Thereasa Black started Bon AppéSweet after a long stretch of time away from home while serving in the U.S. Navy. She has described the idea forming during deployment, when she was thinking about her young daughter and the kind of life she wanted to build after military service. The goal was personal and direct. She wanted work that kept her closer to her family.
She also wanted to make a sweet product with a different ingredient approach than most candy bars. Bon AppéSweet uses dates as the sweetener instead of adding processed sugar. From there, the product line took shape around date-sweetened chocolate bars, with a focus on simple ingredient lists and a plant-based direction.
In the early stages, the company went through the same hurdles as most food startups. Black had to test recipes, choose suppliers, and figure out packaging, shelf life, and pricing. She also had to learn the basics of food manufacturing and distribution while building a brand that could compete for attention in a crowded category.
Bon AppéSweet grew step by step through e-commerce and wholesale style channels. Online sales helped the business reach customers outside its home region and gave Black a way to track what people reordered and which flavors moved faster. That data helped guide changes to the lineup and made it easier to plan inventory.
Black’s background shaped how she ran the business. She served as a naval officer, and she also trained as an attorney. Those experiences show up in how the company talks about structure and process. The product pages and brand story stay focused on clear points like ingredients, sweetness source, and dietary preferences.
Today Bon AppéSweet sells multiple chocolate bar flavors and related products under the same date-sweetened theme. The business story stays tied to why it began in the first place. Thereasa Black wanted to build a food business that fit her life as a parent and gave her more control over where her time went.
