Vicdaly Williams shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Hi Vicdaly, thank you so much for joining us today. We’re thrilled to learn more about your journey, values and what you are currently working on. Let’s start with an ice breaker: What are you chasing, and what would happen if you stopped?
At Chocolates Dalila, what I am chasing is more than building a successful chocolate business—it’s about creating meaningful experiences around cacao that connect people, preserve traditions, and open new opportunities for our community. I’m chasing the vision of turning every piece of chocolate into a story: the story of our family, of the farmers who cultivate cacao, and of the customers who share it in their most special moments.
If I stopped chasing this, it wouldn’t just mean stepping away from a business—it would mean silencing a dream that represents resilience, creativity, and cultural pride. Chocolates Dalila was born in Venezuela, during a time when starting something new felt almost impossible, yet we chose to build with faith and purpose. Stopping now would feel like leaving that story unfinished.
Chasing this vision pushes me beyond my comfort zone every day—it keeps me learning, innovating, and working to inspire my team and my children that with perseverance, anything is possible. If I stopped, the chocolates would still be delicious, but the soul of our brand—the purpose of connecting lives through cacao—would be missing. And for me, that’s not an option.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Vicdaly, I’m a Chemical Engineer and the founder of Chocolates Dalila, an artisanal chocolate brand born in Venezuela and rooted in family, creativity, and resilience. We craft chocolates, pastries, and drinks that showcase the richness of cacao and transform it into meaningful experiences that connect people.
What makes Chocolates Dalila unique is that it’s more than chocolate—it’s a story of turning challenges into opportunities and creating spaces where people can gather, celebrate, and savor the true flavors of cacao. In Venezuela, our stores are not just shops; they are destinations where customers can enjoy a handcrafted hot chocolate, discover our pastries, and feel part of our journey.
Currently, our presence in the United States is through retail distribution of our products. But our vision is much bigger: we are working toward bringing the full Chocolates Dalila store concept to the U.S., so customers here can experience not just the excellence of our chocolates, but also the warmth, drinks, and pastries that define our brand.
Step by step, we’re building with purpose—the goal is to carry the authentic cacao experience beyond borders, while always staying true to the heart of where it all began.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
Before the world told me who I had to be, I was a child driven purely by curiosity. I wasn’t in the kitchen pulling recipes apart—I was in the middle of experiments, testing how things worked. I remember taking little light bulbs from our Christmas tree and trying to wire them into the toy cars my brothers and I played with. For me, it was never just about playing; it was about understanding, creating, and seeing what was possible if I dared to try.
That scientific curiosity is what led me to study Chemical Engineering later in life, and it’s the same curiosity that fuels me today as an entrepreneur. With Chocolates Dalila, I still feel like that child experimenting—only now my materials are cacao, flavors, and experiences. What hasn’t changed is the excitement of discovery and the drive to make something shine where others might only see limitation.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
During a severe economic squeeze, we nearly closed. What kept me from quitting was twofold: the people and the purpose. My husband, my children, and my mom reminded me that this was more than a business; it was a promise we had made to ourselves and to our community. And our customers and neighbors showed up in small but powerful ways: someone paid in advance for chocolates for a birthday, and a friend helped organize a tiny pop-up that brought in foot traffic.
At the same time, the rising price of cacao added another layer of struggle. In Venezuela, costs were soaring, and in the United States I couldn’t process or import Venezuelan cacao because it had become too expensive. I had to face the difficult decision of changing providers and seeking alternatives from Peru and other countries—something that was challenging both emotionally and operationally, since Venezuelan cacao is at the heart of our identity.
Those acts of trust and solidarity, combined with the support of my family, pushed me to get creative. I reworked menus with what I had, shifted part of our sales to wholesale, leaned on local partnerships, and doubled down on the one thing no crisis could take away: the story and care behind our chocolates.
That season taught me that perseverance isn’t just stubbornness—it’s the art of pivoting while staying true to your purpose. If I had given up then, I would have lost more than revenue; I would have lost the chance to prove that beauty and resilience can thrive even in the hardest times.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. Is the public version of you the real you?
Yes and no. The public version of me—the founder of Chocolates Dalila, the Chemical Engineer turned entrepreneur, the woman who speaks about resilience and cacao—is real, but it’s only part of me. It’s the side that carries the brand, inspires confidence, and represents the promise we’ve made to our community.
The real me also includes the moments people don’t see: the long nights worrying about shipments, the quiet doubts when costs rise, and the constant balancing act between being a mother, wife, daughter, and business leader. But those private parts don’t make the public version less true—they give it depth.
I believe authenticity is bringing as much of the “real you” as possible into the public version, even if you don’t show every struggle. So yes, the public version of me is real—but the full story is much richer, more vulnerable, and still being written every day.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
When I’m gone, I hope people remember that I chose to build something that mattered beyond profit: a place that celebrated cacao, honored the hands that grew it, and invited people to slow down and share. I want them to tell the story of a woman who used curiosity and craft to turn science into flavor and hardship into opportunity.
I want them to remember the way our shops felt: warm, a little noisy, full of conversation and the smell of chocolate, where neighbors and travelers alike could find a moment of joy. I hope my legacy is one of generosity and resilience — that I showed how you can protect your family and lift your community at the same time, and that you can keep your identity and roots at the center of growth.
Most of all, I want people to say I left a path for others to follow: I made space for authentic Venezuelan cacao to be loved beyond borders, I trained and trusted others to carry the craft forward, and I taught my children and team that making beautiful things with your hands and heart matters. If they tell that story, then my work — and the heart of Chocolates Dalila — will have done what it set out to do.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.chocolatesdalila.com.
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chocolates.dalila/?hl=en
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@chocolatesdalila
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/chocolatesdalila.venezuela/
