Excellent cocoa beans originating from Vietnam
Excellent cocoa beans originating from Vietnam
Vietnam's specialties banh mi, pho, and coffee are well-known worldwide, but its outstanding quality cocoa beans may come as a surprise to some.
When referring to the cocoa powerhouses, people often think of countries in Africa or South America with a strong tradition of growing cocoa and producing the famous chocolate that is known worldwide, but few think about Vietnam.
Nevertheless, according to the International Cocoa Council, Vietnamese chocolate beans are in the top 1 per cent, and the nation is one of the few Asian countries on the list as the world's best-tasting cocoa producers.
Cocoa holds impressive potential in the Vietnamese market because of the increasing need to purchase cocoa beans as a result of the expansion of small to average chocolate-producing companies, as well as the high demand for cocoa beans from multinational corporations.
However, the country’s cocoa growing area is being reduced. This is a great shame because the climate and soil in many regions across Vietnam are deemed ideal for cocoa cultivation, with large yields and great bean quality.
In spite of the fact that the cocoa-producing industry in Vietnam has so much potential, it still lacks the ability to develop. Compared to other crops, cocoa seems to be ‘forgotten’ by the government which has been slow to create policies to encourage farmers to invest in planting cocoa trees.
An owner of a cocoa field in Ben Tre said, “Actually the people often plant crops that are currently increasing in price. When pomelos had a good price, they cut down all the cocoa trees to plant pomelos, but when the pomelos were ripe enough to harvest, their value fell.”
“Meanwhile, I sold fresh cocoa beans to Puratos Grand-Place, and the price has been stable and increased steadily from 2015 until now, not to mention the company's chocolate bonus programme, which creates extra income to help me feel secure to take care of my children,” he said.
Puratos Grand-Place Indochina has been solving farmers' difficulties since the 1990s, and broadened its network in Vietnam and purchased cocoa from the country to use as a raw material in its chocolate production.
Cacao Trace is a sustainable chocolate sourcing programme. It not only deals with the challenges in the industry but is an ‘expert’ in supporting the development of the farmers’ process, from seeding to taking care and harvesting the cocoa beans, in a sustainable way from.
Puratos Grand-Place is proud of the success of its 60DAYS ‘Made in Vietnam’ chocolate, which is well-known in Japan and beyond.
Puratos has created a connection between Cacao Trace and cocoa-growing households, contributing to stabilising the cocoa price in the Vietnamese market by purchasing cocoa beans from farmers at a good price, making the farmers feel secure.
With their leading steps in the industry, Puratos Grand-Place Indochina has been the brand name that set the foundations for specialist chocolate production in Vietnam.
20 years of positioning Vietnamese in the world map of chocolate
Puratos Grand-Place Vietnam has been continuously working for the past 20 years to place Vietnamese cocoa beans on the international map, beginning with the exploration of Vietnamese cocoa beans in the very earliest days. As a result of this endeavour, the Vietnamese cocoa variety has been acknowledged by the World Cocoa Council as having a ‘fine flavour.’
In 2001, Puratos Grand-Place opened the first chocolate factory in Vietnam. From 2001 to 2022, the facility expanded several times over, meeting the needs of a wide range of clients, from medium-sized chocolate manufacturing models to large industrial customers.
Puratos Grand-Place has successfully led the chocolate market for many years due to the quality and stability of the source, which gives customers trust when choosing to cooperate by applying strict quality control from the stage of purchasing fresh, fermented, dried, and roasted seeds to the chocolate production process.
The brand's reputation cannot be stated without mentioning the unwavering backing of the experienced, determined employees who have been with ‘captain’ Gricha Safarian since his early days in Vietnam.
Over 20 years of ups and downs, Gricha has propelled Puratos Grand-Place Vietnam to the position it has today.
Puratos Grand-Place is proud of the success of its 60DAYS ‘Made in Vietnam’ chocolate, which is well-known in Japan and beyond.
This is a handcrafted item that has gone through several stages, spanning from the garden to finished chocolate. 60DAYS maintains its superb flavour with exquisite fruity tones due to the cocoa type -- Trinitario – which is developed in Vietnam over 60 days. This is in contrast to industrially-created chocolate items that can take up to two years to make a final product. These are not only high-quality product lines, but represent Puratos Grand-Place's commitment to producing ever better products on a daily basis.
Through constant innovation, Puratos-Grand Place brand seeks to grow and raise the standard of chocolate ‘Made in Vietnam’ to the next level.
