From importing chocolate fountains for weddings to manufacturing and supplying dessert equipment and ingredients in more than 70 countries, David Archer, Managing Director of Sephra Europe Ltd & Sephra USA LLC, reflects on the pivotal moments, bold decisions and creative thinking behind the company’s global success. Kiran Grewal reports.
David Archer’s route into the dessert and confectionery sector was anything but conventional. From performing in a wedding band to building Sephra into an international supplier of dessert equipment, ingredients and confectionery, David has spent two decades turning emerging trends into scalable global opportunities. In this exclusive interview, he reflects on the milestones, challenges and innovations shaping Sephra’s continued growth.
David, take us back to the beginning — how did Sephra start, and what first inspired you to turn a passion for chocolate fountains into a global dessert equipment and ingredients business?
David Archer: As a semi pro musician with a wedding band called Big Night Out, I had no background in the dessert business. Working for a musical instrument retailer, I moved into field sales in the Internet Marketing industry.
The popularity of my band led me to start a wedding entertainment agency, which in turn got me involved in F&B. Realising that chocolate fountains were becoming a trend at weddings, I decided I should add a Sephra Commercial Chocolate Fountain to my portfolio. Since 2003, Sephra had been making a name for itself with its innovative fountains. Having caught my eye, it became my brand of choice.
Such was the success of this, I set up an e-commerce business to start importing and selling fountains, leading to the birth of my first distribution and retail business – Chocolate Fountain Warehouse (now rebranded to CFW.co.uk).
In 2007, I forged a partnership with Rick Muir, the founder of Sephra in the USA, becoming an exclusive distributor for Europe and the Middle East, and heralding the birth of Sephra Europe Ltd. We soon evolved from merely distributing chocolate fountains to offering a wide array of dessert equipment, ingredients, and confectionery, including the successful Sephra Popcorn range.
In 2019, I bought Rick out in the States, giving Sephra Europe Ltd full control to solidify its status as a trailblazer. We now manufacture and distribute dessert-making, patisserie, and bakery equipment, ingredients, and confectionery for the foodservice and retail industries in over 70 countries. Operating from our own facilities in both the UK and the USA, within the group, we continue to operate a wholesale distribution business, CFW.co.uk, which distributes over 1,200 products.
Our customers are mainly foodservice operators and distributors, but in the UK, we also supply major retailers with Sephra Popcorn. It’s found in cinema and theatre cafés & shops. Additionally, we sell products directly via our own websites and Amazon to consumers keen on baking and chocolate work.
Having seen exceptional growth over the past two years, with 77% growth in the UK and 79% in the USA, Sephra now has 38 employees between the UK and the USA.
Sephra has evolved remarkably from its early days to now supplying everything from couverture chocolate to popcorn for major retailers. What’s been the biggest turning point in that journey?
DA: The exclusive distribution deal I struck with Sephra in the USA in 2007 brought about the incorporation of Sephra in Europe Ltd.
Similarly, acquiring the Sephra brand in 2019 enabled me to further put my own stamp on the business.
Last year, we announced a partnership with Ferrero, exclusively bringing innovative heated Nutella dispensers to the UK and Irish markets.
Landing our first popcorn deal with Asda in 2015 was pivotal, as it was the launch pad for this now well-established popcorn tub retail business. This was hugely important during the tough times when food service was badly affected during the COVID-19 crisis.
You’re both a businessman and a semi-professional musician — how do those two worlds complement each other? Does your creative side influence how you approach innovation and business strategy at Sephra?
DA: My happy place is working with my marketing team, where I can collaborate and allow my creativity to make a practical difference. Being a musician is very much my stress buster too, an escape from the high-pressure business world. Picking up a guitar is the house is a great way to relax.
With bases in both Kirkcaldy, Scotland, and Pennsylvania in the US, Sephra is truly international. What have been some of the challenges and advantages of growing a company across two continents?
DA: I try to visit the Throop office as much as possible, but it can be difficult to find time amid pressures such as attending global trade shows. I am fortunate in having a great team, with much of the management, sales and customer service for the US business done in our Kirkcaldy office. Using technologies such as VoIP phone systems, video conferencing, and cloud-based ERP systems makes remote work and management easier.
Initially, and still, Brexit has been causing pain to our UK business, with trade with European customers dropping significantly. Currently it’s Trump’s tariffs that are affecting our USA business, with many of the products we distribute in the USA imported, including Sephra Chocolates, and much of the equipment manufactured in the Far East. With ever-changing tariffs, we are forced to react with price changes as our landed costs fluctuate massively.
The global rise in cocoa prices has been tough on the entire industry. Tell us about Sephra’s new “50/50” chocolate blend — how did the idea come about, and how do you see it helping your customers weather this storm?
DA: Our “50/50” Compound/Couverture Chocolate blend, a budget-friendly option that helps businesses manage costs without a significant drop in quality, was originally developed by us for a leading UK customer to address the current rise in global chocolate prices. There were delighted, finding that it delivered the high-quality taste and texture of Sephra’s Belgian Couverture Chocolate, but was more cost-effective for large-scale applications.
Taking the initiative to widen this out as a new product in our portfolio that other customers could take advantage of, we think it’s really helping customers weather these challenging times. Having proved very popular, the blend is launching in the USA.
Sephra USA has made headlines for disrupting the Callebaut market with its Fall price promotion. What was behind that bold decision, and what has the response been like from your US customers?
DA: We have seen significant growth through our Callebaut partnership in the UK. As such, we decided to bring that strength to the US, offering affordable Callebaut chocolate prices and efficient service to customers.
Wanting to reduce US customers costs, we made the bold decision to reduce margins and drive sales growth. As a result of the Fall Sale, where we offered up to 25% off regular pricing on 14 Callebaut products, we experienced an eight-to-nine times increase in sales for Callebaut in the States.
As the sale has struck a very positive chord with our US customers, we have decided to continue with this low pricing model to further support them.
Trade tariffs and ingredient inflation are challenging realities right now. As a leader, how do you stay proactive rather than reactive in times of global uncertainty?
DA: Sometimes all you can do is react to things beyond your control, however, if we are to do so, it is important that we react quickly with level heads and avoid panicking. We work as a team, taking the perspective of all stakeholders in the business to ensure we make good decisions.
We must continue to develop innovative solutions, to reduce pricing through positive negotiations with the supply chain, and to maximise our purchasing power. Staying ahead of consumer trends and expanding our product portfolio also helps customers, allowing them to consolidate delivery costs and save time in ordering.
Sephra Popcorn has become a familiar sight on supermarket shelves — and now you’re sponsoring your lifelong club, Raith Rovers FC, who are based in Kirkcaldy, the home of Sephra Europe Ltd. What does that partnership mean to you personally and professionally?
DA: As a lifelong Raith Rovers fan, I’m honoured to support our local club in this proud and meaningful partnership.
Raith Rovers was the first football team to introduce Sephra Popcorn as a fan snack. It opened the door to other football club stadiums we have supplied, including English Premiership Club, Manchester City FC.
It was an exciting moment when we launched the brand-new, specially branded Raith Rovers popcorn tub for the 2025-2026 season and saw the Sephra logo featured on the players’ away strip. We are in talks to continue our support for the 26-27 season.
The dessert and confectionery industry are driven by indulgence but also faces changing consumer expectations. Where do you see the biggest opportunities for innovation in the next few years?
DA: Reducing waste, ease of use, start-up time, compactness, reliability, portion control and equipment cost are all important to our customers. There are many more opportunities for equipment to melt, drizzle, and dispense chocolate to satisfy current trends.
We must stay ahead of the trends, ensuring we have the equipment and ingredients to let our customers create the latest desserts and bakes that can go viral on social media.
We embraced the global craze for Dubai chocolates by adding a range of pistachio and kataifi products suitable for the application. We have also expanded our portfolio of chocolate brands and strengthened our relationship with Barry Callebaut. We are excited to be bringing a new premium Italian chocolate brand to the UK market in early 2026.
HFSS rules kicking in the UK are making it more difficult to promote many of our products, and this will be felt across the industry. As a result, we have recently launched a range of HFSS-compliant Popcorn, which our retail customers have been very receptive to. We will introduce further HFSS-compliant popcorn offerings in 2026.
I think we will see increased demand for healthier treats, free from and low sugar chocolates. This is something we will continue to work on.
Finally, after 20 years building Sephra into a global name, what continues to motivate you — and what’s next for you and the business?
DA: Creating jobs in our communities is important to me. I share a percentage of profits with the staff, so the whole team share in the success of the business.
The aim is to continue growing and building Sephra. I feel we have huge potential in the USA market, as it should be bigger than the UK, so the plan is to get it there.
I also get a great sense of accomplishment seeing a new business set up and fully utilise our equipment concepts and ingredients to create a successful, profitable business.
Perhaps as time goes on, I will spend a bit more time playing my guitar, golfing and holidays with the family…
