Woman of the Week: Bridgitte Longshore

by Sara Mahmood

Many people fantasize about eating chocolate without worrying about their health.

In 2010, Bridgitte Longshore and Mark Handy founded M&B Alchemy Inc., selling raw (meaning that the cacao has not been roasted) chocolate bars out of Orangeville, Ont. and are making that fantasy a reality. In 2011 they received their 1st shipment of the heirloom cacao, changed the recipe and renamed the bars Giddy Yoyo.

Mark and Bridgitte like using the word alchemy as one of the definitions to describe one of the things they aim to accomplish: “a power or process of transmuting something common into something special.” 

Chocolate is often misunderstood to be bad for you, however, very selectively chosen in its raw form, it’s actually very health promoting.  Bridgitte notes that most “chocolate” as we know it is mostly refined sugar and milk ingredients, which is then added to cocoa that’s been highly sprayed with toxic chemicals.

As a kid Bridgitte didn’t even like chocolate. It wasn’t until 2007, when a friend introduced her to raw chocolate that she started eating it a lot. He then told her about a Toronto company that grinds their own chocolate and was doing a workshop teaching people how to make their own chocolate. At the time, Bridgitte was already making healthy smoothies with sprouts for her kids and although they would eat the food, Bridgitte could tell they didn’t really like it. Soon after, Bridgitte started making her own chocolate and her kids loved it. The chocolate gave her a lot more energy without having to eat as much.

Bridgitte had always been very healthy and active, but when she was pregnant with her first son, she decided she wanted to be even healthier. She knew she could feel better. After reading a book called Young Again by John Thomas, everything started to click. One book led to another and a good, clean balanced diet that was a whole body experience—having a healthy mind, body and spirit—followed.

In 2009, Bridgitte met Mark, who is now her fiancé and business partner. He was selling sprouts at farmers markets and she started working with him. She also started to share her chocolate with her friends and Mark and together they started making chocolate that was more like a super nutrient packed food, rather than your typical sugar-fix.

They soon realized that there was a demand for raw chocolate that tasted great and helped people feel good. They needed to find a way to make raw chocolate that didn’t have to be refrigerated, had a stable shelf life and could be packaged to grab-and-go. They wanted to make something of the highest quality possible that was delicious, nutritious and affordable. Mark and Bridgitte researched and found all the equipment that they needed and could afford and started making chocolate bars.

Bridgitte’s ex-husband was a businessman and she learned and absorbed a lot through his experiences before co-creating her own business. “I’ve seen a lot of people make the mistake of getting really excited and they get too big too fast,” she says. “We are growing at pace that is fun but doesn’t require bank loans,” says Bridgitte. M&B Alchemy Inc. has multiple businesses all of which focus on providing people with organic and/or wild crafted food that has been ethically sourced and grown: certified organic raw chocolate bars, superfoods, and sprouts that they grow in a space adjacent to their chocolate “factory”.

Bridgitte also says it’s really important to her to trust her gut instinct, especially when it comes to hiring people. “It’s really important that we adore and trust the people we work with.   We tried to mold people into what we needed and it didn’t work out well.”

The big idea behind Giddy Yoyo bars is to make the chocolate with love. “The food your mom makes always tastes so good because it’s made with love” Bridgitte says. Mark and Bridgitte make sure their company doesn’t give off a factory-vibe. “Everyone who touches the chocolate along the way, they put their energy into it,” says Bridgitte. If a worker is stressed or unhappy, that energy goes into the food, so they try hard to maintain the environment of fun. They even make sure the trees the chocolate comes from, which are an heirloom variety of cacao tree from Ecuador, are treated well. The Ecuadorian farmers and employees are also paid above “Fair Trade” standards.

As a business woman and mother of four, Bridgitte is constantly challenged by trying to find a good balance between work and family life. The chocolate bars are manufactured on her property, but separate from the house. Bridgitte and Mark also distribute the bars, their line of superfoods and sprouts they’ve grown by themselves. At the start of the business, Bridgitte was making chocolates and wrapping the packages but she’s now stepped back from that and is using her skills for sales. “As the company grows, my role changes,” she says.

For now, Bridgitte is working on expanding the company. They’ll soon be the Canadian distributors of a line of certified organic superfoods, but the chocolate is still the main focus.

To find out more about Bridgitte and her company, visit http://www.giddyyoyo.com/.