SaltWire: For the love of chocolate
The Greater Heights of Growth program helps Rousseau Chocolatier co-owner plan for rapid expansion
When you peek through the window of Rousseau Chocolatier on South Street in Halifax, you will find Julien Rousseau-Dumarcet, master chocolatier, handcrafting beautiful, award-winning chocolates, macarons, meringues and more.
Rousseau’s – which opened in 2014 – prides themselves on using only premium ingredients and collaborating with local growers and producers around the province as much as possible to create their sweet confections.
“Quality has always been at the forefront of what we do and working with local producers in such a beautiful city with amazing ingredients is the best thing in the world,” says co-founder Nathalie Morin.
“I think our combination of European and Canadian experience and our ability to create wholesome relationships with the community around us has been a staple for us in showcasing what Nova Scotia has to offer in terms of beautiful high-end products.”
Rousseau-Dumarcet, who is from Southern France, and Morin, a luxury hospitality professional from Ottawa, met in Quebec and have lived abroad in England, Scotland and France, where they honed their knowledge of traditional chocolate-making techniques.
Their travels sparked the idea for Rousseau’s, which combines European techniques with premium local ingredients to produce high-quality luxury products.
The couple decided to bring their idea to life in Halifax because of the sense of community, the beautiful coastal views and the lifestyle.
“We called it an exercise in quality of life,” says Morin. “When we were looking at where to live, we knew we wanted to be by the water, and Halifax is a promising growing city for a business.”
When the pandemic hit in 2020, it brought a unique opportunity for the business — large distribution to luxury hotels nationwide. As the business grew, Morin realized they needed to expand to keep up. This is when she found the Greater Heights of Growth program.
“When you’re faced with a challenge, you don’t know where to start, so the program allows you to determine your goals. It essentially teaches you how to go through all the specific funnels to reach your goal, so after my first interview with the facilitator, I didn’t hesitate to join,” says Morin.
The Greater Heights of Growth program, delivered by the Centre for Women in Business through Mount Saint Vincent University and funded in part through the Women’s Entrepreneurship Strategy, offers an opportunity for high-growth businesses to build a foundation and infrastructure to support the scaling of profitable growth, with effective cash flow management, innovative incremental drivers of revenue with a talented team and positive culture that is aligned with a clear vision and growth roadmap.
The year-long program is delivered virtually for women entrepreneurs across Canada with revenues of more than $1 million. The program focuses on building a robust foundation for scaling businesses, balancing risk with profitability and embarking on a path of sustainable success.
Morin started the program in the fall of 2023 and has found it extremely helpful, especially because of the access to the facilitators who make themselves readily available for one-on-one coaching and the amazing women in her cohort.
“It’s great being in a group with other women entrepreneurs who are the heads of pretty big companies. We’re all trying to get through these challenges that each business faces and learn from each other,” says Morin.
“The program also allows us to reach out to the facilitators at any time for unlimited one-on-one coaching, which is unheard of. I think the resources provided are priceless and offer so much value. It’s incredible.”
Throughout the program, participants will analyze industry dynamics, expand their business network, optimize processes for efficiency, analyze financial performance for better profitability and much more.
“The program has really helped me be more disciplined with my time in terms of strategy and determining a plan before throwing myself into something, so just being a lot more aware of how I go about projects,” says Morin.
Morin has seen the difference the program has made in her business. She is able to focus more efficiently on her goals and communicate more efficiently with her team about the future of the business.
“Women entrepreneurs are not always well represented, and I think that a lot of people are just so busy leading their teams that they don’t take the time to work on their dreams as much as they would like,” says Morin, “and this program gives you that opportunity. It provides a very safe environment that gives you permission to be a little bit vulnerable, where you feel like you can question yourself and ask questions and just be able to take some time to map out your goals.”
Rousseau’s is working on their expansion, which will allow them to effectively manage large-scale orders while providing high-quality confections for their cafe and local customers.
“Our dream is to be recognized in Canada as the leader in luxury chocolate,” says Morin. “We want to be known in the chocolate industry for our high-quality confections, and we know there is a lot of work to get there, but we’re already making strides by working on this expansion.”
To learn more about Rousseau Chocolatier, visit https://rousseauchocolatier.ca/
To learn more about the Greater Heights of Growth program, visit https://www.centreforwomeninbusiness.ca/learning/greater-heights-of-growth/