Ahyes, I rememberthestoryofCharlieBucket, thepoorkidwhoseluckturnsaroundwhenhewins a goldentickettothelocalchocolatefactory. Thefactoryisrunbythemysterious
WillyWonka, whoinventsallkindsofsweetsandchocolatesforthechildrentotry – everythingfromstrawberry-coatedfudgetomarshmallowpillows. Neil, I reallywantedtovisitthatchocolatefactory.
Nowifthatstorysoundsfamiliar, thenmaybe, as a kid, healsodreamedoftastingchocolatefor a living. Inthisprogramme, we'llbemeeting a real-lifeWillyWonka – someonewhosejobinvolvesexactlythat – inventingandtastingchocolatebars. Andasusual, we'llbelearningsomeusefulnewvocabularytoo.
HellaAnttilahasthekindofjobmostpeoplecanonlydreamof. HellaisheadofresearchanddevelopmentatFaeser, a confectionerycompanyinFinlandwhichhasbeenmakingandsellingchocolateforover 130 years. Hellaisresponsibleforbuyingthecocoabeansusedtomakechocolateandcomingupwithideasfornewchocolateproductstosell.
Thatwouldbe a dream! Butofcourse, yougetthedifferentinformationfromdifferentsourcesaroundtheworld. So I thinkthereis a brilliantamountofideas. Thenitisjustthat, OK, whenistherighttimetoactuallydevelopandlaunch a certaintypeofproduct, whenthereislike a consumerdemand?
Howdoesitfeelwhenyou'vedeveloped a newproduct, a newtaste, andit's ontheshelvesandpeoplearegoingforit?
Itfeelsgreat. Youreallyfeelproudofmyteamwhoiscreatingtheproductsandcreatingthetasteexperience. It's really a greatfeeling.
I thinkthoseflopsareasimportantastheproductswhicharegaininggreatsalesbecauseyoualwayslearn.
Helladescribesherchocolatemakerjobas a dream – somethingthatyouwanttohappenverymuchbutisnotverylikelyto. ButinHella's case, herdreamcametrue.
Aftertheyinvent a newchocolatebar, Hella's teamcarefullychoosethebesttimetolaunchittointroducethenewproducttothepublic. Usuallythisonlyhappenswhenthereisenoughconsumerdemand – a measurementofhowmuchcustomerswanttobuysomethingbasedonfactorslikeitspriceandavailability.
Ifconsumerdemandisstrong, Faserstartstoadvertiseandpromotetheirnewchocolatebarbeforeithitstheshelves – anidiommeaningthatitbecomesavailableforpeopletobuyintheshops. Thenit's just a questionofwaitingtoseeifpeoplegofororchoosethenewproduct.
SomeofHella's biggestsuccesseshavebeenherblueberrytruffleandtheheart-shapedgeishabarsheinvented. Butsometimesthenewchocolatebarshethinksupis a flop – completelyunsuccessfulor a failure.
Whetherit's a flopornot, Hellathinksshehasoneofthebestjobsintheworld – evenifshedoesn't gettoeatasmuchofherchocolateinventionsasWillyWonka.