Family-owned business becomes leading chocolate manufacturer

HOPEDALE, Mass. (AP) — Tucked away off Route 140 in the small town of Hopedale, Green Mountain Chocolate Co. churns out millions of truffles, holiday candy and chocolate-covered potato chips each year.

Owned by husband-and-wife team Bill and Lisa Campbell, the company has grown to become one of the leading chocolate manufacturers in Massachusetts. The couple bought the company in 2002 from Albert Kumin — a legendary pastry chef who created desserts for Jimmy Carter's White House — and moved the business from Vermont to Franklin, Massachusetts.

Today, the company operates two retail stores — one in Franklin and one adjacent to its Hopedale factory.

"We're a wholesale manufacturer for the industry, first and foremost," Bill Campbell said.