9 Things Craft Chocolate Can Learn From Craft Beer

In our first episode for 2026, we're looking at 9 lessons craft chocolate can learn from craft beer. Most of these, honestly, are lessons craft beer has learned (or, actually, is still learning) the hard way, and craft chocolate businesses and the industry as a whole can learn from beer's mistakes and missteps. I also discuss my stance on the use of AI in craft chocolate.

Episode timeline (approximate):

1:00 - Introduction

2:30 - Main topic

4:30 - Industry Code of Conduct

11:25 - Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

14:15 - Labor Practices

16:45 - Acquisitions (Check out my blog post about big chocolate taking notice of craft chocolate here)

21:45 - Prepare for Success

23:25 - Collaboration

27:30 - What Awards Do and Don't Mean

30:10 - Not Your Hobby (You can check out Not Your Hobby Marketing by Julie Rhodes)

32:15 - Band Together

33:55 - My Stance on Generative AI

36:00 - Recent News

38:25 - End

Check out David's book Pairing Beer & Chocolate: A Guide to Bringing the Flavors of Craft Beer and Craft Chocolate Together.

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