By 6:30am on Friday, there was a lineup outside Mink Chocolate on West Hastings, with eager customers scooping up every available ounce of the company’s popular chocolate bar, Mermaids’ Choice.
This has been unheard of in the past. Even two days ago, customers would drop in for a bar before work, then mosey on. Now, they’re buying six, seven, eight bars apiece.
It’s all because Mermaids’ Choice has been awarded the title of the world’s Top Chocolate Bar at the 2014 International Chocolate Salonin San Francisco.
“It’s remarkable, actually,” says Marc Lieberman, Mink Chocolates president and founder.
“Everybody wants to take pictures and say congratulations. It’s been a little overwhelming.”
Mermaids’ Choice won several awards at the salon: gold in the Best Ingredient Combinations and Best Texture; silver for Best Mixed Chocolate Bar and Best Taste; and bronze for Most Unique. This earned Mink enough points to win Top Chocolate Bar, a title it shares with Australian chocolatier Zokokofor its Tranquilidad Bolivia 72%.
Lieberman says he found out about the achievement while he was at the office – he received it in an email blast to all contenders.
“I just started screaming. My staff was mortified because they thought something untoward had happened, like I was having a heart attack or something. I was just ecstatic,” he says.
“From a business perspective, I’m probably going to have a great Christmas and I’ll probably be shipping chocolate out all over the world.”
Mermaid’s Choice is 70 per cent dark chocolate, blended with burnt caramel, fleur de sel and a hint of rosemary. It weighs 50 grams and costs $6.25 retail.
