Meet Vishnu Dev of Muzeo Treats

Today we’d like to introduce you to Vishnu Dev.

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?
My background is in finance, with an MBA from the University of Chicago and two decades in the business of money management. Along the way, I identified and invested in several large consumer products businesses and brands, which sparked an ambition to build an enduring consumer brand myself.

My wife and I travel extensively in Europe and were always taken by the spectacular local confections in France and Italy. It struck me that we could bring these artisanal chocolates and candies to a discerning audience in the US, with a brand that also incorporates our love for art and design. That was the genesis of Muzeo Treats, a European-inspired confectionery and gifting brand that bridges the worlds of culinary craftsmanship, design, mindful consumption, and thoughtful gifting. (“Muzeo” is derived from “museo”, which means museum in Italian.)

Muzeo Treats partners with generational confectionery makers in Italy and France to offer authentic cremini, calissons, truffles, dragees, baci, caramels, and pates de fruit, all in our special Bauhaus-inspired packaging. We are leading the ‘Slow Treat Movement’ (akin to the Slow Food Movement) and invite our patrons to savor the entire ‘Muzeo experience’, including our packaging design, box art, and unboxing.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It wasn’t easy to identify truly artisanal producers of confectionery in France and Italy. We reached out to over a hundred small businesses — typically with fewer than twenty employees — and selected just six of them as partners. We interviewed the founders (which required the assistance of translators) to understand their histories, production methods (small batch), and sourcing (local). We taste tested their products, which of course was the fun part. Finally, we walked them through the FDA approval process.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Muzeo Treats?
The Muzeo Treats brand represents a curated experience of European confectionery tradition. Its authority is derived from traditional methods, provenance (France and Italy), and verifiable cultural history. Muzeo Treats has one store in beautiful Laguna Beach, CA, in a space that was formerly an art gallery. The store is unique in that it showcases both the treats and the inspired packaging, much like a gallery. The Muzeo Treats website (themuzeo.com) references our treats’ origins, flavor profiles, and craftsmanship. We ship nationwide via Fedex.

Can you share something surprising about yourself?
I am a former Wall Street fund manager who also studied documentary filmmaking.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.themuzeo.com
• Instagram: @themuzeo
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Muzeo-Treats-61572400803623/