Chinese cuisine is many things, but chocolate is not one of them. This fact was painfully obvious to Jimmie Pitts, a chocolate lover from America who has been living in Shenzhen for five years.
“When I came here I couldn’t find any good chocolate,” he said. So he took matters into his own hands and started the “1st American chocolate store in China.”
Pitts, formerly employed in the video industry at Universal Studios in California, retired and came to China in 2003. The lack of good chocolate prompted him to ship large quantities from America for his own satisfaction. It was, however, expensive and didn’t last long. “My Chinese friends devoured it so quickly.” Recognizing the demand for quality chocolate, Pitts seized the moment and decided to start his own business and join a US$46 billion worldwide industry.
Littlejim’s Chocolate Fudge store came to life three years ago, opening its first storefront in Huaqiangbei. Pitts operates the business on strong principles, claiming, “we use only the best,” referring to the high-end Guittard Chocolate that he ships in from San Francisco. It’s the same as that used by Warren Buffet’s See’s Candies, a cash cow and prized investment of the world’s richest man. Just a few weeks ago, Pitts opened his 2nd store in Kingkey Plaza in Futian.
Since taking up the chocolate business, Littlejim’s has seen a steady growth in customers. “Now is the time to be in the chocolate business,” said Pitts, referring to a 50 percent increase in the share of Dove chocolate. Currently, about 65 percent of his customers are local Chinese. Demand is also coming in from Beijing, Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan. “Fudge is a magic word for people from other lands,” said Pitts, as evidenced by demand from Turkish and Russian clients.
Last fall, he ran into Andrew Gibson at a coffee shop in Futian while sharing his chocolates with customers. The result: “He ate almost the whole tray of chocolate the night we met him,” said Pitts. From that point, they not only became instant friends, but business partners as well. When querying Gibson about his investment in Littlejim’s, he replied, “Taste the chocolate.” A self-proclaimed food addict from England and a chef since the age of eight, Gibson brings years of business experience into the fold and an appreciation for chocolate nearing that of his partner.
According to Pitts, the chocolate industry is poised to take off in China. When attending trade shows, other chocolate makers often ask him: “What do you do differently?” His shop has even spawned several copycats, none of which lasted. “Chocolate of this quality will sell,” said Pitts, who has ambitions to place kiosks all over the city and to go nationwide.
Despite his early success, he is quick to state that: “We are chocolate lovers, not just chocolate sellers.”
(Shenzhen Daily March 19, 2008)