|
In
The News
The
Courier Mail - 30th December 2002
Taste of Business; Daily Telegraph - 30th December
2002
Herald Sun - 2nd January 2003
Dynamic Small Business - February/March 2003
The Australian Financial Review - 11th February
2003
Gold Coast Bulletin - 15th February 2003
What's New in Food Technology and Manufacturing
- March/April 2003
Australian Trade Community - May 2003
John Taylor,
Managing Director Chocolate Graphics at a meeting with Ex-President
Mikhail Gorbachev, and the ambassadors for Brazil and Ghana at a
recent international conference.
The
Courier Mail- 30th December 2002
Now business cards are mouth-watering
Matthew Hart
They might not know who you are or what you do but everyone will
want your business card - once it is printed on chocolate.
Using new technology, Gold Coast company Chocolate Graphics International
has developed the ability to print messages, logos and pictures
on chocolate without using conventional moulds. It is hoping the
novelty of chocolate business cards, menus and wedding invitations
will catch on as it plans a national roll-out of special manufacturing
kitchens.
Managing director John Taylor holds the international master licence
to the technology and has sold master licences in the UK, Malaysia,
Singapore and Hong Kong.
He recently sold the master licence for the company in Australia
to Gold Coast businessman Martin Cox for $1 million. The deal includes
the first established and operating Chocolate Graphics Kitchen,
with an annual turnover of $400,000, which will be used as a model
to sell the franchise around Australia.
It is hoped that up to seven franchises will be established in eastern
Australia over the next 12 months. The sale of the master licence
marks the next step for privately owned Chocolate Graphics, which
has seen its annual turnover jump from near zero to more than $3
million in just 24 months.
"The success of Chocolate Graphics is linked to the fact that
chocolate is the world's most popular gift - in Australia more than
$30 million worth of chocolate is sold each week," Mr Taylor
said. "Our clients find the simplicity of the graphics on our
products very appealing and we are getting great feedback from the
'wow' factor inherent in the product.
"For business, the branding of a chocolate with a corporate
logo or message creates a compelling communication. For individuals,
we design products which can be used to add surprise value to celebrations
such as birthdays, weddings or anniversaries."
The group planned to develop its chocolate range for its corporate
clients over the next 12 months.
"Research is currently under way to develop specific point
of sale chocolates for newsagents and stores for Christmas 2003,"
he said.
Back
to Top
Taste
of Business; Daily Telegraph - 30th December 2002
SAY IT WITH
CHOCOLATE
AUSTRALIA. A Gold Coast company has discovered an ingenious way
of corporate communication - by chocolate.
Chocolate Graphics International (www.chocolate-graphics.com) has
developed a technique to print messages, logos and pictures on chocolate.
Managing director John Taylor is confident that the novelty of chocolate
business cards, wedding invitations and menus will take off, based
on the appeal of chocolate as the world's most popular gift.
"Our clients find the simplicity of the graphics on our products
very appealing and we are getting great feedback from the 'wow'
factor inherent in the product," he said. "For business,
the branding of a chocolate with a corporate logo or message creates
a compelling communication."
So far, Taylor has sold master franchises in the UK, Malaysia, Singapore
and Hong Kong.
Gold Coast businessman Martin Cox paid A$1 million for the Australian
license. The deal includes the first operating Chocolate Graphics
Kitchen, with an annual turnover of A$400,000, to be used as a model
for franchising around Australia.
The sale of the master license marks the next step for privately-owned
Chocolate Graphics, which has seen its annual turnover jump from
near zero to more than A$3 million in two years.
Over the next year it is hoped that up to seven franchises will
be established in eastern Australia, and the company aims to develop
its range of chocolates for corporate clients.
Back
to Top
Herald
Sun - 2nd January 2003
Corporate sector swoops on sweet
sensation
Matthew Hart
THEY might not know who you are or what you do but everyone
will want your business card - once it is printed on chocolate.
Using new technology, Gold Coast company Chocolate Graphics International
has developed the ability to print messages, logos and pictures
on chocolate without using conventional moulds.
The company is hoping the novelty of chocolate business cards, menus
and wedding invitations will catch on as it plans a national rollout
out of special manufacturing kitchens.
Managing director John Taylor holds the international master licence
to the technology and has sold master licences in Britain, Malaysia,
Singapore and Hong Kong.
He recently sold the master licence for the company in Australia
to Gold Coast businessman Martin Cox for $1 million.
The deal includes the first established and operating Chocolate
Graphics Kitchen, with an annual turnover of $400,000, which will
be used as a model to sell the franchise around Australia.
It is hoped that up to seven franchises will be established in eastern
Australia over the next 12 months.
The sale of the master licence marks the next step for privately
owned Chocolate Graphics, which has seen its annual turnover jump
from near zero to more than $3 million in just two years.
"The success of Chocolate Graphics is linked to the fact that
chocolate is the world's most popular gift - in Australia over $30
million worth of chocolate is sold each week," Mr Taylor said.
"Our clients find the simplicity of the graphics on our products
very appealing and we are getting great feedback from the 'wow'
factor inherent in the product.
"For business, the branding of a chocolate with a corporate
logo or message creates a compelling communication.
"For individuals, we design products which can be used to add
surprise value to particular celebrations such as birthdays, weddings
or anniversaries."
Mr Taylor said the company planned to develop its range of chocolates
for its corporate clients over the next 12 months.
"Also, research is currently under way to develop specific
point-of-sale chocolates for newsagents and stores for Christmas
2003," he said.
Back
to Top
Dynamic
Small Business - February/March 2003
Your Name in Chocolate
Chocolate sends
a universal message so what better way to leave an impression on
your customers than to satisfy their craving while showing off your
business logo?
From bite-sized branded chocolates to larger format chocolate pieces
such as invitations, menus, or thank you cards, a chocolate treat
that's inscribed and branded to your business could be an effective
marketing tool. Chocolate Graphics is one company who specialises
in printing 'onto chocolate with chocolate'. Managing director,
John Taylor says that for business the branding of chocolate with
a corporate logo or message creates compelling communication. "It
enhances the company's image by giving clients something that they
like, while communicating in a way that makes an impact," he
says. For more information on how to get your name in chocolate
visit www.chocolate-graphics.com.
Back
to Top
The
Australian Financial Review - 11th February 2003
Chocolate gets into the picture
Mark Fenton-Jones
Chocolate Graphics
International has sold the master licence for its company in Australia
to Gold Coast businessman Martin Cox.
Mr Cox paid $1 million for the Australian master licence that included
the first fully fitted-out Chocolate Graphics kitchen on the Gold
Coast, which had turnover of $200,000 last year.
"I was frustrated looking for a business that was not a coffee
shop or food franchise. And that was difficult to find on the Gold
Coast," said Mr Cox, who was after a business that did not
require a lot of hands-on involvement.
"This intrigued me," he said of first learning about Chocolate
Graphics.
The technology, which can make chocolates with messages, logos or
pictures, enables a 3-D photographic image to be put onto a chocolate
at a very low cost.
Mr Cox, who took over the business in November, said that the Gold
Coast kitchen would initially focus on developing new products for
the retail and tourist markets as well as training for potential
licensees.
Last month he started to look at licensing arrangements. Under consideration
is whether to sell licences to one- or two-person operators who
supply the prestige chocolate market, or larger licences to operators
in major cities - essentially factories - using semiautomatic equipment.
Although he has reports of a lot of interest, he has still to finalise
costs for either option. For small licences, an indication is the
cost of a manually made kitchen unit, estimated at $150,000 with
royalties of 7 per cent, plus 2.5 per cent for advertising, each
year on the net wholesale revenue.
CGI is the brain child of John Taylor, who acquired Queensland-based
Chocolate Graphics and its technology for printing chocolate on
chocolate in July 1999.
After two years developing the manufacturing process, Mr Taylor
began to market the technology last October through a business broker.
The broker
introduced Mr Taylor to Mr Cox, who has been an Australian resident
for one year and was formerly the joint owner of Singapore company
Inova Audio Visual Design. Previously he had worked in South- East
Asia for 21 years installing audio-visual systems.
CGI sold
master licences in Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong in September
last year and recently sold the UK master licence.
Back
to Top
Gold
Coast Bulletin - 15th February 2003
Retirement turns into a sweet
move
A move
to the Gold Coast to semi-retire has taken a sweet turn for John
Taylor.
He is making an international 'imprint' on the chocolate business.
Mr Taylor moved to the tourist capital in the late 1990s after a
six-year period as president in Japan for cosmetics company Nutrimetics.
The chance cropped up to buy a business called Chocolate Graphics,
which had technology to print chocolate on chocolate.
"I couldn't resist; it was a great opportunity," said
the 62-year-old Mr Taylor yesterday.
Since the 1999 purchase Mr Taylor has spent heavily on research
and development and has sold master licences for Chocolate Graphics
in the UK, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong.
The master licence for Australia has just been sold to Gold Coast
businessman Martin Cox for $1 million, a price that includes a fully
fitted Chocolate Graphics kitchen in Southport that is already doing
$400,000 a year in business.
Mr Taylor said he was in talks to sell a master licence in the US
for $A 10 million and to operators in other countries.
He bought Chocolate Graphics from Nat Lucas and Mike Bruce, who
had started it five years earlier. Turnover has mushroomed in the
last two years to more than $3 million a year.
"Overnight we turned a 'cottage industry' approach to one confidently
set up to be a profitable commercial venture," said Mr Taylor.
"The technology was rebuilt and new intellectual property developed."
Chocolate Graphics' products include chocolates with messages, logos
or pictures on them and are used for all types of promotions. The
company's Southport operation has clients as diverse as the Burleigh
Beach Club, Sheraton Mirage hotel, Robina Holden and theatre-restaurant
Draculas.
Mr Taylor said new technology enabled Chocolate Graphics to put
a photographic image on to a chocolate at a very low cost.
"It is possible for companies to have photographs of their
yacht, logo or real estate on chocolates. Cars can be put on chocolates
for a car launch, or chocolates can be printed up as a business
card."
Self-contained manufacturing kitchens for making chocolates have
been designed as part of the business.
These are sold individually as a one-stop-shop operation for franchisees.
Mr Taylor, who ran a $50 million a year Melbourne direct-marketing
business before joining Nutrimetics in 1990, said moves were afoot
to issue 20 Australian franchises in the near future.
Mr Cox, the new owner of the Australian master licence, moved to
the Gold Coast a year ago after 21 years in Asia, where he was joint
owner of Singapore firm Nova Audio Visual Design.
What's
New in Food Technology and Manufacturing - March April 2003
Printing onto chocolate
Chocolate Graphics
manufactures branded promotional chocolates and sells chocolate
manufacturing equipment and franchise licences for the special technology
that prints onto chocolate with chocolate.
The company has developed a sophisticated, automated printing technology
for the mass production of chocolate products. Self contained manufacturing
kitchens have been designed as part of the business.
Chocolate products can be made in any size, shape and colour. They
can be filled with nuts and with flavoured filling and come in 3,
6 and 10mm thickness. There are carbon and yoghurt products as nutritional
options. Sizes range from small mouth sized branded chocolates to
large format pieces, which can be inscribed and branded and used
as invitations, menus, thank you cards or presentations.
Back
to Top
Australian
Trade Community - May 2003
195,000 Personalised Chocolates
to China
Gold Coast based chocolate company Chocolate Graphics has been awarded
a lucrative contract to produce 195,000 personalised chocolates
for a multinational ice-cream company based in China.
The order comes on top of a period of great expansion for Chocolate
Graphics, Which has seen its annual turnover jump from near zero
to more than $3 million in just 2 years.
To fulfill the order Chocolate Graphics will produce 195,000 small
oval chocolates each embossed with a raised logo. The chocolates
will be used on the top of ice cream cakes sold throughout China.
Chocolate Graphics
is a wholly owned Australian company, which has developed patent
protected technology that can emboss chocolate messages and any
image onto a chocolate surface. The technology was developed by
John Taylor, Managing Director and owner of Chocolate Graphics International
Pty. Ltd.
 John
Taylor comments, "Our marketing strategy is to franchise our
process internationally and we are currently processing many applications
from a variety of countries. We see Chocolate Graphics as a great
"purely Australian" export opportunity of locally developed
Intellectual Property."
The company
has received growing interest for the product throughout Asia which
is paving the way for Chocolate Graphics to sell multiple manufacturing
and master licenses within the Asian region.
Back
to Top
|
