Life & Work with Nicole McIntyre

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicole McIntyre.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Nicole McIntyre, CEO, and Co-Founder of Cocoa Forte™ Franchising, LLC., is a native of Washington DC and the eldest of seven sisters. Raised in a military household, (Air Force), Nicole’s family moved to various states and countries such as California, North Dakota, Maryland, and Oxfordshire, England. Her family settled in Raleigh, NC where she met her husband, Freddie McIntyre Jr. from Whiteville, NC, also co-founder of the Cocoa Forte™ brand.

Nicole studied Business Administration at Wake Technical Community College and North Carolina A&T. Even at a young age Nicole was driven and a born leader and was always passionate about entrepreneurship. Which led her into business consulting for other entrepreneurs and finally into the food truck industry. Networking and navigating the local food truck arena, Nicole served as a board member of the Raleigh/Durham Mobile Food Association (RDUMFA). While Nicole was engaged to bring awareness to local food trucks, Cocoa Forte became a popular dessert truck in the area.

Nicole continued to expand the Cocoa Forte brand, by partnering with the nationally known online brand, 1-800-Flowers™. With this acquired partnership, Nicole has optimized the Cocoa Forte business model and been awarded for her success in customer fulfillment for FruitBouquet.com™ and Shari’s Berries™.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Being one of the few dessert trucks operating in the area at the beginning of our journey, we had to invent our own lane to build our presence and customer base.

The price point of our menu items is lower than a traditional savory food truck, we had to find ways to make the most of each day which in turn led us to create a “Sweet Hour” at business locations. This new short shift serves as a pick me up for that last leg of the workday for employees.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am excited to announce that with all our hard work, our business is now officially a franchise. Recognized by the Federal Trade Commission, we are approved to offer our Dessert Truck opportunity across the Nation as Cocoa Forte Franchising, LLC.

What sets us apart from others is that we have a process that has been in development for the last 10 years that provides franchisees to start a legacy in their community with our proven system.

If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I was the big sister of seven girls in our household. Keeping order was my job and making sure everyone followed the rules. (lol) We were a military family and attended Catholic School in Oxfordshire, England, and Grand Forks, ND until we moved to Raleigh, NC in 1995.

Multi-cultural with Hispanic heritage from El Salvador and Black American, my associates were always just as diverse as me. In high school, I was a Varsity Cheerleader and worked two jobs after school and on weekends so that I could start experiencing some independence while living at home.

Pricing:

• Cheesecake Delivery – Starts at $60
• Chocolate Covered Berries Delivery – Starts at $37
• Book Dessert Truck for events – $450

Contact Info:

• Email: info@CocoaForteDesserts.com
• Website: CocoaForteDesserts.com
• Instagram: @Cocoaforte
• Facebook: facebook.com/Cocoaforte
• Twitter: @Cocoaforte
• Youtube: Youtube.com/Cocoaforte
• Other: COCOAFORTERaleigh.com