Sumptuous. Decadent. Delightful. Few words could more adequately describe a box of Lula’s Chocolates. Neatly perched inside each mahogany-colored package await aromatic round crèmes, salted caramels, square truffles, and nuts cloaked with melt-in-your-mouth cocoa.
During the past five years, the company, based in Monterey, California, has carved a nice niche in the candy industry, increasing sales by 90 percent annually. But Scott Lund, owner and Marriott School graduate, will be the first to tell you that the secret to these artisanal chocolates doesn’t lie in the craftsmanship or high-quality ingredients. Lula’s success stems from just one element—family.
Cocoa Pedigree
Chocolate has been flowing through the Lund family for three generations. Lund’s grandma, Lula, was a teenager in the 1920s when her home economics teacher taught her how to make candy. Lula transformed the skill into a business after she married, selling the treats in the arms plant where she worked during World War II.
During the next five decades, she made countless batches of sweets for friends and family in her home’s small candy kitchen, ramping up production for the holidays.
Lund still remembers the role candy played in his family. Lula, a loving woman with neatly set hair, would gather her grandchildren around. Placing a chocolate into the palm of each little hand, she would look at the children and say, “Be true to your teeth, or they’ll be false to you.”
“She had a saying for everything,” Lund remembers. “She was a character.”
Her passion for family and candy making was lifelong. When she called Lund to say she wasn’t going to make chocolates anymore, he knew something was wrong.
“It was her quiet way of asking for help,” Lund says. “She wasn’t frail; she just couldn’t do things like she used to.”
Lund’s family stepped in. They spent three holiday seasons in the kitchen together, learning Lula’s time-tested techniques—skills Lund would later perfect in confectionery courses. Lund’s wife painted bright marks on the candy thermometers so ninety-five-year-old Lula could see them, and Lund cut fondant, tempered chocolate, and carried kettles for his grandmother.
“We would talk for six hours at a time,” Lund says. “She would tell me stories about her life and about my dad—things he’d never tell me.”
When Lula moved into a retirement home, her biggest concern was the fate of her candy equipment. To ease her mind, Lund purchased it. He hauled the industrial-sized pots and large marble slabs into his basement, not knowing the role they’d play in his future.
Prep School
Lund and his three siblings grew up in California’s Bay Area, spending two memorable years in Carmel. His father, a business manager, wasn’t shy about prodding his son along a similar path.
“He believed accounting was the language of business, and it’s true,” Lund says.
The Marriott School’s highly ranked accounting program made BYU Lund’s first choice. In fact, he was so determined to begin his studies at the Y that when he broke his foot at freshman orientation, he waited to tell his parents until he was sure they had completed their twelve-hour drive home.
Lund describes his years at BYU as some of his happiest. He met and married his wife, Jennifer, and learned the ins and outs of accounting. While completing his graduate studies, he taught Accounting 201, an experience that cemented his understanding of the discipline and allowed him to give back.
“I like sharing what I know,” explains Lund, whose daughter Victoria is studying accounting at BYU. “I don’t have a lot of secrets when it comes to chocolate or business. I just like helping people.”
Although the ratios, formulas, and equations he learned at the Marriott School are regularly used at Lula’s, the lesson that most prepared Lund for success was much simpler: treat people the way you want to be treated.
Candy Store
Located in Carmel’s high-end shopping district, Lula’s retail store is the place where that philosophy is carried out. Flanked by potted plants and outlined by crisp, white molding, the shop is filled with antique display cases packed with bundles of caramels, toffees, and, of course, chocolates. The one thing you won’t find here, though, is Lund.
Most days he’s at Lula’s factory in Monterey, managing accounts, checking production, and overseeing the company’s business plan. In fact, it’s his role in operations that Lund most enjoys.
“I get a lot of help from other people, but ultimately I’m responsible for the success or failure of the business,” Lund says. “And I’ll never be unemployed,” he adds, laughing.
Lund works hard to make sure the business of candy is equally sweet for his employees. His philosophy—assume that everyone is doing the best he or she can—is at the center point of the company’s culture. Employees are asked to do their best and to learn from mistakes when they happen.
“I don’t dwell on mistakes because I’m doing my best and I make mistakes too,” Lund says. “People will give you their best efforts, and nine times out of ten that’s all you need.”
And Lund ensures everyone has a chance to succeed. If someone doesn’t quite have the dexterity to work with the chocolate, he or she joins the finished goods team, packing and preparing the candy.
Rocky Road
Lund’s own path to success started in 1991 when he completed his MBA—also from the Marriott School—and accepted a position as an analyst at Shell Oil Company in Houston. While the work was satisfying, Lund found himself entering the labor force at a volatile time. Firms were consolidating and laying off partners in large numbers.
“I didn’t want to make it to the top and then hear, ‘Hey, we’re downsizing,’” Lund says. “I guess I like security. I don’t mind bleeding ulcers, but I like security.”
Lund took matters into his own hands. He left the oil business, moved his family to Utah, and went to work for himself, purchasing a string of Laundromats.
Although some referred to the business as a cash venture, it turned out to be an opportunity for Lund to exhibit integrity. He purchased the facilities based on what the previous owners had paid in taxes. When he took over operations, he kept meticulous records on every quarter slipped into the machines. The effort paid off when he sold the business and received top dollar thanks to his accurate tax returns.
“In the end, I made five times what I could have stolen,” Lund says.
While the business prospered, Lund began to grow anxious. “It’s hard to get excited about washing other people’s clothes,” he concedes.
He filled the void by making chocolates for friends and neighbors during the holidays.
One of those friends worked closely with Utah governor Mike Leavitt on his reelection committee. When she tasted Lund’s chocolates, she knew they needed to be included in the governor’s 2002 Olympics celebration. Lund was invited to prepare chocolate spreads for both the opening and closing ceremonies. His hand-dipped creations garnered high marks and, for the first time, he saw the viability of a chocolate business.
Still, Lund had doubts about pursuing a culinary career. It wasn’t until he checked out from the library a copy of Good to Great by Jim Collins that the idea for Lula’s really took shape. Lund returned the book the next day and bought his own copy to mark up.
“I needed to reflect on what I was passionate about and what gave me joy,” Lund says. “When you do that, working is not work. It’s part of what makes you happy.”
Sweet Dreams
As the idea for a premium chocolate company solidified in Lund’s mind, he began scouting locations for the business. He’d dreamt about giving his five kids the picturesque childhood he’d had in Carmel, and the seaside city seemed to be a smart move for the business too.
“There are a lot of great candy makers in Utah but relatively few in California,” Lund explains. “And Californians are willing to pay what the candy is worth.”
Some of Lund’s friends were skeptical of the decision, outlining all the roadblocks Lund would face: selling his house, moving his family, and even financing the venture.
Despite the concerns, the Lunds decided to make the move, even before the Laundromats were sold, allowing their children to start the new school year in Carmel. For nearly a year, Lund commuted back and forth, managing his newly minted chocolate enterprise in California and winding down his business in Utah.
Family Ties
With Lula’s entering its fifth year in business, it’d be easy for Lund to take credit for the company’s success. But he tends to defer to others—especially to his wife, Jennifer.
“It takes a lot of internal fortitude for someone to be OK with selling everything we had and starting a chocolate company,” he says. “She’s been there every step of the way.”
And while the kids don’t hand dip the chocolates, Lula’s is a family affair. Jennifer and the kids are often at the office, tying bows, labeling, and running the shrink-wrap machine. The most coveted job is, of course, testing the chocolate. But even there, the family follows Lula’s lead.
“Grandma was a true believer in moderation,” Lund explains. “She felt there was no reason to have more than one piece of chocolate at a time. It was a simple pleasure to be enjoyed—but not all at once.”
Though Lula passed away in 2000, it could be argued that she’s still the lifeblood of the business. For the Lund clan, transforming tradition into a thriving enterprise has always revolved around spending time with family—and lots of rich, creamy chocolate.
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Article written by Megan Bingham
Photographed by Bradley Slade
About the Author
Based in New York City, Megan Bingham is a writer and editor at Family Circle magazine. She graduated from BYU in 2010 with a degree in communications.
