Looking for a good name for your chocolate shop? If you’ve done any searching for a name, you may feel like all the good ones have already been taken. You want to find the perfect name, but how do you make the final decision?
Learn more about the chocolate store industry
Tips For Naming Your Chocolate Shop
Naming a business is hard, especially if you don’t have any ideas or a place to start. So, before you dive in, grab a piece of paper and a pen or open up a blank spreadsheet.
Then, use it as a place to brainstorm ideas and write down words or phrases that come to mind as you go through the tips below.
From there, we’ll talk about narrowing things down and landing on the perfect name.
1. Keep It as Short as Possible
Short business names are usually snappier, catchier, and easier to remember. Ideally, you want to stick to two to five syllables and hopefully no more than 25 characters total.
However, the shorter the name, the better.
That said, there are exceptions to this, and it’s not a hard rule. But when you think about huge, notable brands, which ones come to mind?
Nike. Apple. Ikea. Febreeze. Target. Honeywell.
They’re easy to remember because they’re short, simple, and brandable.
Obviously, there are exceptions to these rules. But typically, the shorter and simpler your name, the easier it is for everyone to remember.
2. Avoid Words That Are Hard to Say and Spell
Voice-to-text and voice search are more popular now than ever before. So, it’s important to consider making your name easy to pronounce and hear.
To do this, avoid using:
- Commonly misspelled words
- Complex terms that are hard to spell
- Words that have several pronunciations
- Homophones like to, too, and two
Try to keep things as concise and simple as possible.
3. Consider Chocolate-Related Terms
Since you’re opening a chocolate shop, using chocolate or sweet-related terms in the name might make sense, especially if you’re feeling stuck. It may help to start brainstorming terms, phrases, and words to get all your ideas down on paper.
Examples could include Chocolate Factory, Blushing Berry Chocolates, or My Favorite Chocolates.
For a boost of creativity, expand use the thesaurus to find synonyms around the words of what your business does. You can either use the thesaurus function from your word processor or thesaurus.com to come up with additional synonyms.
From there, you can cross off bad ideas or any terms you don’t like.
4. Phrases Your Audience and Competitors Use
Your business exists for your target audience, so it’s important to consider phrases and terms chocolate lovers use. You can even search the names of shops outside of your area for inspiration.
There are quite a few places you can look to see what your customers (and competitors) are saying, including:
- Facebook groups, posts, and stories
- Forums related to the chocolate shop industry
- Competitor websites
Alternatively, you can ask friends or relatives in your target audience. Hearing it directly from them may help you brainstorm and narrow down your choices.
Remember to avoid anything limiting your business’s future growth if you decide to go in another direction down the road.
5. What’s Your Specialty?
Do you focus on a particular type of chocolate, like dark chocolate, white chocolate, Swiss chocolate, or truffles? If so, you could consider incorporating your specialty into the name of your business.
A few examples include:
- Truffle Escape
- Caramel Cravings
- Choco BonBon
- Dark Bytes
6. Neighborhoods, Cities, and Nicknames
Including the name of your city, street, or neighborhood is an excellent way to encourage local shopping and create a strong sense of community in your area.
You can also think about nicknames for your city or neighborhood, as well. Here are some examples to use as inspiration:
- Fairhope Sweet Shop
- Saratoga Chocolate Co
- Wharf Chocolate Factory
With that said, make sure the name you choose isn’t limiting if you decide to move or expand your chocolate shop down the road.
7. Incorporate Your Name
If you’re still struggling to find the perfect name, consider using your name, a nickname, or something personal and unique to you.
This is a fantastic way to build a personal brand if that’s something you want to do. Some great examples of this in action include:
- Butler Chocolates
- Chocolate Mike’s
- Chocolates By Gigi
- City Girl Chocolates
- Mr. B Chocolatier
- Victoria’s Chocolates
If you go this route, keep in mind that it may make it harder to sell your chocolate shop later.
List of Catchy Chocolate Shop Business Names
Here is a list of existing chocolate shop names that may help give you some creative ideas. While many of these names may be available for you to use, be sure to check first to be sure they can be used.
- One Stop Choco Shop
- Au Chocolat
- Beacon Hill Chocolates
- Blushing Berry Chocolates
- Bon Bon Bon
- Butler Chocolates
- Caramel Cravings
- Choco BonBon
- Choco Junction
- Choco Room
- Choc-O-Holics
- Chocolate Sensations
- Chocolat Moderne
- Chocolate Bliss
- Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate Company
- Chocolate City
- Chocolate Delight
- Chocolate Dream
- Chocolate Factory
- Chocolate Fountain
- Chocolate Heaven
- Chocolate Lover
- Chocolate Mike’s
- Chocolate Pizazz
- Chocolate Secrets
- Chocolate World
- Chocolates By Gigi
- Chocolatta
- City Girl Chocolates
- Cocoa Blue Chocolates
- Cocoa Store
- Copper Kettle Chocolate Factory
- Cowboy-Up Chocolates
- Dark Bytes
- Divine Chocolate
- Dr. Sue’s Chocolate
- Dude, Sweet Chocolate
- Ecuadorian Chocolate Factory
- Fairhope Sweet Shop
- For the Love of Chocolate
- Grand Rivers Fudge Company
- Harlem Chocolate Factory
- Hey Sugar Candy Store
- How Sweet Is This
- L.A. Burdick Handmade Chocolates
- La Maison du Chocolat
- Mary Jane’s Chocolates
- Mostly Chocolate & Catering
- Mr. B Chocolatier
- My Favorite Chocolates
- Never Late Chocolate
- Newhaus Belgian Chocolate
- Oliver & Sinclair Chocolate Co
- Quintessential Chocolates
- Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory
- Saddleback Chocolates
- Saratoga Chocolate Co
- Sinfully Sweet
- Spindler Confections
- Stephen Libs Finer Chocolates
- Sweet Box Candy
- Sweet Things Sweet Shop
- Sweet Tooth
- Sweetheart Chocolates
- Sweetish Choco
- The Chocolate Bar
- The Chocolate Gallery
- The Dark Side
- The Itsy Bitsy Chocolate Shoppe
- Truffle Escape
- Truffles Fine Confections
- Victoria’s Chocolates
- Wharf Chocolate Factory
- Windy City Sweets
- Ye Olde Country Store – Ice Cream & Fudge Shoppe
Finding the Perfect Name: Putting It All Together
By now, you should have a lengthy list of words, phrases, and terms you can use in your business name. At this point, I highly recommend going through and removing any that are hard to spell or pronounce.
Now, you can start combining pieces together until something stands out. It may help to create a list of potential names you can use. From there, you can narrow things down to your favorites.
But before you make your final decision, it’s important that your new name passes a few tests.
Say It Out Loud
Make sure you say your new name out loud. It may look great as a logo, domain name, and on a business card. But it also needs to sound good when you say it out loud.
You can also sit down with someone and talk about your business. Does saying the name in casual conversation sound natural? If not, you may want to consider something simpler or easier to say.
Logo Design
Lastly, think about how to incorporate your new name into a logo. Logos should be simple, memorable, and indicative of your brand.
Take Apple, for example. Their business name is easily incorporated into a logo. And today, it’s a household symbol that everyone immediately recognizes.
A logo is an important part of your brand identity, so don’t forget to consider turning your name into a memorable logo as you make your final decision.
Related: How to create a logo for your business.
Is Your Chocolate Shop Name Available to Use?
At this point, you should have several top considerations to choose from. And the best way to narrow it down further is to check each one for availability.
This step is vital because using a name that someone else is using could be very costly, time-consuming to rebrand your business, and possibly embarrassing. There are several places to look to check whether a name is available to use, so let’s walk through the most common ones.
Can the business name be registered in your state?
If you plan to use a specific business name, you may be required by the state to verify it’s available to use.
Related: How to check business name availability in your state
Is your name already trademarked?
When searching for a name for your new business, you should check that your new name isn’t trademarked by someone else. If it is, you may not be allowed to use it legally.
Thankfully, the United States Patent Trademark Office (USPTO) makes trademark searching a breeze through their Trademark Database.
A name isn’t necessarily available if it doesn’t appear in this search. Every business has some limited protection through a common law trademark. This means another business can’t open up down the street with the same name, as this creates confusion for customers. Also, check local competitors by doing a Google search and looking through the Yellow Pages.
If your name is available and you want to protect it from being used by anyone else, you can register it with the USPTO.
Related: How to check for a trademark
Hopefully, you now have some ideas for the name of your chocolate shop. Once you have narrowed this list to just a few and researched that they are all available, start asking friends, family, and potential customers their thoughts to get feedback, and then pick your perfect chocolate shop name!
