In an ever-expanding dynamic world of the footwear industry, what brands often lack is the ability to provide unique and creative products to customers. With their limited products, repetitive and traditional patterns and designs, the industry often fails to bring innovation and creativity in terms of product design and development. To bridge this gap, Hot Chocolate Design, Venezuela’s origin designer shoe brand, has embarked on an ambitious mission of bringing innovation and creativity to the industry.
Hot Chocolate Design was founded by Carolina Aguerrevere and Pablo Martinez, who are talented designers themselves. Frustrated by the environment in the advertising agency they worked for before, which in many ways limited their imagination and creativity, they decided to quit and pursue their passion for art and design.
Both being shoe lovers, Carolina and Pablo decided to start exploring the potential of combining their love for shoes and passion for designing. They manufactured their first prototype with a unique concept of matching the unmatched. The idea was to create two different but complementary pairs of shoes with distinct differences yet unique complimentary features in each other. Over the years the concept has been wholeheartedly accepted by customers from around the world making the Hot Chocolate Design a truly international brand.
To test their design and to know the kind of response from the public, Carolina started wearing the prototype. To her surprise, the response was exciting, and that revealed the potential of their designer shoes. The overwhelming response from the public encouraged them to dedicate their energy and effort completely to building their new shoes into a brand and starting their own company.
Initially, they started setting up pop up shops at local markets and handicraft exhibitions in their local area. By quitting their agency jobs, Carolina and Pablo dedicated themselves and spent more time on enhancing the quality of their product and displaying them in more fairs and exhibitions. Eventually, the founders of Hot Chocolate Design and their products started getting media attention featuring them in local magazines and TV interviews earning a significant reputation for the brand.
They started scaling the production to meet the growing demand. Though started as a 100% Venezuelan business, centered in the capital city of Caracas, the growing demand for the product expanded the brand nationwide.
In 2012 Fernando Aguerrevere joined the company bringing his management expertise and experience. Though the business situations were favorable for the company, the Venezuelan economy and political climate took a turn. The persistent currency deflation and economic instability in the country forced the company to think beyond Venezuela. In early 2013, Hot Chocolate Design started global operations, transforming a purely Venezuelan brand into an international brand with its own identity.
Driven by a passion for bringing creativity and innovations into the industry, Hot Chocolate Design introduces new designs every 6 weeks. This approach makes them distinct from other players in the industry who usually have a maximum of four collections in a year. Moreover, the company introduces a limited number of different products and caters to the unique needs of its customers who are eagerly waiting for new styles to launch.
Being a 100% vegan brand, the core philosophy of Hot Chocolate Design has always been rooted in sustainability, creativity and innovation. What sets the brand apart in the industry is its unique approach right from the concept to the design and manufacturing of the products. Each Hot Chocolate Design model has a unique story to tell. Crafted with nostalgic and emotional elements, the shoes evoke a connection with the customers. Its unique and innovative designs along with its peculiar packaging have established an extensive fanbase.
Each pair is unique and the company releases limited editions, due to this, many customers have become avid collectors of the shoes. Some of the customers even have more than 100 pairs of HCD shoes in their collection, imparting remarkable reputation and value to the brand.
With a vision to expand its innovative designs, and quirky style, the company continues to disrupt the traditional approach within the footwear industry.
Presented by: Ascend Agency
