Meet Tye Marie Reeder | Homeschooling stay-at-home mom, owner of Seek Chocolate Shop

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tye Marie Reeder and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tye Marie, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I wanted to start a business selling chocolate because I wanted to empower people on cacoa farms and ensure cacao farmers earn adequate wages and reduce the risks of slavery and human trafficking in the cacao realm. As I researched Fairtrade, I started to realize that Fairtrade certified chocolate isn’t always fair. For quite some time, I felt that eating Fairtrade chocolate was good and would empower people on Cacao farms. However, as I researched chocolate companies and the sourcing of their cacao more and more, I found that Fairtrade chocolate doesn’t adequately alleviate the risks of slavery or trafficking and does not pay farmers enough to help them escape poverty and sustain themselves and their families. I became more curious and wanted to find the most delicious AND most ethical chocolate- because there is slavery on many cacao farms and I didn’t want to support that and I hoped that I could help others learn as I learned. I started Seek Chocolate Shop because I was searching…seeking to empower others through chocolate.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
My business comes from a desire to help empower people on cacao farms throughout the world. A desire to help end slavery and trafficking on cacoa farms and to learn about and teach people which chocolate companies to support so we can help cacao farmers thrive. I proud of myself for starting this business because I hadn’t owned a business before and have successfully run the business without any employees for 1 1/2 years. It’s been a hard journey but very rewarding. The most exciting part has been finding and adding new chocolate companies to my shop and creating a monthly chocolate subscription program so people throughout the continental US can enjoy new chocolate monthly. I’ve learned that even when I’m working hard, there’s so much left to learn and to take it one day at a time and to be willing to ask for advice and to adjust my business accordingly. One of my favorite ways to network and to advertise is through Instagram. It’s been fun learning how to create ads and get my business and story out to others to see.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If I were able to spend a full week with a best friend in the Huntsville/Ogden, Utah area, first of all, I would choose summer, because that’s my favorite season. Here’s what we’d do:
– Hike on countless trails
-eat at Pig in a Jelly Jar in Ogden
– eat at Lovin’ Cup Cafe in Huntsville
– go kayaking and paddle boarding at Pineview Reservoir
– eat at Thai Curry Kitchen in Ogden
– eat delicious chocolate from my shop- even do a chocolate tasting event with the community
– bike on the river trail
– go on drives and sing with the windows down
– Eat Indian food
– relax on the beach at Pineview Reservoir
– laugh a lot

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My husband Kyle has been my greatest support in starting a business. I had never thought about starting a business before but couldn’t stop thinking about my desire to empower the world by seeking out the best chocolate and teaching people about the value of truly fair and transparent trade chocolate from different companies around the world. Kyle and I are also learning to make our own bean to bar chocolate and have started partnering with cacao farms and practicing creating chocolate, starting with the bean. Additionally, children have encouraged me to work hard to build my business and I appreciate them believing in my dream.

Website: www.SeekChocolateShop.com

Instagram: SeekChocolateShop

Facebook: Seek4Fair

Youtube: Seek4Chocolate