SANTIAGO PERALTA
General Manager, Pacari
PAY FOR PLAY
We work very closely with farmers and the company was one of the first organizations working to certify farms as organic. We began to enter into dialogue with people out in the fields. Because our employees work harder to achieve this quality, we pay better.
MORE ACCESSIBLE
We are trying to make our chocolate more accessible by not including any allergens, and knowing what people want. For example, as many as 20% of people cannot consume or have difficulty with milk, so we avoid its use.
FULL FLAVOR
If you have a square of our salted chocolate with a sip of a very beautiful whiskey, you will discover a lot about the whiskey as well as the chocolate. It is a premium chocolate. It is not a low-price product, but people who understand flavor are hooked.
GUILLERMO WRIGHT
President, Dos Hemisferios
GREAT GRAPES
The company began by producing table grapes on the premise that if we could grow good table grapes, good wine grapes could also be grown. Our plan was successful, and after we produced great table grapes, the wine grapes also worked out very well.
ENIGMA
Initially, it was tough to promote Dos Hemisferios as a product of Ecuador, because it is a country that is not recognized as a wine producer. However, after we sent our white wine, Enigma Chardonnay, to a contest in Mendoza, Argentina, we won a gold medal during a blind tasting.
GET LARGER
We have 360 hectares of arable land, but we only cultivate nine—we have ample space to expand. When we exported to Switzerland, we shipped a very small amount. With expanded production, we would be able to export to many countries and sell a higher quantity.
VINCENT ZELLER
Managing Director, VINCENT ZELLER
GROWING VOLUMES
With the increase in the volume of cocoa available, the amount that we produce annually has also naturally grown and continues to rise. We exported 7,000 tons five years ago, 9,000 tons three years ago, and 13,000 tons in 2011.
WHY WORK WITH US
We’ve been differentiating our product, particularly in terms of taste. We have a laboratory and we analyze the cocoa from all regions and towns according to our flavor profile. This is why the manufacturers like to work with us.
NEW FLAVORS
Cocoa has been fermented traditionally for 200 years, and it is a centuries-old process. We now have a modern fermentation process whereby we control the temperature and the humidity, creating a completely different technology that makes our beans taste different from those of our competitors.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
You may also be interested in...
