Sargeantson Consulting
🍫 Consulting with Amy Sargeantson
Real Solutions. Real Growth. No Fluff.
No problem is too complex or “quickly unsolved.”
Amy and Chris work directly with you — hands-on and fast — to implement change, training, and profit in your pastry, chocolate, or retail food business.
From ingredient sourcing and staff training to packaging, merchandising, and customer retention — we’ve done it all.
Are you brand new to the industry? The Australian food market is ready for disruptors. Let’s make sure you’re one of them.
💼 What We Offer
Consulting Package estimates. in GST.
$12,300 — 20 hours in-person strategy (on-site) with both Chris and Amy, perfect for unlimited product development, training, ingredient/supplier purchasing, maximizing efficiency & profitability, retail installs, and merchandising. Help with council food approval/other approvals, insurances, marketing, and merchandising. 20 hours used for any time over a 12 month period. You/re initial consulation is free. I’ll give you the truth upfront — before you invest a cent!
$440 per 30 minutes — over-the-phone consulting, equipment breakdown, new quality issues you can't quite identify, seasonal production increases. It takes a quick call with Chris or Amy. You/re initial consulation is free. I’ll give you the truth upfront — before you invest a cent!
--
Overcome Ingredient price hikes, let us negotiate with current suppliers to lower ingredient, packaging & consumables. We're experts at finding alternatives with trusted suppliers we've built long-term relationships with.
From managing debts with suppliers & improving cashflow through maximum efficiency.
Staff training and structure
Identifying loopholes in the confectionery industry with regards to GST
Packaging, merchandising, and efficient production flow
Brand positioning and customer retention
Identifying real trends vs fake fads
No theory. No fluff. Just results.
Sargeantson Consulting is all about results. Get clarity, confidence, and a plan that works.
👥 Meet Amy & Chris
Amy Sargeantson — founder, chocolatier, self-sufficient farmer, 17th in the SmartCompany's Top 30 Under 30 Australian entrepreneurs.
“I’ll tell you the truth before you spend money.” — Amy Sargeantson
Chris Thomson
"I help chocolate businesses make smart decisions before they melt away money" - Chris Thomson
I'm a food business strategist with experience at helping Small and Medium food brands under $15 million turnover strengthen margins and scale sustainably.
Together, we bring 20 years of experience each — building & assisting profitable, resilient food businesses across Australia.
📈 Case Study Chris:
Predicting the Cocoa Crash
In December 2024, during a customer consult, Chris Thomson predicted that cocoa prices would halve within the next twelve months.
At the time, the global cocoa market was at record highs — over US $12,000 per tonne — and panic buying was everywhere. Courveture chocolate prices doubled/tripled.
Chris told the client:
“This isn’t sustainable. Don’t lock long-term supply at these prices. Cocoa will correct hard — protect your cash and be ready to move when it drops.”
By October 2025, cocoa had fallen to roughly US $6,000 per tonne.
That single decision saved our client tens of thousands in raw ingredient costs and allowed them to reinvest in branding and expansion while competitors were still recovering.
This is what consulting with Amy & Chris delivers — real foresight, not guesswork.
📈Case Study Amy:
🍫 Turning Cocoa Price Pressure into Profit
💥 The Cocoa Price Crisis
In 2025, cocoa and chocolate prices went intergalactic worldwide.
Couverture chocolate — the premium ingredient behind fine confections — jumped from $15 per kg (Oct 2024) to over $40 per kg (July 2025).
For a local chocolatier using around 120 kg of couverture each week, this sudden rise was devastating. Costs soared, profits collapsed, and raising prices wasn’t an option without risking customer loyalty.
Challenge
With material costs nearly tripling, the chocolatier faced two undesirable options:
Continue current production and absorb massive profit losses, or
Increase prices and risk alienating loyal customers.
Reduce labour costs by cutting hours on loyal staff he had trained proficiently.
Amy recognized that neither approach was viable for maintaining brand loyalty and long-term sustainability.
👩🍳 Amy’s Smart Strategy
Enter Amy, who saw opportunity where the client saw crisis.
Instead of cutting back or hiking prices, Amy helped the chocolatier diversify their product range — creating new, high-margin treats that balanced out the expensive chocolate bars.
She compiled creative recipes and sourced affordable used equipment, allowing production of higher margin products without huge upfront costs.
🍯 The Sweet Solution
Sugar remained at $1.2kg - Amy introduced a new line of caramel-filled & sugar-based confections that were sold nude, rolled in cocoa powder or coated in a small amount of couverture chocolate.
These new product offerings contained more than 70% sugar and glucose syrup, ingredients which cost $1.20–$1.50 per kg — providing huge margins compared to $40kg+ chocolate.
This shift meant the chocolatier could produce delicious, visually appealing sweets that were profitable and scalable, without compromising on quality or brand reputation.
💵 Results That Shine
The chocolatier kept selling their signature chocolate bars at the same price, maintaining customer trust and consistency.
Meanwhile, the new sugar-heavy confections became a high-margin product line, generating profits that offset the high cocoa costs.
By mid-2025, the business had stabilized — and even grown — thanks to this smart mix of creativity, cost control, and strategy.
🌟 Key Takeaway
Amy’s adaptive thinking turned a pricing crisis into a sweet success story.
Through innovation, affordability, and strategic balance, the chocolatier emerged stronger, more resilient, and ready for a sustainable future — proving that sometimes, the best ideas come from a pinch of pressure and a lot of sugar. 🍬💪
Key Insights
-
Diversification is resilience: By expanding beyond pure chocolate items and introducing sugar/glucose heavier confections - the chocolatier balanced the business from cocoa commodity price volatility.
-
Affordability through creativity: Strategic recipe design and used-equipment acquisition reduced set up costs without sacrificing product quality.
-
Brand trust matters: Holding prices steady for core products maintained consumer loyalty during a turbulent economic period.
Conclusion
Amy’s adaptive consulting approach turned a pricing crisis into a profitability opportunity. The chocolatier not only weathered the cocoa cost surge of 2025 but emerged with a more diversified, resilient, and margin-optimized product portfolio.
"When cocoa prices exploded in 2025, our Melbourne chocolate shop was under real pressure. Costs had tripled, and I didn’t want to raise prices or lose loyal customers. That’s when Amy came in — calm, clever, and full of practical ideas."
"She helped us rethink everything. With her guidance, we created new caramel and sugar-based treats that were affordable, delicious, and profitable. Those products kept us going when things looked impossible."
"Amy’s advice didn’t just save our business — it gave us a fresh spark of creativity. We came out stronger than before." 🍯✨
🧭 Why Work With Us?
You’re probably already paying for (or about to pay for) multiple consultants across finance, marketing, and operations. You don’t need a team of sharks — just one team that understands it all.
We merge:
Food Business strategy
Operational training
Brand and product growth
Financial clarity
We don’t just give advice. We build momentum — for you, your partners, and your entire team.
If you’re in the chocolate, bakery or retail food space, you’re in the game with Amy.
💬 Book a Free Chat
Fill in below for a no-charge conversation with Amy & Chris.
We’ll review your business, identify your biggest growth levers, and give you honest advice before you spend a cent.
🏆 Experience That Speaks for Itself
20+ years of food industry experience.
Australian chocolate and pastry brands transformed
Proven results — from ingredient savings to profit jumps
Featured in Salon du Chocolat, on 4BC, Channel 9, News Corp Australia, Food & Wine, Top 30 Under 30, SmartCompany smart 50 rewards, Kochie's Business Builders.
🔗Current Projects
See how we have helped food manufacturers & Retail spaces in:
Danang, Vietnam | Brisbane | Noosa | Melbourne | Tokyo | Byron Bay | Toowoomba
Learn how we turned creative ideas into profitable, enduring chocolate brands.
Award winning Retail Fitout for Brisbane Chocolate Store
Founded and delivered growth & impressive profitability for Queensland Chocolate company