The South Bend Chocolate Company was founded in 1991 by Mark Tarner, a second-generation chocolate maker.  Mark worked for his father’s chocolate company where he developed his skills as a manufacturer, manager and marketer.  The company got its’ start by producing chocolates under a license from the University of Notre Dame.  The company’s first three products were the Domer, Rockne and Nuts for ND.  Today, the company manufactures nearly 200 items.

In 1994 the South Bend Chocolate Company opened its first chocolate kiosk at a suburban shopping mall near South Bend, Indiana.

In 1997, the company began to grow rapidly, and by 2000 the South Bend Chocolate Company was recognized as the state’s Small Business of the Year and by Entrepreneur Magazine as one of the top investments in the country.  Later, the company would earn numerous awards including Inc. Magazines national award for inner-city business growth, and Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year award.

Today, there are over 20 stores operating in the United States.  The company also has a thriving wholesale and corporate gift giving business.

A Sweet Combination

In 2005 The South Bend Chocolates and Memorial Health Systems form the Chocolate Café Medical Ventures Group to test the compatibility of the chocolate café experience and a medical setting.  The experiment was a success and gave life to this innovative partnership created to help both companies establish market differentiation and ultimately new sources of revenue.  Now, the group is expanding into markets around the U.S., sharing this profitable partnership with other medical organizations.