The first time Karen Flavelle asked to join her father's chocolate company, he said no.
She returned later and received the same answer.
For the future owner of Purdys Chocolatier, this was an unusual introduction to the family business. But it also revealed a principle that would shape the Canadian company's approach to succession: Being related to the boss might open a conversation, but it would not automatically earn someone a job.
From four shops to a national brand
Purdys began in Vancouver in 1907, when barber-turned-chocolatier Richard Carmon Purdy opened his first shop. The business later changed hands, and in 1963 Charles Flavelle and his partner Eric Wilson bought it.
At the time, the company had only a handful of stores. Under Flavelle, it expanded beyond Vancouver, developed new products and moved into a much larger factory. Among the chocolates introduced during his era were two that became customer favourites: the Hedgehog and the Sweet Georgia Brown.
Karen, his daughter, was interested in joining the company, but her father wanted her to gain experience elsewhere first. She worked in marketing for other consumer businesses before approaching him again.
Eventually, the timing was right. Karen joined Purdys as an executive in 1994 and bought the business from her father three years later.
She inherited a successful regional company, but did not simply preserve it. During her years in charge, Purdys expanded across Canada, strengthened its online business and grew from just over 40 shops to nearly 90.
The company remained in the family, yet its success depended on each generation changing it rather than treating it like a museum piece.
Preparing the third generation
Karen later faced the same question her father had faced: Could another family member take over without weakening the business?
Her son, Scott McTavish, did not move directly into the top position. He worked in different parts of the company, including digital operations and corporate strategy, while learning from experienced executives outside the family.
In 2025, after several years of preparation, he became managing director and joined his mother on the board. Karen stepped back from active leadership but remained involved as chair. The company also kept a professional president and senior management team responsible for daily operations.
This arrangement separates family ownership from the idea that one relative must control every decision. Scott represents the next generation, but he does not run the company alone.
A recipe that allows for change
Family businesses often struggle with succession because two questions become tangled together: Who inherits ownership, and who is best qualified to lead?
Purdys has tried to answer them gradually. Potential successors gain experience, responsibility is transferred over time, and non-family executives retain important roles. No one is handed the entire company on a single dramatic day.
Chocolate recipes may depend on precise measurements, but family succession offers no such formula. Purdys' approach has been to preserve the values of the business while allowing every generation to contribute something different.
The company has passed from father to daughter and now toward grandson. What each person inherited was not a finished product, but a business they were expected to earn — and then improve.