Meet: The Cape Breton Fudge Company
While there are many beautiful areas of Nova Scotia to spend time in during the Summer, one of our personal favorite spots is Cape Breton Island.
Home to the world famous Cabot Trail, top ranked golf courses and rich culture, Cape Breton Island is nestled on the Atlantic Ocean and is the ideal vacation destination for tourists and Nova Scotians alike.
One of Cape Breton Island's best kept secrets is the Cape Breton Fudge Company. Specializing in handmade, hand cut artisan fudge, this company has been doing business in downtown Sydney, Cape Breton since 2010. The Cape Breton Fudge Company has over 27 flavors of fudge from the traditional chocolate to a local favorite, Breton Whiskey.
We recently spoke to their owner/operators Wade Langham and Cheryl Lewis to see why Cape Breton Island is a great place to run a business.
Tell us what it’s like to balance a retail store and wholesale company. The Cape Breton Fudge Co. has been around for over 9 years. During this time, we have tried various different things with the business - at one point we even had a café with a stage that promoted local talent. Over time we have changed our business location and left the café business behind. In the last few years we have travelled to the Golden Globes and CCMAS to promote our fudge, realizing that it is our one true love!
When you love your product and are so proud of it, you get into the wholesale business because you want to share it with the world. Like anything else in business, it can be a challenge balancing the retail and wholesale operations. We have found that as long as you are open to learning and remain focused on the love of the product- it can be very rewarding.
Where did the inspiration to start your company come from? The Cape Breton Fudge Co. started because so many people LOVED our fudge. The possibilities with the experimentation of flavors are endless; you can have so much creative fun with fudge. Take for example our Cape Breton Coal: it is a labor of love, made using our Highland Chocolate Fudge, walnuts and other special ingredients. While I cannot tell any more secrets about the Coal fudge, I can tell you that it is delicious! Needless to say we are very creative at The Cape Breton Fudge Co. If you can think it - chances are, we can do it!
What do you love most about Cape Breton? We are so lucky to be located on Cape Breton Island, not only for its majestic beauty but for the community that we are surrounded by. We work closely with the Breton Ability Centre, which is an organization that supports individuals of varying abilities in achieving their greatest potential by including and empowering their contributions within their community. They package some of our product, build us beautiful crates, and have an amazing print shop that has just expanded to downtown Sydney (next to The Best of Cape Breton).
It is very evident that both Wade and Cheryl are passionate not only about their business, but also about being part of the community in Cape Breton. They mentioned that their biggest challenge was finding a work life balance- which often happens when you are immersed in your business. While this might be a common key to life in general, The Cape Breton Fudge Co. tries their very best to produce a world class product, while having a little fun along the way!