Kicking Mule Chocolate Milk is an organic, locally-produced artisanal product using the finest, chemical-free chocolate from our partner, Cacao Prieto of Brooklyn

I grew up in Connecticut and currently live in Manhattan. I am passionate about the farm-to-table food movement and personally eating fresh, local foods that are creatively prepared. As a father of two young daughters, I want to inspire children to become more conscious of how their food choices impacts not only their health but the entire planet.

I was an executive board member of AIWF (American Institute of Wine & Food) coordinating educational programs, including introducing new chefs at farm-to-table events.

After being General Manager of a small health food company, I decided to take the plunge and start my own company to bring the finest healthiest chocolate milk to market.

Kicking Mule Chocolate Milk is an organic, locally-produced artisanal product. It’s available in 3 flavors: Original Chocolate Milk, Spiced Chocolate Milk, and Almond Chocolate Milk (non-dairy, for those who are lactose intolerant). All our products use only organic ingredients (certification pending) and no additives. Because of this, we are also gluten-free.

We use the finest, chemical-free chocolate from our partner, Cacao Prieto of Brooklyn, that’s why we say we use “real” chocolate (versus the commercial cocoa flavoring used by our competitors).

We are selling briskly in specialty groceries, sweet shops, and cheese shops in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Connecticut. Our challenge now is to grow to meet the demand. We wish to hire cooks, rent a larger kitchen, and build our relationships with distributors. We support cacao.org, an association of independent farmers in the Dominican Republic, who are passionate about bringing visibility and transparency into where food comes from. When Kicking Mule reaches sustained profitability, we hope to contribute to Cacao’s impact investments in bringing clean water and irrigation systems to more farmers in the Dominican Republic.

Kicking Mule also prides itself on using only biodegradable materials in its bottling and packaging.

We have a few initial accounts with an opportunity to secure more and this loan will assist us to rent space to increase supply and create additional jobs, positioning us to pay back the loan in the future.

$3,500 OPERATIONS
This loan will fund the rental of an incubator kitchen which will help us grow and fulfill more orders. The loan will also provide for more inventory, which is critical for us, as we use only the finest ingredients, including special, chemical-free chocolate.

$1,000 CERTIFICATION
We are estimating to spend about $900 on obtaining Organic certification. We will also use this money to sponsor Food Handler certificates for our employees.

$500 MARKETING
In order to introduce our products to new customers, we do many in-store tastings. This part of the loan would help to pay for demo specialists.