bart
Neophyte
Posts: 6
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Post by bart on Feb 1, 2024 19:10:56 GMT -5
Hi! I'm planning to make my ffirst batch this weekend. I'm having quite an issue choosing my first mold, since I'm on a tight budget. I plan to give out some bars to family and friends to gather feedback and I hope to start a micro business soon if all goes well - more as a hobby, but still. The first problem is the wieght of a finished bar. From what I can see it's not uncommon to see craft bars of 50 grams. I think this would be a perfect size as small batches seem the way to go at first. It seems that turning a profit with this size should be easier, no? The other end of a spectrum is 100g which is more in line with mass produced, so more familiar, but making 10 bars out of one batch (1kg batches for starters) is kinda limiting. The middleground would be something like 75-80grams. I'm eager to hear your opinions, especially in the context of selling/returns. So for now 50g seems like the best size, but most of molds are extremely small. I found one (CW2436) that is only 4mm thick and I like it, but being so thinn, don't I run a risk of shattering it transport? I have no real business plan yet, but retailing through the web seems easiest in the beginning. Kind regards! Bart PS Oh, and there is the question of even pieces vs assymetrical desing. I'd like a fancy one but supposedly that's not what people want
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Post by Chip on Feb 1, 2024 19:53:31 GMT -5
bart, You could alway go the individual piece route.https://www.amazon.com/Polycarbonate-Chocolate-Bullet-Bonbons-2124B/dp/B0B2LSZHL1/ref=asc_df_B0B2LSZHL1/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=598357553882&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8598165588241314486&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9003270&hvtargid=pla-1719711544693&psc=1&mcid=926487f9d1a43504b51e55f83ba09cf5&gclid=Cj0KCQiAn-2tBhDVARIsAGmStVnt5IlI5jXfB2Wve7ZMIGLh_wfJumSCLHDkmlmbTzw_i9VdQQh7S_UaAi1REALw_wcB That way you could give out a few pieces to a lot of people and hone your skills at tempering, skimming, setting, etc. That is how I started. Then I got a bunch of molds from Ben which were not polycarbonate but not the real flimsy plastic either. I loved those molds! But alas, they departed this world when my house burned down. .
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bart
Neophyte
Posts: 6
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Post by bart on Feb 1, 2024 20:21:10 GMT -5
Sorry to hear that . Thanks for the suggestion but I definitely want to make chocolate bars, the bon-bons / pralines will come later
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Post by Ben on Feb 3, 2024 13:33:49 GMT -5
Those molds Chip's referring to were polycarbonate, but a thinner vacuum-formed polycarbonate as opposed to injection-molded polycarbonate. They're more flexible than injection-molded, but work pretty well. Chocolate Alchemy sells a variety or two of them, or you can get them from Tomric, who has a wide variety.
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