So, what is next for KLADO? We have been working through this question for months now. After losing our entire production facility in a 5-alarm fire two days before Christmas, we've taken some time to pause, think, reevaluate and make a plan forward.
It's already extremely difficulty being a small business and this hardship was exacerbated by COVID. Thankfully for us, our concept from inception was to start small and keep our retail footprint micro. This European inspired mindset, allowed us to launch KLADO in the midst of the pandemic and remain steady throughout. However, we could've never planned or anticipated what happened next. The fire was a devastating blow. We've had to start over. From re-ordering all of our materials, including custom boxes, to procuring supplies and equipment from around the globe. Costs throughout have increased. Freight and shipping costs are through the roof. All our raw materials have doubled in price and have become harder to obtain. But guess what? We're still here. We're committed to the cause. The cause of creating the most kicks$$ dessert and bringing brigadeiros to the world.
The fire was just the beginning of a tumultuous ride. We mourned, we rallied together with the other business impacted and marched to city hall, we salvaged whatever we could from our fire damaged unit (which was almost nothing), we had our unit looted, we saw individuals trying to profit from our tragedy by attempting to re-sell our soot infested machinery on Facebook marketplace, we've had calls with attorneys and law enforcement, we even got erroneously served lawsuit papers. All the while, we've been trying to find a new space to relocate and begin the rebuilding process. It's been sheer insanity!
The good news, is that I believe the worst may be behind us. We're still not out of the woods yet, but we're making headway. A small amount of our supplies has arrived, including our super cute packaging. We've secured a new location to start producing our brigadeiros. Although the space is tiny, we've been able to start producing limited batches. We've started shipping and taking on corporate contracts. It's a small win.
In order to keep moving forward, we've reduced our retail hours and will be opening on limited pre-set dates that we'll communicate through social media. So if you're not following us, please do so. Our handle on all our socials are @casaklado. Our focus now is to keep creating and shipping KLADO's nationwide and to our neighbors both in Canada and in Europe. We're continuing to expand our reach by opening shipping to other countries. So, stay tuned for where we'll be shipping next.
Despite everything going up in flames (literally), we're grateful to still be here and having such amazing customers and supporters who have kept us going! You guys rock and stay tuned for more exciting KLADO news! In the meantime, be sure to snag up some brigadeiros before we sell out and if you have a special event coming up we'd love to be a part of it! Visit out our Corporate and Speciality Gifting page.