What should I check before buying a chocolate shop?

A chocolate shop depends on a small kitchen, a set of skills and a seasonal calendar. Your checks should follow those three things. The list below is a starting point, and the café due diligence guide shows how a similar food business is reviewed.

What is made, and who knows how

Ask which products are made in the shop and which are bought in. For the made products, ask whether the recipes, moulds and brand name come with the sale and whether the owner will train you for a set period. If one person holds all the skill, the shop’s output may leave when they do. Plan the handover early, as the BDC material on integration after a purchase suggests.

Seasons and the monthly statements

Chocolate sales often bunch around gift-giving holidays. Look at the monthly statements for a full year or more and see how the quiet months are covered. Ask how the shop pays its bills between peaks, and how much stock is built up beforehand. Your accountant can read the statements with you and explain what they do and do not show.

Equipment, stock and accounts

Have someone who knows the trade look at the tempering, enrobing and cooling equipment, and ask for service records. Ask about corporate gift and wholesale accounts: who they are, whether they are under contract, and whether they will stay. Ask how long the stock on hand stays good, and how it will be counted at closing.

The lease and the rules

Read the lease for temperature control, frontage, signage and renewal. Food-making rules and licences are for your lawyer to confirm with the regulator, and for the seller to show you.