Page 48 - ESPC July 2022

WORK/LIFE

My 9-to-5 My most memorable career moment is…
Probably some of the work we do with our
Colombian partner. We do something called
The owner of Edinburgh-based Coco impact trade which means we have more
Chocolatier, Calum Haggerty, shares products finished in the country of origin, in
his daily life and career path. our case Colombia, and it keeps wealth in the
country.

I’m also proud of the work we’ve done with big
Where do you call home?
brands like Innis & Gunn and Talisker.
Leith Links. I’m originally from Inverness but
I’ve lived in Leith for about 15 years now and After work I…
I love it.
My (almost) five-year-old son and newly born What’s the best piece of career advice
daughter keep me busy, but outside of that I you’ve been given?
My day starts with…
love going out for dinner and drinks with family My best piece of advice is something I have
My alarm goes off at 6.30am. I try to go to Calum Haggerty and friends. Some of my favourite places are always told myself. When you first set up a
yoga on Leith Walk before work. We used to be Owner of Edinburgh-based Toast, Oregano Pizzeria, Lioness of Leith and business everyone has an opinion and you can
based at Portobello but we have now moved to Coco Chocolatier Nobles. I also love playing the guitar and going be convinced that someone knows something
South Queensferry and I now have a 40 minute to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at Canonmills and Tribe you don’t know but you have to stick to your
drive to work but I like the quiet time before the Yoga at Leith Walk. own vision, not someone else’s.
day begins. On the drive I always listen to an
audiobook and I spend 15 minutes meditating A typical working day usually involves…
before going into the office. If I wasn’t the owner of Coco Chocolatier,
It depends on the day – recently I have had I’d have been… You can find out more about Coco Chocolatier
brand meetings in Glasgow with our sister
My main responsibilities are… brands but a normal day usually involves I would still be working for myself. I’d be in the by visiting cocochocolatier.com
creative industries creating new things.
It varies a lot but I spend the most time on speaking to customers and a lot of planning
product development, sales and marketing. marketing campaigns.
I don’t spend a lot of time on the operational
side of the business. I have to keep the team I got my job…
motivated but I mainly focus on thinking about I fell into it. Coco was a business I bought in
where we are going as a business.
2015. Before that I was in the fire service for
eight years. I did a business and finance degree
at university but I decided I didn’t want to work
in an office. I always wanted to work for myself.
I love food and drink and art and design so
Coco was an opportunity to combine those.
I love chocolate like anyone else but I didn’t
know a great deal about the industry

The best part of my job is…
The creative element and working with
designers on new brands and new recipes. As a
business we try to do the right thing and that’s
something the bigger companies don’t do. I
enjoy trying to make a difference in the industry.

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