Merlino Gonzalez Success Story - Totally Chocolate

Building Client Connections.

How Merlino & Gonzalez Used Custom Chocolate To Connect With Clients.

The Challenge

Since 2001, Merlino & Gonzalez has helped thousands of people with their most important life decisions. As experts in Estate Planning and Real Estate Law, this team understands that building new relationships and strengthening existing ones is crucial when working with the intimate details of ones families and their futures. To show their appreciation and stay connected with their clients, Merlino & Gonzalez wanted unique and thoughtful custom gifts that would leave a lasting impression on their recipients.

The Solution

As a family business with decades of experience in law, it made sense for Merlino & Gonzalez to partner with Totally Chocolate, a family business with decades of experience in Custom Chocolate Gifting. Since 2017, Totally Chocolate has helped Merlino & Gonzalez consistently deliver their message: “We Keep You On The Right Path”. The relationship started with Totally Chocolate’s top selling 2LB chocolate bars and 45 piece ensembles to make a big first impression. As Totally Chocolate continued to innovate and branch out with new products, the team at Merlino & Gonzalez found new ways to show their appreciation with advent calendars, premium color cookies, and in-house printed packaging featuring silver, gold and metallics. Totally Chocolate is proud to help Merlino & Gonzalez deliver amazing moments of joy and delight year after year.

The Result

“We and our recipients always adore the chocolate towers and advent calendars that we send out at Christmas time. Not only is the display beautiful, but the chocolate is delicious. We have only great things to say about working the team there and the products they provide. We have ordered from them the last few years and will continue to do so in the years to come!” John R. Merlino Jr (Co-Founder)

Trusted By The Best

Google Rating

5.0

Totally Chocolate

LISA Lynn

19:38 22 Aug 22

We have used Totally Chocolate for all our trade shows. They allow us to customize our chocolate bar wrappers, and their chocolate is delicious. And, what really stands out is their customer service and professionalism. I just cannot recommend them enough.

Casey Bromet

19:29 22 Jul 22

We had the pleasure of doing some business with this company. Great people. We also were able to enjoy some of their chocolate sugar cookies, highly recommend.

Matt Eppright

20:10 12 Mar 21

I've worked with Totally Chocolate twice now, and each time the experience has been amazing. They are customer-service focused and answered all of my questions thoroughly and in an extremely timely manner. The production timing was exactly as quoted and the final products were perfect both times! Highly recommend them for custom chocolate needs!

Jac Smith

03:27 16 Feb 21

Unbelievable product: the Belgium chocolate coated cookies are amazing! I first had them at a Sonoma Hotel several years ago; they included them as part of their turn down service. We tracked down the buyer to find out who made the cookies and that’s how we found Totally Chocolate. We’ve been fans ever since. I wish we could place an order for the individually wrapped cookies in quantities of 10 or 20.

Naama Abraham

22:26 08 Jan 21

Ordered custom chocolates as gifts to our vendors this past holiday season and got the most amazing feedback! On top of the chocolate being delicious the Totally Chocolate team helped bring our artwork to life. We started our project late in the season and our rep, Allie made everything quick and seamless to get the gifts out just in time. Will definitely be ordering again! Thank you!

LBJ Construction

19:57 07 Jan 21

Amazing quality, service, and process! We love how our custom designed chocolate bars to give to our clients turned out. Great experience all around!

Bjorn Carter

00:13 07 Jan 21

We LOVE our custom chocolates from Totally Chocolate! They have been a huge hit the last two years among vendors, parents, and staff. They are the perfect holiday treat! Delivery and ordering is seamless. Allie D. is a rockstar (but please don't steal our salesperson lol)

Aubrey Detterline

14:18 22 Dec 20

We order custom chocolate gift boxes every year at the holidays for our customers. From design to shipping, the process is always so smooth. I love working with the team at Totally Chocolate, and our customers love eating the chocolates - we always get rave reviews on how beautiful the custom boxes and chocolates look and taste!

John Gedney

23:53 28 Sep 20

I have purchased the 2 pound bars for all 30 years that they have been in business and recommend the highly

Ayanna

22:19 19 May 20

These cookies are just as described on the site. They are good quality and taste very good. We REALLY APPRECIATED THAT THEY ARE INDIVIDUALLY WRAPPED! Once they are ordered, it is easy to track and the presentation is excellent. The boxes of 12-Piece Confetti Belgian Chocolate cookies made great Mother’s Day gifts.

Beverly Carter

17:16 30 Jan 20

Updated 2020 review: Our service from TOTALLY CHOCOLATE has always OUTSTANDING over the 7 years we've been getting their chocolate! I mean, who wouldn't be happy & feel awesome about working with chocolate! It shows in their enthusiasm. Our chocolate business cards continue to get a smile and joyful response – and that’s a great way to reinforce my appreciation for client business. The quality of the product is seen in the smile of our customers as they enjoy their first bite. I'll post a photo of our Beverly Carter Notary Public chocolate business card next to our real card to give you an idea of how we matched the two business cards. Most people say if they eat my card then they won't have my number anymore. Again, this always is a great and fun part of the conversations with my clients. I love what I do and I'm thankful for the day I found TOTALLY CHOCOLATE. Best chocolate company! I did the below review in 2017: Their service is wonderful and we receive great feedback about their product. Everyone loves our unique business cards.

Jenney Miller

21:07 27 Jan 20

Fabulous and timely customer service. We ordered giraffe-print chocolate and they came out wonderful! The wrappers were vividly colored and really nice quality. HIGHLY RECOMMEND

Jaz Crum

23:18 24 Jan 20

AWESOME COMPANY!! I ordered from Totally Chocolate for my office as referral gifts and they turned out so good! I reached out to a rep and was sent samples to taste the chocolate before i placed an order. They are so yummy! I personalized the box we ordered with our rep who also was amazing! Would 100% recommend for any type of gift!

Grant Coleman

20:40 21 Jan 20

I LOVE working with this company! I get to work with Debbie every year on our annual order, and she's fantastic. She always emails me a few months ahead of time to see if I want to pre-order to save money, and I do. We have customized cookies with our office's logo made every year to deliver to our most loyal customers, and people love them so much they've come to eagerly expect them every year. Sometimes when we walk in with them people will excitedly ask, "Are those the cookies?!?!" Definitely will continue to work with Totally Chocolate. Thanks for the great product and customer service! 1/21/20 Update - Still loving Totally Chocolate! We ordered our usual 40+ boxes of cookies with our office logo on them, and they were a hit as usual. Thanks for providing such a consistently good product!

Ben & Kara Keene

20:17 21 Jan 20

I order logo'd dark chocolate covered sugar cookies each year for our annual trade show event. Everyone loves the cookies - they've become our signature item and help create great traffic to our booth. Fantastic quality, from the order process to the shipping - and then the quality of the cookie is top notch. This is not your typical trade show cookie! It's more like a large piece of fine chocolate with a cookie coming along for the ride.

Katie Parker

18:32 21 Jan 20

I had never tried Totally Chocolate before and that is always a bit concerning. But they did a great job of creating a logo chocolate bar for our "thank you" gift to staff. Besides being impressed about how great it looked and how swiftly and efficiently it arrived … it is GREAT chocolate. Way to go Totally Chocolate! It was nice to be able to hit a homerun with the staff. Cheers!

Christopher DeRosa

21:58 15 Jan 20

We have been using Totally Chocolate for the past 5 years for our holiday gifts to our Customers and they never disappoint! Not only is the chocolate delicious, the exceptional customer service and the beautiful presentation make this gift stand out from the others. Having it personalized adds a special touch and makes the recipient think of you every time they open the box. Also they are great about sending you samples so you can try it for yourself!!!!!!!!

Claudia Reyes

19:25 07 Jan 20

It was a pleasure to work with Dorene. Great customer service, fast response, I placed the order for the company last minute and they still manage to have our order and delivery ready before Christmas. The chocolates are delicious, and the presentation absolutely beautiful with our company logo and unique box with artwork. All our customers were happy. Will definitely purchase from them again for our Christmas gifts.

Jill Ewald

18:21 06 Jan 20

Everything about this experience was perfect! Dorene walked me thru the ordering process and helped me figure out what I wanted. She made sure my order would get to Texas without melting and in a timely manner. When we discovered we didn't order enough she made sure we did not disappoint and had our choc covered cookies here! (The choc covered cookies are so delicious I may have stashed a few boxes for myself) Wonderful service, wonderful product!!

Brian Bosscher

19:13 03 Jan 20

We've used Totally Chocolate for a few years now and have always had an excellent experience working with them. The product is high quality (and delicious) and their drop shipping capabilities make it easy for us when we're sending out their products to our clients who are spread across the country. Highly recommended!

Verales Priscilla

23:29 02 Jan 20

Great service and quality. Have been ordering custom chocolate bar from Totally Chocolate third year now. Service is great from start to finish. Delivery is always on time. It's nice to work with a company that you can trust. We get lots of compliments on the promotional chocolate bar we give our visitors. Will continue to submit our annual order.

Thomas Leddo

18:12 02 Jan 20

Have purchased hundreds of customized boxes for holiday gifts for customers from Totally Chocolate over the last few years. They do a great job. All we do is select the gift, send your logo and contact list in spreadsheet. They do the rest. They are an annual thing for us. Awesome!

Sheryl Rasmusson

21:41 31 Dec 19

Another fantastic chocolate provided by Totally Chocolate! Thank you for representing our company so well. Chocolate is absolutely fantastic and the customer service we received was extraordinary! Finest chocolates and the logo design work was great too! Thank you!!!!

Jennifer Monson

15:36 31 Dec 19

Always a pleasure working with Dorene Froese and Totally Chocolate for our year end business gifts. We've always chosen the 1 lb custom bar and it's perfect! Totally Chocolate is REQUESTED by our vendors and employees and we look forward to providing memorable gifts to them each year. Dorene is an absolute treasure to work with. She always knows what we need and gets our custom logo and designed box together quickly. Along with the shipping department, she helps with any special shipping requests and goes over and above to make sure we are satisfied. With so many options to choose from, this helps tremendously. The detail on the boxes is amazing and is such a unique gift as we change the design each year. We will continue to work with Totally Chocolate each and every year. It doesn't get any better!

Didi Horton

00:29 31 Dec 19

Amazing Customer Service, Excellent help through the chat online and amazing follow through via email. Chocolates tasted great, not like plastic or cheap and the special details they can do t make it custom made our clients really pleased. We wished they could add color to make our logo pop on the chocolate was the only thing we would change.

Stacey Flanders

23:16 30 Dec 19

This is our second year purchasing chocolate bars to send as Christmas gifts to customers. Our customers love the idea and the chocolate is GREAT,! So is the packaging itself! The ordering process is smooth and the customer service is also great. The ONLY reason I am giving a 4 rating instead of a 5 is because they can't quite get the color of the packaging right. We have a particular blue that is understandably harder to get, but it would be nice if the color was as it should be.

Sam Frey

20:22 16 Dec 19

I used Totally Chocolate at my work as a holiday season "thank you" to all of our employees. The team we worked with was great and the product was amazing. We received several compliments to the taste and packaging. I would definitely recommend them!

William Schaeffler

21:15 23 Sep 19

I send chocolate bars out with every tax return. I have used Totally Chocolate for about 20 years now. They have the creamiest milk chocolate and my clients love the candy. I have never received the wrong item or not received my order on time. When I order in the summer, they pack the cartons with freezer gel packs at no extra charge so the chocolate doesn't melt in route. The TC people should be giving lessons on how to run a business.

Pamela Moyer

22:52 06 Sep 19

I ordered customized chocolate business cards from Totally Chocolate in 2017 and tried a different product in early 2019. The presentation is always beautiful and I love the Belgian dark chocolate and so do our clients! I especially appreciate the excellent customer service from my account exec Wendy! When my first order did not arrive exactly as requested, she went above and beyond to make sure my order was corrected. It's hard to find people like that who will go out of their way to make sure you're happy. Thank you! I'll be contacting you soon to re-order!

John R. Merlino Jr.

12:09 05 Aug 19

A group of very talented people whose products not only makes a great presentation, but are delicious as well!

Erin Samueli

20:48 01 Jul 19

I had a great experience working with Totally Chocolate! They were very responsive and created beautiful chocolate bars for my dad for father's day. I would absolutely recommend.

RKL eSolutions

11:41 06 Jun 19

Great product at a more reasonable price than we saw from competitors. The customer service team was friendly and the design team was great! We sent them designs for the front of the bars and they were able to seamlessly copy our look and branding onto the back so we didn't have to worry about the shape of the wrapper.

Catherine Dalton

17:58 29 Apr 19

I was very pleased with the customer service and quality of the product that was provided to the clients we sent this chocolate gift to. The dropship option was perfect for our situation and actually made the purchase even more cost effective for us. Looking forward to working with Totally Chocolate again.

Tim Cornwell

21:59 27 Mar 19

Totally Chocolate blew our minds with their over-the-top sales presentation! We now use their products to sweeten relationships with our clients! The quality of the appearance and taste is world class. Thanks Totally Chocolate for helping us reach our dreams!

Morgan Cooper

13:47 21 Feb 19

From beginning to end, our experience with TC was wonderful. They guided us through the process of selecting our choice, designing customer pieces and delivering it very quickly to our customers. We received a lot of positive feedback and will definitely use TC for future gift sends.

Patti Giacoletti

16:19 15 Feb 19

Our firm has been using Totally Chocolate for many years as a fun "gift" to hand out to our clients during tax season. We have a custom design that we use every year. Our clients know it's a tradition and love receiving them when they come in for appointments. We can always depend on them for professional service, excellent customer service, quick turnaround, and of course delicious chocolate!

Anna Hull

17:33 05 Feb 19

The most incredible cookies in the world! Our office truly goes crazy over these every year around the holidays. They are delicious and Totally Chocolate really takes care of their customers! Their box printing is also gorgeous...they printed a custom design for my company and it came out flawless.

Danielle May

14:56 30 Jan 19

I stumbled upon Totally Chocolate this past holiday season looking for a unique gift to send to clients. Not only did they blow my expectations away but the clients all loved their gifts! The custom logo bar was such a fun way to send a sweet treat. The presentation was top notch and the chocolates tasted delightful! They are my go to for all gifts now!

Aleksandra Omanovic

20:59 29 Jan 19

This is such a unique and professional way to say Thank you, Merry Christmas, Happy Birthday, Thank you for your business, the list is endless. There are so many incredible options and the quality of the product is immeasurable. Not only is it delicious and beautifully presented but it arrives in a timely manner. My rep Wendy is the best! We love Totally Chocolate!

Ohio OMS

15:50 28 Jan 19

Debbie was very helpful in our quest for a unique gift for our referring offices. We sent out custom designed 2 pound chocolate bars with a custom designed decorative box. Totally chocolate handled everything, even the shipping. It was the easiest holiday ever for our office. Choose your product, send your mailing list and its done!

Kristen Gebow

16:42 22 Jan 19

We have been using Totally Chocolate for our client gifts for several years now. We have never been disappointed by the quality or customer service that this company and it's representatives provide. Our clients know we give these bars out each year and they can't wait to receive them! Totally Chocolate is always reinventing themselves to provide the best quality, presentation and satisfaction, which is why we continue to come back each year.

Betsy Davis

21:46 21 Jan 19

We've been buying Totally Chocolate sugar cookies, dipped in chocolate, with our MINUTEMAN PRESS log imprinted on the cookie itself, for over 16 years. Hand them out mid-December, and our bigger customers start clamoring for them the minute we walk in the door! Every customer who gets one knows who they came from, whether they enjoy them immediately or a few days later. A distinctive gift that isn't forgotten!

Delise West

22:51 20 Jan 19

Each year we provide a "thank you" gift to our clients. For the 3rd year we used Totally Chocolate. My experience from start to finish is always terrific. Debbie was so helpful and attentive. With a 3-hour timezone difference I called one morning and expected to leave a voicemail message but Debbie was there and answered her phone! The personal attention really left me with a positive feeling about the company. When our boxes of logo-printed shortbread and chocolate cookies arrived, the customized box and the cookies exceeded my expectations. Our clients were so impressed with their delicious holiday gift. Count us in again for next year!

Meg Hardin

00:06 19 Jan 19

Debbie has been wonderful! We were so pleased with the chocolates we ordered for our centennial that when we got our new logo we ordered more. Good chocolates, good customer service.

J Butler

23:48 18 Jan 19

Amazingly positive experience! Great products and equally great support and customer care. Every recipient raves, and rightly so: the products are wonderful & memorable.

Rita Rosas

18:35 16 Jan 19

I must say that we are VERY impressed with the boxes, the cookies (so crisp), and the chocolate(yummm), and the logo imprinted (so cool to see our logo in chocolate) - and even more importantly, our clients are impressed! I don't think we can ever send regular Christmas cards out again. We've had a great experience with Totally Chocolate, start to finish. I was so glad not to have to package and ship the boxes myself. They handled everything. Polite and professional from start to finish. This will be my go-to for Client Gifts from now on.

Terri Behrens

21:36 14 Jan 19

This company is awesome to work with and their products continue to impress!

ageer78

21:23 14 Jan 19

A wonderful company. Have ordered for the last 6-7 years and am never disappointed.

Janine Barlach

20:40 14 Jan 19

A great company and a great product. We work with TC each year to put together our annual customer chocolate gifts. TC makes it easy from the start from designing and placing the order to the delivery. The product itself is exceptional, our employees and customers always rave about the quality and taste of the chocolate and they look forward to getting it each year. Highly recommend.

Regency Hotel

18:02 04 Jan 19

Great customer service!!! Delicious chocolate!! Dorene is a rockstar!!! Keep out the good work.

John Shelford

21:47 02 Jan 19

Fantastic chocolate biscuits and 10+++ Service, Friendly customer service on phone - appears to be employee, not an outside service. Highly recommended.

Patrick Schrodt

18:07 07 Sep 18

Unreal team and world class customer service! The new products taste amazing!

William Hoffer

20:52 03 Jan 18

Samples of our company's chocolate gifts arrived today and they look tremendous! The quality of the final art and printing is exceptional; my hat is off to Debbie Perucca and her team. From design to production, they all have my personal appreciation for the wonderful result. The team could not have been more professional and gracious to work with, and I hope we get to do it again next year. BTW, the chocolate is delicious!

Bianca McLaren

03:02 14 Dec 17

Wonderful selection of chocolates and designs! Wendy was extremely helpful in setting up our order and explaining the process. We not only got our order on time, but the quality was excellent. Would absolutely order again!

Chelsiah Scouras

22:03 12 Dec 17

We used Totally Chocolate for our holiday gifts this year, and were more than pleased with our decision. Totally Chocolates was professional and communicative throughout the order and delivery process. The product was professional and personalized, which added a special and memorable touch to our holiday gifts for clients. We would definitely use Totally Chocolates again!

Western Global

02:28 12 Dec 17

Excellent service and amazing chocolates! We ordered custom chocolates for customer gifts and they turned out fantastic. The team at Totally Chocolate walked us through the whole process, outlined all the costs, and created packaging that perfectly matched our branding. Will definitely be ordering next year!

Sean Osmond

15:34 07 Dec 17

Totally Chocolate does amazing work for AVT Simulation every year. Quality imprints for our logo molds and the taste is great! They will for sure be helping us out again in the future as our customers and employees love their products. If you need a rep, make sure you ask for Wendy who has always won the day for us!

Wendy Gates

22:11 01 Dec 17

Totally Chocolate is a great company to work with. I've purchased custom made 2 lb. chocolate bars for my real estate clients. They do a fantastic job of making the chocolate bars look my business card. My clients are always so happy to get the bars. And, the chocolate is delicious!

Kim Tombrella

19:18 17 Nov 17

Top notch customer service throughout the process. We ordered 100 boxes of the assorted chocolates with our logo on the 4 x 6 chocolate bar in the center. We had a custom designed band on the outside of the box with our firm logo. Totally Chocolate offers high quality production, materials and excellent tasting chocolate. Dorene was the rep who helped us create the order. Her communication throughout the process was timely. Her suggestions and ideas made the purchase very smooth. I highly recommend this company if you're looking for a gift to impress your clients and business associates.

See All Reviews

Building Client Connections.

How Merlino & Gonzalez Used Custom Chocolate To Connect With Clients.

Trusted By The Best

Shop

Customer Service

About