Hello,
It is without great delight that I write to inform you that after operating Bon Bon Bon for eight years as a “three bucks a pop” chocolate shop by working hard to create efficiencies and do better as we grew, our efforts have been outpaced by our expenses. We, for the first time ever, after almost ten years, like many, will be raising our prices.
When my management team approached me to ask (read: tell) me to think about a price increase, admittedly I felt weird at first. Then, I thought about it. I thought about how I am always reading invoices wrong because “there is no possible way” that our “super simple” “industrial” “from down the street” packaging could be four times as expensive as it was when we started. It is. I remembered how cool and yet unfulfilling it was to be compensated for overtime in beer back in the day and how much cooler it is these days to meet up for a beer with my closest family and friends instead of only seeing them at the manufactory when they were “volunteering” to wash dishes or helping to package a large order.
I think my team is right. The Babes Babes Babes aren’t just me and my best friend’s barely-not-a-teenager-little-sister anymore. We have a more diverse set of life experiences that we are and need to be prepared for. We have homes and kids and parents we are responsible for and the insurance, salaries and benefits in place to facilitate those responsibilities.
I think I needed this opportunity to stand back for a moment and take a look. The world we operate in now is different and more expensive than it was eight years ago when we opened and Bon Bon Bon isn’t my baby anymore, she’s like a teenager or something (chocolate shop years must be two human years?). Like, I still have to pay for her appointments and we eat breakfast together on Saturdays but she can get herself to school and home and she doesn’t need me (and the spare time, effort, old printers and basement furniture or everyone I know and love) in every waking moment anymore. In fact, she interacts with and supports others in the way I always hoped that she would and for that I am extraordinarily proud of her.
I suppose this should not be surprising and that I knew at some point the three-dollars-a-Bon thing would be outpaced. But, if we are being totally honest, at the time I was figuring out how much each little filled choco cup in a box needed to cost to pay my rent and import the quality of ingredients I wanted to work with I didn’t think that Bon Bon Bon would ever make it a year let alone eight! This time and environment and size of operation was not on my radar.
Anyway, here’s how I broke down the decision. We will always do the best we can with what we have at all times in order to make the most Bon bonbons possible for you, the good people of Detroit (and the world ‘round). We like that, we like being that, it’s our reason for being. So when faced with two options: 1. compromise our commitment and identity or 2. raise prices, it was actually a pretty easy decision! We are far to feisty to compromise (some things do not change). We will be increasing our price per Bon to $3.33 (duh!) on June 3rd, 2022.
As always, we’d love to hear from you with any comments or concerns or thoughts about this transition and as we continue to grow and evolve as a team of humans navigating the world. We can’t thank you enough for every bit of support you have provided for us to be provided with this opportunity to work together to build good things and we look forward to the adventure that is the future!
Bon afternoon,
Alex
