Business Community Adds Warmth, Support for Local Hot Cocoa
Is there anything more nostalgic than a steaming mug of hot cocoa? Just one whiff and you are immediately transported back to childhood and wintry days filled with sledding, snow forts, rosy cheeks and chilly toes. Warming up with hot cocoa was a necessity after spending the day playing outside.
This was the case, and the moment of inspiration for Dean Packingham, creator of Mike and Jen’s Cocoa Mix. His daughter Jen had been playing outside their Duluth home. Upon entering the house, she asked her dad for some cocoa. Dean obliged, but while reading the ingredients on the label was dismayed to realize many of the ingredients were unpronounceable chemicals. Thinking back to his own childhood, Dean remembered his mom making a cocoa mix kept in a Tupperware container and knew he could do the same for his own kids using all-natural, quality ingredients. This revelation soon became a quest to make the most awesome hot cocoa mix ever, one that was water based yet still rich and creamy. After eight months of obsessive trial and error, 70 different cocoa powders and numerous milk powders, Dean finally found success. An all-natural, water based hot cocoa blend that contained only five ingredients which his children loved!
The first year they gave their cocoa mix to friends and family as gifts and were often surprised when asked if it could be purchased, thinking everyone was just being nice. That changed after a chance meeting with the owner of the Duluth Kitchen Company, Denise Kaitala. Dean mentioned his cocoa mix and Denise asked to try a sample, which she too loved. She helped Dean navigate the process of getting his product shelf ready and was the first to buy Mike and Jen’s Cocoa Mix for retail.
Soon, orders for his simple and delicious cocoa mix outpaced his one-man show production capability. Enter close friend and fellow trained scientist Amanda Cunningham. With her help they were able to increase production to meet the ever-increasing demand.
Another member of the Duluth business community was instrumental in keeping Dean’s fledgling company going when he lost his first commercial kitchen space. Eric Faust, founder of the Duluth Coffee Company, gave Dean a key to his store so he could continue making his cocoa. Of this gesture Dean said, “Only in Duluth I believe that would happen. He told me I could come in any time after hours and make as much as I wanted. He even set me up with an area where I could store my inventory. I am forever indebted to him for believing in me.”
Much of the expansion of Mike and Jen’s Cocoa Mix has been through word of mouth, and by attending events and trade shows. Though in school, both Mike (college senior) and Jen (high school senior) continue to work with their dad, helping out at shows and in the Cocoa Mobile — an old Star Tribune delivery van they repurposed to bring cocoa to the masses. According to Dean,” It’s so fun for people to meet the names behind the company. The kids could not be prouder. They’ve learned so much about business from doing this, and I’ve tried to involve them as much as I could throughout the process. While they aren’t always involved in the day-to-day operation, they go to as many shows as they can.”
As much as it is a business venture, Mike and Jen’s Cocoa Mix is really about connection to family and community. Dean recognizes and deeply appreciates the tremendous support he’s received. “Sometimes I can’t even believe how lucky I am to be able to do this. I love the community that I was born in (Duluth), and I am so thankful to everyone for their warm support of what we do. To this date, I’ve never encountered someone in the business community that didn’t honestly want to help me. I try to give that back to others as well, offering advice and support to help them. We’re all in this together, and I truly believe Duluth/Superior ‘gets it’. We are very lucky to be a Duluth, Minnesota success story!”
You can find Mike and Jen’s Cocoa Mix at Whole Foods Co-op, available in both canister and single-serve packets.
This article was originally published in the Winter 2021 Garbanzo Gazette.