Today we’d like to introduce you to Corey Heyman.
Hi Corey, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
The idea for Coco Market started with a dream to bring my entrepreneur friends together for one day to showcase what they do. I had no idea it would expand into such a popular destination for the South Florida community every month, or that it would change lives, Coco Market has exploded in a way I never anticipated, and I’ve since put everything else on hold to try to keep up! I initially thought Coco Market would be great for my yoga brand Cocoyogi. Funny enough, I am no longer working to expand Cocoyogi, and I am fully dedicated to Coco Market. I’m so grateful for how it’s worked out!
Before the first event, I started with a list of 18 small business owners that I knew I wanted to include. That list of 18 expanded to 30 by the first-ever market, and now we have between 50-70 vendors at our monthly events. Just a little over a year in, we have a database of over 600 small businesses that have created vendor accounts on our website.
The community shows up to Coco Market in such a huge way, and people are craving more and more of this type of event. We are planning a massive version of Coco Market called CocoFest on Saturday, April 29th at Boca Raton Innovation Campus. On top of that, we are in talks with other cities to start a second monthly event. It’s been a really beautiful thing to be a part of, to watch the growth, and to put my whole heart into it.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has certainly not been a smooth road, but there’s no other road I’d rather be on! While we’ve seen a lot of success, we’ve also had a few setbacks. I do my best to manage these struggles with grace, remaining honest and open with our community about what is going on each step of the way.
Coco Market seems to have created a movement throughout South Florida, with wellness markets popping up all over the place. This is certainly flattering, and I believe it means we’re doing something right. Early on, one of our former vendors created a wellness market on the same day and time as Coco. That person copied and pasted text from our website and vendor application, and used some of the graphics we designed. This was a challenge to navigate because drawing inspiration is very different than directly copying and I felt pretty betrayed. They have since, at our respectful request, removed the content taken from us which we are grateful for.
We’ve had a challenge with our beloved location of Veterans Park, in Delray Beach. We were asked to move our event with a few weeks’ notice back in November 2022. The community supported us, and we got 1,200 signatures on a petition and dozens of letters of support. I addressed the commissioners and stated our case, and the city heard our voices and granted us an extension! We are now on a month-to-month basis with no long-term contract, which makes it tricky to plan for the future but we plan to stay in the park as long as we are allowed to.
We were told we had to cut back to 50 vendors a month when we were up to 70 vendors. This drastic difference in the number of vendors was a tough hit to take, and we, unfortunately, had to make some hard decisions and turn down vendors we normally wouldn’t have. We understand that the parking can get pretty crazy and that the decision came from trying to manage the amount of traffic we are bringing to the city. We are doing all we can to comply in order to stay where we’re at and keep the good times going under the shade the trees provide, with the breeze from the Intracoastal.
As I’m sure you know, the City of Delray Beach is being built up a ton. It’s cool to see, but a developer is building next door to the park and there’s a chance they will close down the parking lot of our location, If this happens, we will be forced to relocate, but that is very much up in the air. It’s been hard to not have an answer for our vendors, many of whom rely on this event as a large part of their income. It’s been a challenge to not able to have answers for all of our marketgoers who make Coco Market part of their routine and look forward to it month after month. If we have to relocate, we will make the best of it and create even more magic elsewhere.
We’re doing our best to roll with the punches and move forward with grace and openness.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Coco Market is a wellness-centered event that builds community and fosters new connections. We meet at Veterans Park in Delray Beach on the first Sunday of every month. Coco Market is free to attend and open to all! It starts with a group yoga class of 250-300 yogis practicing together and ends with a community drum circle. Throughout the day we have free workshops, classes, and activities as well as 50 vendors exhibiting their goods and services. We believe we are set apart from the other events in South Florida because we create a community experience, it’s so much more than just a market. Our marketgoers wind up staying all day and basking in the energy we create. Coco Market is the opportunity to Join Your Tribe, make new friends, and meet your people.
We plan to expand to another city in South Florida for a second monthly event. We are also gearing up for CocoFest on Saturday, April 29th at Boca Raton Innovation Campus! We can’t wait to grow and create even more healing in the local community while supporting more small businesses and providing free interactive experiences for all who attend.
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
I grew up on Long Island, New York. My absolute favorite childhood memories are from spring and summer when all of the neighborhood kids would get together to play in the evenings when the sun started setting later. From a young age, I have been drawn to the magic that comes from connecting in groups.
Some of my favorite vivid memories are chasing fireflies, climbing trees, swinging on the playground, rolling around in the freshly bloomed crocuses, and playing tag with all of the neighborhood kids. I can even smell it when I think about the memory, and it brings me so much joy!
Contact Info:
- Website: cocomarket.org
- Instagram: @cocomarket.tribe
- Facebook: cocomarketdelray
Image Credits
John Fitch with Creativ
