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Willy Wonka may be the epitome of fictional candy purveyors, but in real life, that's Jonathan Grahm, the owner of luxury chocolate brand Compartés.
Compartés has become synonymous over the last decade with design-led fine chocolates, due in part to its chocolate-dipped fruits and cube-shaped chocolate morsels elaborately decorated with vibrant geometric prints. But the brand has actually been around since the 1950s when an Italian-American husband and wife living in Hollywood started the brand. The brand focused on European-style premium chocolate and chocolate-dipped fruits during a time when chocolate turtles, milk chocolate and hard candies dominated the American candy scene.
The brand was later purchased by Grahm's parents, before he took over the helm and purchased it from them nearly 20 years ago. Initially, Grahm had planned to study law at UCLA, but had worked for the family business since his youth. The self-funded and privately-owned brand is still going strong, growing sales by more than 200% since 2020 and reaching $10 million in sales in 2024. Notably, 50% of sales come from its direct-to-consumer e-commerce business, 30% from corporate gifting and 20% from independent retailers and specialty shops.
"Tomorrow is not guaranteed with any business. So I take every opportunity that I can," he said. "But it's almost like kismet or fate that every year, as my business grows, I seem to be in the right position to [seize those opportunities]."
Some of those business opportunities include selling through HSN for a time, opening stores in the U.S., Dubai and Japan (U.S. stores closed in 2020), and collaborations with brands and entertainment like Velveeta, Woodford Reserve, and HBO's "White Lotus." In a wide-ranging conversation, Grahm spoke with Forbes about founder authenticity, the future growth of Compartés and his take on Dubai chocolate.
What role has authenticity as an owner played for you and Compartés?
Jonathan Grahm: A lot of brands, even at HSN, hire a spokesperson, and HSN offered that to me too ... but it’s my story that I want to tell. That’s one of the unique parts about Compartés. But back then, 13 or 14 years ago, that wasn’t something that was at the forefront of marketing or people’s consciousness. I’m very enmeshed with my brand. I was 15 or 16 years old when I started, and now I’m 41; every day I wake up and I think about Compartés. I do not go a day without it.
Also, as I’ve evolved, my brand has evolved. [For example] I went through a phase 10 years ago where I was into more health foods, and we did a vegan, organic line with protein infused chocolate, and superfoods with chocolate, because it was something I was into at that moment. And now it’s a big thing.
Speaking of trendy foods, what do you make of Dubai chocolate?
Grahm: Well, I jumped on the bandwagon. We opened some stores in Dubai at the Dubai Mall about four years ago and have a biweekly call with the team. They told me about the Dubai chocolate trend when it started, and I started producing it right away. First of all, I think it’s really delicious and but I also liken it to like an updated Kit Kat. I love the crunch and creamy, and I feel like you’ve get a lot of that in the Dubai chocolate.We do five version of its and they have been phenomenal sellers.
How do you continue to infuse human experience into a global brand?
Grahm: Los Angeles is a really big part of the Compartés brand, because I’ve grown up here, and because the brand is so much a reflection of who I am, and the different stages of my life. I have less time now than I used to, but I used to go all the time to the Santa Monica farmers market, and I would buy fresh berries and produce and things to infuse into the chocolate. Even today, all the fruit is California-grown fruit.
As Compartés has grown, we haven’t changed the recipe and the formula throughout its evolution. But at the same time, we do new things all the time. Part of what Compartés stands for is new, exciting, fashion, art, design and style. It’s always important to do new things to attract new customers and give my existing customers something new to try. For our chocolate bars, we’ve had over maybe 350 different flavors over time. It’s almost like a fashion house, with seasonal collections for Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter.
What does future growth look like?
Grahm: I want to keep Compartés on the same path we’ve been on because it’s a unique path. It’s a story that’s different than anyone else’s; so far so good. It’s grown just by virtue of me doing what I feel and want while customers respond well.
Before Covid-19, we had many stores in Los Angeles which then closed; we pivoted to being an online-only business. I miss the stores very much but we have become way more profitable and it’s less stressful by being online-only. Every year I think I’m going to open another store and start looking [for places]...I want to open another store one day but only if the right opportunity comes without difficulty. But I want to bring Compartés to more people in more places.
I can’t think of another luxury elevated chocolate brand out there. I think about Godiva which sold for [more than] $1 billion [in 2019] and was in every mall everywhere. Godiva is tired now. So there’s room in the market to grow my brand in a sustained methodical way. I want people to think of Compartés as a gift that people will remember.
I’m creating memories through chocolate; building a brand that fosters strong relationships. It’s a brand with heart and soul—I just want to continue on that path of slow sustained growth while ensuring it retains my essence.