Food and love are undeniably connected at the Chococoa Baking Company for the husband and wife
team of Alan Mons and Julie Ganong.
Julie will tell you that to this day the aroma of warm, fresh-baked treats coming out of the oven take her back to her childhood growing up in Maine and making whoopie pies with her grandmother and mother. For Alan his warm memories of baking with his Mom are stirred up along with a young boy’s dream of cooking up a secret recipe for a gourmet delight that no one could resist.
But that wasn’t the only memory Alan had. When he and Julie talked about starting a new business together after both losing their corporate finance jobs. Alan recalled hearing former Federal Reserve Chairman, Alan Greenspan saying that you do not need to develop a new product, but rather improve an existing one. That was it! The inspiration they needed to give new life to old memories and The Whoopie was born. Chococoa’s updated version of the traditional whoopie pie, The Whoopie is a smaller, richer tasting and made with premium chocolate and all-natural ingredients. Filled with 12 gourmet flavors of pure buttercream, the 2-inch bite-size cakes are a perfect size for a treat or dessert. Only 130-150 calories, and no trans fats – The Whoopie is truly a twist on the classic whoopie pie.
In just six years the Chococoa Baking Company in the seaport village of Newburyport, Massachusetts has grown from making them in their kitchen to about 5,000 a week. Plus The Whoopie is shipped out in insulated, assorted gift packs to friends and fans all over the country.
Julie holds an undergraduate degree in Marketing from the University of Maine with a M.S. in Public Relations from Boston University. She is currently enrolled in Salem’s Enterprise Center’s Million CEO Group.