Branson's Chocolates: Deena Branson

When a long-standing chocolate shop in Ashland, Oregon closed its doors, Deena Branson saw a craft worth carrying forward.

After purchasing the equipment from the store, she founded Branson’s Chocolates and drew on her experience in craft chocolate industry to guide her as she refined recipes and continued learning.

Unwrap the story of Branson's Chocolate in this episode of The Chocolate Pod. 🍫🎙️🎧

Discover more at www.TheChocolatePodcast.com

Transcript

Welcome to The Chocolate Pod, a show about founders and innovators in the craft chocolate industry and the stories behind the chocolate they create. I'm Zack Gallinger-Long, and today we're interviewing Deena Branson of Branson’s Chocolates, based in Ashland, Oregon. Deena has spent 30 years in chocolate, working through ownership changes, shifting business models, rising cacao prices, and an industry that has evolved dramatically over time. What began as a job out of high school eventually became a career and then a business of her own.

In this episode, we explore the benefits of small batch production, how flavor ideas move from concept to reality, and a unique approach to starting with wholesale before retail. All that and more coming up in this week’s episode of The Chocolate Pod.

Calling all chocolate lovers and flavor adventurers. The sweetest weekend of the year is back. Mark your calendars for March 6th, 7th, and 8th and make your way to the Ashland Hills Hotel for the 22nd annual Oregon Chocolate Festival. Indulgence awaits.

When a long-standing chocolate shop in Ashland, Oregon closed its doors, most people assumed it was gone for good. But not Deena Branson. After decades of working in chocolate, she saw something else at stake. Recipes, equipment, craft knowledge built up over years. Instead of letting it disappear, Deena stepped into ownership and founded Branson’s Chocolates.

Today, when you walk into her shop, you won’t just see glass cases filled with truffles and toffee. You’ll see chocolate being made right in front of you. Copper pots for caramel. Small batch ganaches. Continuous tempering machines humming in the background. A business shaped by experience.

This episode is about creative longevity, award-winning flavors, and what it takes to carry a craft forward. Join me as we unwrap the story behind Branson’s Chocolates.

Can you start out by telling us your name and what you do?

I am Deena Branson. I own Branson’s Chocolates and I am the chocolatier and the head confectioner.

Did you always know you wanted to be in chocolate?

No. I actually started working in the chocolate industry 30 years ago for a different chocolate company that was downtown in Ashland, Oregon. I was a year out of high school. I was unemployed and happened to walk in and see a friend, and the owners asked if I wanted a job. So that’s how I got into the chocolate industry. I worked under three sets of owners. I was in charge of staff and inventory. I had thought about buying it but could never figure out how to finance what the owners wanted to sell it for. When the third set of owners came in, I realized it was time for me to move on. Their customer service and my customer service didn’t line up.

About two and a half years later, my husband came home and said, “Did you know they closed their doors?” And I said, “Those recipes, that equipment can’t get lost. We’ve got to do something.” We were able to pick up the production equipment and the recipes. Twenty years ago, I started trying to figure out how to make chocolate. This was pre-YouTube, pre-social media, and I taught myself because there was nowhere to go. The company we ordered chocolate from had tempering instructions printed on the packaging, and that’s how I learned.

It’s handy that that packaging had the tempering instructions on it. As you were learning, were there other things that came along that you just learned by chance?

I had the initial recipes from that business, which was great, but those recipes called for fruit pastes. Back then, the ingredient list on a fruit paste was 20 or 30 ingredients per flavor. I ordered one and thought, how am I supposed to get this list of ingredients on a tiny label with four or five other flavors? There was just no way. So through trial and error, I started figuring out how to use fruit purées, concentrates, and fruit powders to create flavor instead of using fruit paste.

I saw on your website that you still make things like caramel in copper pots using very old recipes. What is important about those pots, and why do you keep doing it that way?

Copper spreads the heat evenly across the entire pot, whereas other types of metal do not. Copper helps caramelize the sugars better than other metals.

What does making chocolate and confections by hand allow you to control that a machine wouldn’t?

You can see things in the way they cook. As you’re stirring a pâte de fruit, you can see if it’s ready before it hits the temperature you’re cooking to, so you can take it off early. If something’s not working, we can change it in process. I made a ginger caramel over the holiday season, and as I was cooking it, I tested it and thought, it’s not right. I need more of other things. I was able to tweak the recipe as it was cooking. With huge batches, you’re not able to do that.

Do you do everything in small batches?

Everything. We do everything in small batches. It ensures freshness. Our customers get the freshest product. We turn inventory within a month.

How long after someone purchases it can they hold onto it?

It depends on the item. Caramel will start to sugar after about nine months. The flavor is still there, but the texture changes. Our truffles, ganaches, and bonbons typically last about six months.

I’ve heard that chocolate is meant to be consumed fresh and not aged like wine.

Correct. But because three-fourths of my business is wholesale, I have geared my recipes to support shelf life for those customers.

When you started, how did wholesale become such a large part of your business?

When I started 20 years ago, I did not have retail. I started with events and wholesale. Twelve years ago, I added retail. Most people do it the other way around now, but I did it backwards and it works.

What charges your batteries when it comes to the business?

The creativity. Creating new labels, developing new recipes, taking on the challenge of a new flavor profile.

How much of your offerings stay the same versus rotating?

We have 16 feet of display case. Eight feet are classics that stay year round. Then I have about 45 flavors that stay constant and another 10 that rotate depending on the season. Sometimes a holiday flavor becomes a permanent offering.

When customers come into your store, what do they often misunderstand about chocolate?

Fermentation. At an event called Fermentopia, people asked why I was there. They didn’t realize the first step of making chocolate is fermenting the cacao. Fermentation develops flavor.

Do you use machines like a melanger or a winnower?

I use chocolate from Valrhona, Felchlin, Cacao Barry, Callebaut, and Republic of Cacao. I do not do bean-to-bar, but I do use continuous tempering machines and an enrober. We still do a lot by hand.

What is Ruby chocolate?

Ruby chocolate is produced by Callebaut. It’s made through specific fermentation and roasting techniques that retain the pink color of the beans. It has a slight berry note and stands out visually in a display case.

When we come back in just a moment, we’ll talk about what happens when chocolate leaves the shop and heads to the festival table, how Deena decides what to showcase, how judging works, and what it takes to stand out. Stay with us. I’m Zack Gallinger-Long, and you’re listening to The Chocolate Pod.

For one weekend only on March 6th, 7th, and 8th, join us at the Ashland Hills Hotel to taste, learn, and indulge in all things chocolate and beyond. Explore the two-day marketplace with artisan chocolatiers, winemakers, and flavor crafters from across the West Coast. Find all the details at OregonChocolateFestival.com.

How do you decide what to bring to a festival?

I look at the other vendors. If there’s a heavy bonbon list or a heavy bar list, I try to balance what I bring so consumers have variety.

How does judging work?

It depends on the event. Some allow multiple entries. Some charge fees. Sometimes you can talk to judges for feedback, but they don’t always come to you. You have to tell your story clearly in the product description because you only get limited space.

Have you won awards?

I’ve won two. A People’s Choice Award in Portland for my rich chocolate truffle. And Best Bon Bon at the 2025 Oregon Chocolate Festival for a chili-lime fusion with key lime caramel ganache, New Mexico chili spice, and single-origin Mexico chocolate.

How do you develop flavors like that?

Trial and error. Some ideas come from within. Others come from collaboration. I originally planned a lemon and Earl Grey flavor, but a local tea shop owner suggested Lady Grey instead, which includes apricot. So I adjusted and created an apricot Earl Grey ganache. Because I talked to someone, the product changed.

Let’s pause here for a moment to appreciate how a single conversation with another small business shaped the final outcome of Deena’s product. Creativity isn’t just imagination. It’s collaboration. When you invite outside perspective, especially from someone who understands their audience deeply, you expand what your product can become.

What about adventurous flavors like wasabi?

That came from noticing that wasabi potato chips kept selling out. My husband said, if they can make wasabi chips, you can make wasabi chocolate. So we developed a wasabi ginger flavor that lets you taste the chocolate without overwhelming heat.

Do you offer vegan options?

Yes. Our dark chocolate is dairy free. We switched to plant-based butter, which made our toffee and brittle vegan as well.

What challenges have you faced?

Early on, it was getting people to remember who we were. More recently, it’s educating customers about why our pricing is what it is. Cacao prices have risen due to drought, flooding, crop disease in West Africa, and long growth cycles for new trees. At the same time, we’re paying for high-quality ingredients, packaging, and labor.

What’s next?

We’ll be at the Oregon Chocolate Festival and several other events before Mother’s Day, which marks the end of the chocolate season until fall. We continue producing for local events like the Shakespeare Festival.

Can customers order online?

We ship nationwide year round, even in summer. We use insulation and ship frozen so it slowly thaws and avoids condensation. I actually ordered bonbons from someone in Texas to learn how she shipped them successfully.

What a great closing thought. We don’t have to solve every business challenge on our own. Sometimes we can look to the experience of others and apply what’s already working.

It was a pleasure having Deena on the show. The next time you’re in Ashland, Oregon, be sure to stop by Branson’s Chocolates and let Deena know you heard her on The Chocolate Pod. You can also find her at the annual Oregon Chocolate Festival.

If you’d like to order online, visit BransonsChocolates.com. That’s B-R-A-N-S-O-N-S Chocolates dot com.

Thank you for listening. Be sure to click follow so you never miss an episode. Visit TheChocolatePodcast.com to see where we’re headed next.

I’m Zack Gallinger-Long, and you’ve been listening to The Chocolate Pod.