New York City, New York
Student consultants designed a comprehensive, four-pronged scaling strategy for Milène Jardine Chocolatier to transition the luxury, female-founded NYC confectionery from a resource-constrained operational model into a highly profitable enterprise. Given the immediate structural pressures of skyrocketing global cacao prices and aggressive distributor margins (30%), the strategic roadmap focuses on maximizing production capacity—currently optimized at 1,000 bars or 14,000 truffles per weekly 8-hour shift—while steering sales away from low-margin distributors. To stabilize cash flow, the strategy optimizes premium channels, directly leveraging the brand’s existing elite relationships with partners like Soho House, Google, and the Faire wholesale platform.
The resulting consulting deliverables provide an actionable blueprint to transform one-time B2B buyers into predictable, recurring revenue streams. For the Wholesale and Corporate Gift prongs, the strategy outlines a selective tiered pricing model on Faire to bypass heavy distributor fees, alongside a corporate subscription framework targeting multi-use luxury accounts to eliminate "one-off" transactional habits. To manage the short lead times and intense customization demands of the Events channel, teams structured standardized modular gifting menus that optimize the kitchen’s current weekly output without triggering the overhead of a co-packer. Finally, the B2C Online strategy implements digital retention funnels and seasonal travel-inspired collection drops to elevate high-margin direct-to-consumer sales, ensuring Milène Jardine can successfully scale profit margins, preserve its bootstrap independence, and solidify its standing in the premium global chocolate market.
Working with SIBC on Milène Jardine's consulting project was one of the most memorable experiences of my journey at USD. Our team built out a full consulting strategy focused on growing her brand through D2C e-commerce, corporate gifting, and retail brick-and-mortar channels. Getting to work directly with a female founded business meant a lot to me personally as an aspiring female entrepreneur, and I found myself so invested in seeing her brand succeed. The experience wrapped up with a trip to New York City to present our findings directly to Milène, which was such a full circle, rewarding moment that reminded me exactly why I'm pursuing this path. And after the hard work was done, getting to spend the rest of the weekend exploring the city made it even sweeter. From Central Park to Soho to Brooklyn, it was the perfect way to celebrate everything we had accomplished throughout the semester.
- Lily Zeller
Looking back on my USD career, my only regret is not joining SIBC the moment I arrived. While my time at SIBC was merely one semester, it was one filled with growth, learning, and perspective-shifting experiences. I had the privilege of being a part of a team of equally dedicated and driven women, and work on a project for a woman owned business led by a remarkable female entrepreneur. It was an experience that felt both deeply inspiring and profoundly empowering, and I feel deeply grateful for being a part of the lucky few presented with the opportunity to travel to New York and help present our scaling strategy project. During our time in New York, we also had the pleasure of touring the very space where Milène brought her products to life, giving us an inside look into the realities of being a female entrepreneur in New York City. Prior to this, we presented our scaling strategy, making the experience feel even more immersive, rewarding, and impactful. Getting the opportunity to speak to Milène provided us insight on the inner workings of how to start your own business venture and how to be resourceful in the face of challenges. She was gracious and openly receptive to our project recommendations and held a delightful discussion regarding various ways to further implement our brainstormed ideas. Speaking with her was both gratifying and meaningful, and allowed me to learn various ways I can grow my career post graduation.
- Justine Nguyen