Introduction
In this chocolate business success story, we dive into the journey of Mia Moens, the founder of Theo & Brom. Starting from scratch after moving to a new country, Mia navigated language barriers and a global pandemic to build a unique e-commerce brand that bridges Filipino and Belgian cultures. This Q&A extracts the exact strategies, challenges, and triumphs from her podcast interview, offering a raw look at how she scaled her business from a 20-kilogram experiment to a $300,000 revenue powerhouse.
Founder Success Story QnA
Can you tell me a little bit about yourself, your business, and where you’re located?
I am a Filipina American entrepreneur who is now based in Ghent, Belgium. My founder journey started in 2018 when I moved here for marriage. I was leaving a life of being into sales and marketing for the past decade and found myself in a country where I don’t understand the language. I just knew that there was no way in my capacity that I would be at a professional level. So, I was searching one day on the internet for what I could possibly do, and thankfully I found the Foundr course of Start & Scale. Theo & Brom was born. It’s basically a fusion of two cultures, Filipino and Belgian, and everything that has to do with our chocolates.
How long were you in sales and marketing? Did you work for another company or have your own business?
It’s half and half. I was more of an independent contractor for an exclusive personal care brand at first, just skin care, and then it extended into health and wellness. I did that for about 10 years. I was one of the first team leaders to expand into social media and understand how powerful it is to speak that language and how to sell on social. That was also a stepping stone for me to finally branch out into my own business and apply all the skills I’d learned.
You moved to Belgium in 2018. Did you try to apply for jobs, or did you decide to start something new?
I didn’t even reach the application process because the language was the major barrier. It was so intimidating to see job postings requiring fluency in Dutch and French. I only speak English from that list, and it’s not even the priority. So I just felt useless, you know, like I hoped I could build something again from scratch. It takes immense courage to accept what is and believe that you can for what will be.
What stood out to you about the Start & Scale course against others you might have found?
I liked the idea that despite it being based elsewhere, I knew it wasn’t European or American. Through a friend, I saw it was in Australia. The remote factor attracted me; it means it’s not sensitive to geography or location. As a former digital nomad, that ability to have location independence was very important. Second, it was through my friend’s testimonial. They were part of a video I saw when checking out the course, and that was the thing that made it for me.
How did you develop the idea for Theo & Brom when you didn’t even have an idea at first?
I must admit that I did not have a passion for sweets or desserts before I launched the brand. But it was a mix of intuition and following your gut. I understood that this could be a product that touches on many things I was going through: nostalgia, missing home, and the idea of maximizing what’s in your environment. Belgium is known for chocolates, and the Philippines has a very strong tradition in chocolates as well. All of that coming into play just created that light bulb moment where I was like, I think this is worth a try.
Was it challenging to create this hybrid of two different chocolate cultures, especially not being a dessert person?
Of course, it was challenging because I was an outsider looking in. When I was trying to pitch the idea to manufacturers, they were like, “Who are you and what are you trying to do?” They turned me down politely. It took one person to believe in my idea, and that led me to the people who helped me develop the recipe and our brand. What helped me so much was to outsource these things smartly. It didn’t take a lot of money in the beginning; it was just good old-fashioned networking and believing in your idea until it made money.
How did you find the right people in your manufacturing process to bring your vision to life?
It started with a very general and broad search online. I created a spreadsheet of all possible manufacturers and pitched them through email. I sent that email to probably more than 30 people, and everybody said no. The last one that replied and said yes had a letter “Z” at the beginning of their company name. She became my cacao scientist. She’s one of the lead cacao scientists in the world and had recently visited the Philippines, so she knew exactly what I was trying to make. She knew which craft chocolate maker to speak with to create our prototype. It was crazy how everything just aligns when you have a vision.
What is your main product? Is it a sweet or bitter chocolate?
Our core product is based on the Filipino tablea, which is a very raw and rustic chocolate. My lead cacao scientist, Zoe, knew which beans to source, just like wine, where the taste profile varies. She knows the craft chocolate maker who had the skill to experiment with her so we could create that product. Originally, that was the only thing I intended to produce and scale from there.
How did COVID-19 impact your business, and what was your pivot?
COVID hit us hard. Our largest market was the United States, and we couldn’t bring the chocolates from Belgium to there anymore. The export costs skyrocketed three times, so it wasn’t profitable. I was about to throw in the towel, but we were able to pivot by connecting with a friend from my old networks in the Philippines. We produced an entirely new product using our base chocolate: cakes. That was our maverick product that saved our brand. From June to December of 2020, we were able to 5x our revenue through cakes and another product called the Gugu Jar, which is a gooey spread from our base chocolate.
How has your manufacturing changed from where you started to now?
Our first batch of beans to create our prototype was just 20 kilos, which is like one suitcase. It was even hand carried by a bean supplier who normally exports in metric tons. I didn’t even have enough funds for that; it was my husband who gave me the base capital. Now, our operations are fully in the Philippines. I manage it remotely with a team there and several partner companies that do outsourcing for fulfillment, warehousing, the whole supply chain, and a partner kitchen that produces our goods. We’re not just into chocolate now; we’re also into pastries.
How did you grow from that initial 20-kilogram batch?
We launched our first 100 boxes, and to me, that was already a lot. Through the first few months, we funded a small crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter to open operations in the United States. We raised $10,000 in two weeks. Some months were not so good, but we had a major win during our first year when we closed our first corporate account. That was our first bulk order, and it built up more capital for me. Patience is always rewarded as long as you keep going.
How did you get your first corporate client without a big marketing budget?
I didn’t have the budget for Facebook ads back then. This one was still through the organic network. I made it a point to intentionally find new connections and leads, not just to convert them but to establish my network in Belgium. I also applied to several incubators and accelerator groups, and we got into Belgium’s largest accelerator group, Start It @KBC. It taught me to audit my business and exposed the many vulnerabilities of my setup as a young entrepreneur. It’s very helpful to always network.
How did you come up with the branding and the name Theo & Brom?
I went back to the basics and followed my intuition. I used this mantra: if we are bridging roots from Belgium and the Philippines, why not make a spin out of the root name of cacao, which is Theobroma cacao? And that’s where Theo & Brom came from. It worked. Whenever people ask, “Who’s Theo?” I say it’s not a person; it came from the root name of the cacao plant, and they’re like, “Oh wow, that is so brilliant.”
Did you apply your Start & Scale learnings for each new product you thought of?
When I started my e-commerce store through Shopify, I just honed that skill. I didn’t outsource fixing up the store or creating graphics at the beginning. When we had our cakes, I of course applied the learnings, but it felt more like second nature because we’d been doing it for about two years before we were forced to pivot. I just kept going back to specific chapters in Start & Scale whenever I needed a review on something. It became part of our workflow.
What specific methods from the Start & Scale course do you remember applying?
I specifically remember the branding course that Greta was teaching. After I watched those videos, I visited the first brands that she actually created to see if there was a pattern. I tried to find the similarities and what insights I could pull by observing an actual working e-commerce website. I saw a pattern emerge where it’s a very clear way of communicating what your brand represents and a deeper understanding of who you’re speaking to. It’s not just about nice colors and a cool name.
What results did you achieve by taking the course, from 2018 to now?
Our record month, we did a metric ton of raw chocolate in a month. That’s from 20 kilos to 1000 kilos. In terms of revenue, what we used to do in a year, we managed to do in a month during 2020. Last year, we closed at $300,000 in revenue, and our next goal is to hit a million by the end of this year.
Are you now using marketing channels like Facebook ads and email marketing?
Yes. My husband is a funnel hacker and a digital marketer, and he’d been pressing me to do Facebook Ads for two years. During the COVID pivot, he said, “You have nothing to lose here anymore, let’s do an ad.” It worked, and it had to work before my very eyes because it was one of the things I had to unlearn. I was utterly convinced it would not work. Since then, we have launched several campaigns which helped our brand scale even faster. I’ve also started exploring email marketing, and that’s been very powerful for touching base with our audience and existing customers.
What’s next for you and your business?
We are actually transitioning to be a scale-up. We’re studying all the aspects and departments of the business to operate on a larger scale and hopefully double our operations and revenue again. We’re not introducing new product lines specifically, but more strengthening what we already have. After two and a half, three years, we have a good brand with a good product-market fit, and we’re just blasting through and creating more revenue with what we could say are our golden goose.
How did you know when it was time to scale up?
It actually came with a crisis. When we hit record numbers a few months back, we realized that the skill set on our team was just too small and inexperienced, and our systems didn’t hack it. That’s how we got our first one-star reviews, not because of the product but because of shipping delays. I realized we could operate at that level, but we couldn’t continue with our Jurassic-level systems. We needed to provide a seamless delivery and unboxing experience. Those one-star reviews leveled up our commitment to do better.
When you first discovered Start & Scale, did you ever think you would be where you are right now?
No, not at all. That’s what makes it very exciting. For me, what should be constant is your desire to learn and educate yourself with new things so you can adapt to new environments or circumstances you never expected, like COVID. I made it my value to always have education first and foremost for constant and never-ending improvement. Starting Scale is a course I swear by; I’m a product of it.
What advice would you give to someone who was in your shoes in 2018, on the fence about starting?
I’d say, coming from my experience now as a mom, I read this quote that gets me through the difficult days: “The days are long, but the years are short.” In terms of an entrepreneurial journey, it’s the same. You’ll feel like these are the most dreadful days where nothing’s happening, but if you just keep pushing on, focused on your target, and work on yourself, improving one percent every day, then when you look back, wow, the years just flew by, and you’re going to be proud of yourself and what you have achieved.
Mia Moens Business Stats
Mia Moens’ journey with Theo & Brom is a testament to strategic pivoting and relentless networking. Starting with a mere 20 kilograms of cacao beans, the business has scaled dramatically, closing 2021 with $300,000 in revenue and setting its sights on the million-dollar mark. The following stats highlight the key metrics of this inspiring chocolate business success story.
- Started with a 20-kilogram experimental batch of cacao beans.
- Crowdfunded $10,000 in just two weeks on Kickstarter.
- Achieved 5x revenue growth in 6 months during the 2020 pivot.
- Closed the 2021 financial year at $300,000 in revenue.
- Set a goal to reach $1,000,000 in revenue by the end of the current year.
- Uses a fully remote operational model, managing a team and partners in the Philippines from Belgium.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Year Founded | 2018 |
| 2021 Revenue | $300,000 |
| Initial Capital | ~$10,000 |
| Record Monthly Chocolate Use | 1 Metric Ton (1000 kg) |
| Primary Location | Ghent, Belgium |
Mia Moens Method
The success of Theo & Brom wasn’t accidental; it was built on a foundation of smart, resourceful methods. Mia’s approach combined her past professional experience with a willingness to learn and adapt, proving that a strong vision can overcome significant logistical and market hurdles.
- Leveraged her decade-long sales and marketing background to build a brand narrative.
- Practiced relentless networking to find a world-class cacao scientist and manufacturer.
- Used a small-scale crowdfunding campaign to validate the idea and fund initial expansion.
- Pivoted the entire product line during COVID to focus on pastries and spreads, saving the company.
- Embraced paid advertising (Facebook Ads) after initial reliance on organic channels.
- Joined an accelerator program to audit the business and identify areas for growth.
Mia Moens Tools
To build and manage her e-commerce empire remotely, Mia utilized a lean yet effective stack of tools. These platforms allowed her to handle everything from initial funding to marketing automation without needing a large in-house team, enabling the lean startup model that fueled her early growth.
- Shopify: The core e-commerce platform for running the Theo & Brom online store.
- Kickstarter: Used for the initial $10,000 crowdfunding campaign to prove market demand.
- Facebook Ads: The primary paid marketing channel used to scale the business rapidly.
- Email Marketing Software: A key tool for nurturing customer relationships and driving repeat sales.
- Outsourced Partners: Third-party services for fulfillment, warehousing, and kitchen production.
Key Notes
Mia Moens’ journey offers several powerful lessons for any aspiring entrepreneur. Her story emphasizes that success is not just about having a great product, but also about the mindset, strategy, and resilience you bring to the table. These are the key takeaways from her chocolate business success story.
- The power of networking can unlock critical resources that money can’t buy.
- Unlearning past assumptions is crucial when entering a new industry or venture.
- A crisis, like the COVID-19 pandemic, can become a powerful opportunity to pivot.
- Focus on beating your personal best, not on comparing yourself to the competition.
- Celebrate small wins; they are the building blocks to achieving larger goals.
Get Started in Just 5 Steps
Inspired by Mia’s journey? Here’s how you can apply her core principles to start your own business. This five-step guide distills her experience into actionable steps for anyone looking to turn their unique idea into a thriving e-commerce brand.
- Identify a Unique Story: Find a fusion or narrative for your product, like Mia’s Belgian-Filipino chocolate bridge.
- Network Relentlessly: Reach out to potential partners, manufacturers, and mentors. One “yes” can change everything.
- Start with an MVP: Launch with a minimum viable product, just like Mia’s first 100 boxes, to test the market.
- Validate with Crowdfunding: Use platforms like Kickstarter to raise initial capital and prove customer interest.
- Be Ready to Pivot: Stay adaptable. If market conditions change, be prepared to shift your strategy or product line.
Conclusion
Mia Moens’ chocolate business success story is a powerful reminder that entrepreneurship is a journey of constant learning, adaptation, and resilience. From uprooting her life to navigating a global pandemic, her ability to pivot, network, and stay focused on her vision has been the driving force behind Theo & Brom’s impressive growth. Her story proves that with the right mindset and strategy, it’s possible to build a successful, globally-relevant business from anywhere.