Politics is not exactly what you’d call a sweet business, especially when compared to making chocolate. So when Christian Edwards had his fill of the former after serving on the 2000 Bush presidential ticket and in various roles inside the White House, he decided to return to the family chocolate business, and took his fellow politico sister and brother with him.
“After seven years in politics — because the amount of work and pressure and hours put in — we all thought it was time to leave the White House,” says Christian, who rallied with his siblings in plotting out their post political gambit. “We figured the only thing we can do after flying around the world on Air Force One is to go into the chocolate business.”
Chocolate runs through the Edwards’ blood. In 1914, his great-grandparents traveled from Greece to New York to Pittsburgh to make a new life for themselves. They started a family and a handcrafted chocolate company, Chocolate Creations. Fast forward a few decades — through a depression, World War and the Baby Boom — and their company grew from a family-run operation to employing over 200 people by the year 2000. In 2007, Edwards and his siblings signed on to help reposition Chocolate Creations as a national gourmet brand. For two years they drummed up new recipes and packaging and renamed the company Edward Marc Chocolatier.
Today, Edward Marc has a cult-like following among such political figures as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, and the 33,000 Pentagon employees who visit its boutique there. Out of Washington, Edward Marc is sweetening up the shelves of Saks Fifth Avenue, where everyday shoppers as well as celebrities like Jennifer Garner and Katie Holmes clamor for the brand’s signature salted caramels and peanut butter meltaways.
Edward Marc Chocolatier is now available at Saks Fifth Avenue stores. Which Edward Marc Chocolates do you crave? Pin your favorites and Tweet @Saks with a link to your board!