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Hartville company makes chocolate in every shape and size
SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter
Published: January 28, 2014
In the Oscar awarding winning movie “Forrest Gump” actor Tom Hanks who plays Forrest says, “My momma always said, ‘Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.’”
At Hartville Chocolate Factory, the owners take this famous saying one step further by never letting their customers know what shape and size the chocolate will take or whose face might be inside it.
“You name it we’ve done it,” said Robert (Bobby) Barton Jr., who oversees the daily operations of the retail stores and the chocolate molds manufacturing plant. “I’ve made a chocolate bearing for Timken, chocolate blimps for Goodyear, chocolate brains for the Cleveland Clinic, chocolate gavels for New York’s financial center and a life-size bust of a child’s head for a Bar Mitzvah in New York.
“Any shape that exists can be turned into chocolate and there is a whole industry out there for it,” said Bobby.
While the ideas for chocolate may be endless making one of these creations a reality requires a specific mold which Bobby must build.
“Bobby has always been fascinated with candy molds,” said Robert Barton Sr., also an owner of the family-run business. “He used to make candy with his grandmother and when he started to make molds he was very good at customizing them so it seemed like a good idea to start a business.”
Since the family calls the Stark County village of Hartville their home they decided it was the right place for the business. “Hartville’s Amish roots represented quality, hard work and dedication to one’s craft, all things that we wanted our business to be associated with,” said the elder Barton.
The first step for the owners was to open a manufacturing plant in the early ‘80s. The facility was located at 114 S. Prospect at the intersection of state routes 619 and 43 South. “We made chocolate molds and manufactured chocolate-making equipment for other companies,” said Robert. “It was very successful.”
He said once the mold portion of the business was established it seemed only natural to open a retail location so that the general public could sample their offerings. They chose the old Hartville Hardware store as their main headquarters. Also located at 114 S. Prospect, the former hardware store was built in 1904 and did require some renovation despite its “fine craftsmanship,” said Robert.
Over the years, the company’s client list and offerings have grown considerably. Today the Hartville Chocolate Factory services Fortune 500 companies as well as individuals.
“We were the first company to put faces on our candy bars,” said Robert. “Some of the first ones we did were football stars Ken Griffey Jr and Bernie Kosar Jr.
“We make chocolate that we wholesale to other companies but we also have our own specialty line, including the trademarked item, ‘You deserve a lump of coal,’” said Bobby.
“I found a piece of coal on the local railroad track and I decided to make a mold for it,” he said. The other trademarked item is the “bugeye,” a caterpillar-shaped piece of chocolate.
“I’ve also put 3D images of Barack Obama and Mitt Romney on candy bars during the last presidential race (chocolatepoll.com).
“Some of my most successful molds have been Larry King, Mickey Mouse, and the Toyota crash test dummy,” Bobby said. “One of my favorites is Scrooge and I recently made a four-inch chocolate race car for Goodyear which was fun.”
The Akron Bar Association is also a client. The organization orders dark chocolate dinner mints complete with its logo for events, said Bobby.
He said the retail location is quite busy. Most of the chocolate is handmade and includes items such as chocolate-covered strawberries and Ohio Buckeyes.
“Our Buckeyes are a little different because they are not machine made or mass produced,” said Bobby.
“We sell a lot of chocolate-covered strawberries for Sweetest Day on October 18 and many more for Valentine’s Day,” he said.
In addition to family members there are 17 employees who are part of the operation. Some work part time.
Robert’s wife, Mary, serves as treasurer, his daughter, Beth Shaub, works part time in the retail end of the business and his daughter-in-law, Michelle, handles accounting matters in the office.
Over 20 years ago a local teacher inquired about chocolate-making lessons for some of her students, which Robert said began the tradition of the business offering “learning sessions” for school groups and scout troops.
“My wife Mary does the sessions,” said Robert. “It started off small but today we get large numbers of children in here each year. Some of the children we once taught have their own kids and they bring them in so we are on the second generation.”
He said the sessions have had an unintended effect of generating business. “We were not thinking about profit when we brought in the kids but it ended up paying us dividends.
Robert said the recent downturn actually helped the company’s bottom line. “Even in the Great Depression chocolate sales were up because people still felt it was an affordable luxury.”
About 11 years ago the owners opened the Hartville Chocolate Factory II in the Hartville Marketplace & Flea Market at 1289 Edison St.
“We chose the location because of the activity involved with the Hartville Kitchen, the flea market, and the new Hartville Hardware,” said Bobby.
He said the family does plan to open other stores in the future.
“Our family is very hard working and dedicated to the tasks at hand,” said Robert. “We try to innovate whenever possible and are blessed to work with very good employees, associates and suppliers.”
As for the future, Robert said he wants to ensure that every household in the nation has “five pounds of chocolate in the cupboard. Lately doctors have been recognizing the health effects of dark chocolate,” he said. “When I was listening to the radio in my car recently Dr. Oz listed dark chocolate, almonds, curry powder, spinach and tomatoes as the five healthy items everyone should have,” said Robert.
“I only carry the dark chocolate and almonds so I put those on sale since he recommended them. If there is a demand for chocolate-covered spinach or tomatoes I will carry those too.”