is our Raspberry white chocolate cocoa. This is my husband's favorite. He loves to make it and take it with him to work for something different to drink. His favorite way to have it is in coffee as a creamer. Most of our cocoa makes a great coffee creamer. Including our coffee and cocoa.

Last but certainly not least is our best seller, Eggnog. This is one my brother suggested because he loves eggnog. It turns out that this is a lot of other people’s favorite as well. So I made it, and it has been a top seller all year.

Getting sales on Etsy

How long did it take for you to earn your first sale and how do you currently attract customers to your Etsy shop?

I made my first sale immediately. See, I have a small following on Twitter and was talking about it there while I was setting up shop, and a lot of people wanted to know when I went live so they could purchase from me as soon as I opened. As far as attracting customers to me, it is organic. I do not advertise unless I have a huge sale between my online shops. We have the largest selection of cocoa On Etsy and have worked very hard to become and remain the best on Etsy.

Managing sweethotcocoa

How do you manage your shop? Are you running solo or do you have any team members? What tools or services do you use to run your shop and how do you handle fulfillment?

I am the only one who manages my shop online. I will get help from my husband or brother to fulfill large orders. But for the most part, it is me who fills and ships orders. As far as handling shipping and fulfillment, I make a list of who ordered first and follow that list. I have always shipped USPS priority mail, as this has made it easier for customers to track packages. Customers are given a tracking number that they can use to track their shipment through USPS.com, which lessens the chance of a lost package.

The future of sweethotcocoa 

What goals do you have for your shop in the future?

My goal is to make this the top Cocoa Shop on Etsy in two more years. I had a 5-year plan to grow my shop to be number one in five years, and it is almost there. As far as adding new products, I will be holding off due to the pricing structure currently on Etsy. I have more traffic on my website than on Etsy most days due to last year's strike on Etsy. It seemed that people were hesitant to go back to Etsy after that made the news.

Advice for new sellers

What’s your advice for a new seller starting an Etsy shop?

My advice is to first read the Rules. Then you need to find a niche, like I did. Next, make sure things are not trademarked, as that might get them permanently banned. I have seen a lot of shops as of late being banned for this. Mostly for not having handmade items. Then they should start by filling out every area that needs to be filled out in the shop. It does help with the site’s algorithm. Next, make sure your shop policies are detailed and clear. Make sure to select where you are shipping to; if only in the United States, make sure to have that in the shipping profile. International shipping can be quite a feat to take on for new shop owners who are not familiar with other countries' rules. Finally, have 10 great photos and 13 long-tail keywords that are strong. All this, plus hard work, will get their shops where they want to be.