Despite having a business with a name that clearly alludes to a popular book and movies, Charlie Sigvardsen has no fear that a lawsuit will force him to rebrand.
His Charlie’s Chocolate Factory turns 45 years old in 2016 and, since a central tenet in intellectual property law is to either enforce trademarks or lose them, Sigvardsen knows it is too late for anyone connected with the popular 1964 book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and two subsequent movies to take legal action alleging unauthorized use.
Indeed, instead of getting any sour news about his business, the 85-year-old entrepreneur, who works full time, has been getting some sweet surprises.
The National Confectionery Sales Association’s Tampa, Florida-based Candy Hall of Fame (CHOF) inducted Sigvardsen in October, along with nine other candy industry luminaries from around the world.
The 117-year-old CHOF has inducted a maximum of 12 people each year since 1971, so Sigvardsen is in rarefied company.
Purdy’s Chocolates chairman Charles Flavelle, who is also in the Candy Hall of Fame, helped get Sigvardsen nominated.
“I told Charles at first that we don’t belong with all the other inductees,” Sigvardsen said. “They all have multimillion-dollar companies. We’re just a small business.”
Modesty aside, Sigvardsen has become an icon, often dressing in a red-and-white candy-striped shirt, maroon vest and black bowler hat.
His enthusiasm for his business comes across in his eagerness to give regular tours for school kids and others.
“I tell the kids that when they grow up they should do something that they enjoy,” he said. “If they do that, they’ll never work a day in their lives.”
Sigvardsen’s career in chocolate flowed naturally after he wrote a 1953 thesis as part of his bachelor of commerce degree at the University of British Columbia. He focused on how chocolate was marketed in Vancouver.
That led to a 16-year stint at chocolate manufacturer and retailer Pauline Johnson Candies Ltd., which was a separate venture from the current Pauline Johnson Confectionery.
Sigvardsen worked in sales and was encouraged to buy shares in the company.
Then came a falling out after an ownership change – something that seemed inevitable given that he called the new boss “crazy” for his free-spending ways.
“Of course you can’t do that or you know what will happen,” Sigvardsen told Business in Vancouver.
He left the company and found that the other principals put up roadblocks to try to keep him from selling his shares.
As he tried to work around the impasse, the company went into a tailspin and soon dissolved. “I lost everything and had to start over at 40 years old,” he said.
He paired up with baker Tony Grdina and opened two Charlie’s Chocolate Factory locations. One was next to Grdina’s bakery at a former Pauline Johnson candy shop, a small street-front location on Canada Way that still stands.
They also opened a now-closed store at 12 Water Street, across from the Old Spaghetti Factory. Proximity to that “factory” as well as Charlie’s name led the duo to come up with their corporate brand.
“I’m Charlie and it’s my chocolate factory,” Sigvardsen said with a laugh. “We’re a registered limited company.”
His venture is also a family business, with Sigvardsen’s son Colin as general manager and another son, Blair, in charge of making chocolate moulds and working at the company’s warehouse in Port Coquitlam, where there is also a small store.
Colin’s daughter Ellen has been ushering the company into the 21st century by launching e-commerce operations.
E-commerce is increasingly important for the company, which brings in one-third of its revenue through retail channels.
Another third comes from wholesaling to businesses such as the Banff Candy Store, Whitehorse’s Plantation Flowers and Tsawwassen’s Chocolate Bear Shoppe.
The final third comes from making specialized moulded chocolates for organizations such as Telus Corp., WorksafeBC and BC Hydro.
“One thing I learned long ago was the importance of diversification,” Sigvardsen said. “You can’t have all your eggs in one basket.” •
