SPAGnVOLA: Not Just for the Chocolate

On December 1, the Hillman Entrepreneurs headed out into our community to learn how one man, Eric Reid, turned a dream and a vision into a profitable (and delicious) business. SPAGnVOLA (pronounced spang—vola) is a unique business venture that takes its product from hand-picked cocao pods on its company-owned estate in the Dominican Republic to an artisan factory in the Kentlands of Gaithersburg, MD, where they roast and refine small batches of exquisite premium chocolates, which are sold from its own onsite boutique. Owner Eric Reid refers to his business model as a “vertical business.”
But SPAGnVOLA is about more than providing the highest quality chocolates to its discerning customers and even more than providing a pure, organic product. As Reid explained to the students in December, his vision is large and far-reaching, aiming to disrupt the entire chocolate industry. Not only does he guarantee a living wage to his workers on the cocao estate. He is also dedicated to transforming the industry worldwide by working to provide “shared value” to the farmers through establishing brand recognition by country of origin rather than the country where chocolates are produced. His vision also includes training farmers to take part in the processing as well as cultivating of cocao to ensure that they will receive a larger portion of the profit of their labors.
Reid shared all of this and more with students in the Hillman Program, providing a tour of his facilities where the students were able to see his production facilities in action and by generously answering questions from our aspiring entrepreneurs that will help them begin to see themselves as larger players in the world of social entrepreneurship they are beginning to enter. We are so thankful for the support of Eric and his wife Crisoire for inviting us into the world of fine chocolates!