03.06.12
Commitment to innovation
Michael Szyliowicz

 

Innovation is at the center of everything we do. It has shaped our company’s heritage, laid the groundwork for our bright future and even influences our daily decisions at Mont Blanc Gourmet. 

We’ve proven to the food and beverage industry time and again that we’ll take a chance to bring about positive change for the industry. 

Mont Blanc Gourmet was the first in the industry to introduce fair trade chocolate sauce, a decision we made because it was the right thing to do. We also were the first to bring the industry single-origin chocolate sauce. We dared to develop the industry’s first dairy-free blender mix, and at SCAA 2011 we hosted the “Invitation to Innovation,” a wildly successful breakfast with creativity coach Artie Isaac that helped industry leaders start looking at creativity and innovation as tools to improve business. 

For an industry that traditionally waits for the largest companies to change before following behind, Mont Blanc Gourmet stands out from the pack, constantly driving industry ingenuity and imagination. 

We’re deeply committed to innovation, and in the next year, Mont Blanc Gourmet will again prove that commitment through some very exciting announcements. That’s all we can formally announce so far, but stay tuned for some stirring innovations in 2012. 

 

Beverages, Diary of a Chocolatier, Innovation, News, Sustainability
dairy-free, fair trade, INNOVATION, scaa, single origin
04.28.11
The SCAA Symposium 2011
Michael Szyliowicz

The SCAA symposium was conceived three years ago as a place for executives in the Specialty Coffee Association of America to get together and exchange ideas and discuss issues facing the industry. This year has proved to be as stimulating and challenging as the others.

Starting at 7:30 a.m. with sessions lasting until almost 5:00 p.m., panelists have weighed in on a series of topics. Have we seen “Peak Coffee,” the idea that production will now decline? Do we need to change the very idea of how coffee is graded? What is, and what is not, stellar customer service? What are the commonalities and challenges facing coffee producers? Will coffee prices continue their inexorable rise, and why?

Throughout the day, all of these topics were analyzed resulting in no consensus but rather an abundance of information to support both sides of each question.

Personally, I don’t think we have seen “Peak Coffee,” though there is clear evidence that global...

Beverages, Diary of a Chocolatier, Tradeshows, Travel
coffee, customer service, peak coffee, scaa
04.25.11
Sitting down with Artie Isaac
Rebecca Gelston

In your own words, what do you do?

I don't teach creativity as much as I encourage it. With some old fashioned encouragement, my college students and corporate clients return to a natural creativity. They are -- we all are -- more creative than we realize, because much of our creative talent has gone dormant due to lack of attention.  My tools are readings, presentations and conversations on creativity, engagement and motivation; the techniques of improvisational theatre (where brainstorming is alive); and committed devotion to creativity as a role model.

You’ve been quoted as saying that creativity is like exercise. What do you mean by that?

People sometimes say, "I'm not creative." I ask, "How hard are you trying?" We all know what it takes to be physically fit: exercise, good nutrition, sleep, no smoking, not too much drinking. When we cheat any of those variables, we know that our fitness might be jeopardized. Well, creative fitness is the same thing: it takes the same discipline, the same amount of time. (But you don't have to shower after a creative workout.) People who do nothing about their creativity and expect a spontaneous moment of ingenuity are like people who do nothing about their fitness and...

Innovation, News, Tradeshows, Travel
creativity, houston, INNOVATION, scaa
04.20.11
Notice anything different?
Michael Szyliowicz

It has been a busy winter!  Over the past six months we took a long look at our experiences and accomplishments to determine how best to convey what exactly we do and how we do it. Our brand identity statement of “A boutique company dipped in chocolate and steeped in coffee permeating everything we do with innovation, quality, and fun” is still relevant. But as our company has grown and we provide a wider range of products and services to larger customers, we realized that we have a bigger cup to fill.  

We undertook the challenge of revisiting what we do and embarked on a quest to update our identity and look, culminating in a refreshed and revitalized Mont Blanc Gourmet. If you haven't noticed, the website received a significant update in its look and feel. We added The Blend, a company collaborative blog, but you can still look back at three years of Diary of a Chocolatier posts.  Next week we will roll out a new tradeshow booth at the SCAA show in Houston. We will be hosting a special event on innovation and creativity and inviting industry friends and colleagues to stop by our booth and experience first hand how we innovate. 

It’s an exciting time...

Diary of a Chocolatier, News, Tradeshows
fun, houston, INNOVATION, quality, scaa
04.18.11
Mont Blanc Gourmet and Artie Isaac: Brewing innovation at SCAA 2011
Rebecca Gelston

Mont Blanc Gourmet will be attending SCAA 2011 in Houston, and we’re bringing company. 

Artie Isaac, international innovator and creativity trainer, will be joining the Mont Blanc team at our booth (1505) to inspire coffee executives’ next great idea. For more than 30 years, Isaac has led brainstorming and idea generation programs to teach companies and individuals how to unleash their creative potential. 

As a company that prides itself in driving innovation within the specialty beverage industry, Mont Blanc Gourmet is bringing the renowned creativity expert to SCAA to help inject some new thought into the coffee industry. 

“Through our own product line, our work with customers through the custom formulation process and our work within various industry organizations, innovation is at the heart of what we do at Mont Blanc Gourmet,” said Michael Szyliowicz, co-founder of Denver-based company. 

“When you look at the coffee industry as a whole, however, there are really only a handful of companies who are willing to innovate, and the rest seem to be playing follow the leader,” said...

Innovation, News, Tradeshows, Travel
creativity, houston, scaa, tradeshows