Today we’d like to introduce you to Rhonda.
Hi Rhonda, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
We’re Rhonda and Dinah—sisters, engineers, and co-founders of Celia Chocolatier, a proudly Women-Owned and Operated business launched just over a year ago.
Before founding Celia, we spent over 12 years working in top consulting firms, focused on solving complex problems and making things better for people and businesses. But outside of work, as self-proclaimed chocolate lovers and health-conscious eaters, we kept facing the same issue: we couldn’t find chocolate bars that were both clean and truly delicious.
Most options—even those in specialty stores—were full of sugar, artificial ingredients, emulsifiers, and other things we didn’t want in our food. So we spent four years experimenting in our kitchen, learning the art and science of chocolate making.
That journey led to Celia Chocolatier—a brand dedicated to making high-quality, healthy chocolate more accessible.
We craft our bars with care using Ecuadorian Nacional cacao beans, known for their naturally fruity and floral notes. Our chocolate is 100% natural—free from additives, soy, palm oil, dairy, gluten, GMOs, refined sugars, and artificial sweeteners. We sweeten our bars with coconut sugar which has a lower glycemic index.
Our chocolate offers pure, indulgent flavor—wrapped in packaging so beautiful, it gets compliments of its own.
Today, Celia is stocked in over 160 stores across 14 states, including some mainstream and specialty grocers. And we’re just getting started—we’re thrilled to be exhibiting at our first major food expo, the Summer Fancy Food Show in NYC (Booth 216B), coming June 2025.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The journey hasn’t been smooth. In the beginning, we faced major challenges with production—many early batches had to be discarded as we worked to perfect the process. Chocolate making is truly an art, and mastering techniques like tempering, and scaling while maintaining consistent quality was a steep learning curve.
We quickly realized that ensuring every bar met our standards for taste and texture would require rigorous quality control and constant refinement.
On top of that, cacao prices have reached an all-time high. But instead of compromising on the premium single origin Ecuadorian beans or the high quality fruits and nuts we use and believe in, we’ve worked hard to optimize costs in other parts of the business—always protecting the integrity of our ingredients and our mission.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Our company is Celia Chocolatier.
While many chocolate brands rely on refined sugar, emulsifiers, or mass-market cacao, we do things differently. We use only single-origin Ecuadorian Nacional beans, prized for their naturally fruity and floral flavor profile—and we keep our bars 100% natural, free from additives, soy, dairy, palm oil, gluten, GMOs, and artificial sweeteners. We sweeten our bars with coconut sugar which has a lower glycemic index.
We’re also not just chocolate makers—we’re engineers and problem-solvers, bringing precision, innovation, and care to every step of our process. After four years of experimenting in our own kitchen, we’ve created a product that’s as health-conscious as it is indulgent.
At Celia, we believe everyone deserves access to clean, premium chocolate—and we’re proud to offer a bar that tastes as good as it looks, without cutting corners on quality or sustainability.
We sell our bars online at celiachocolatier.com and you can find us at 160+ locations all listed on our website.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
Celia Chocolatier originally began in California, but one of the best things to happen to our journey was when one of us relocated to Cleveland.
There, we joined the Wonder Women of Cleveland organization, and it’s been a true game changer—connecting with a supportive network of like-minded, driven women has been both inspiring and empowering.
Cleveland has proven to be an incredibly welcoming and encouraging city for small businesses. Since the move, we’ve expanded to nationwide shipping and landed our first major retail opportunity with placement in select Meijer stores—an exciting milestone for us.
I can’t think of dislikes to Cleveland, except the weather lol – having moved from California, it’s been a rough adjustment for me, especially this past winter.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.celiachocolatier.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/celiachocolatier?igsh=NTJpbGRlOTA1emY2&utm_source=qr
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/celia-chocolatier/
