“We have this motto… never ask your customer what they want, because they of course have no idea what they want. A customer, a consumer, a person on the street can only tell you what they already know.” -Julia Zotter, Creative Director at Zotter Chocolate Since 1995, Zotter Chocolate has been creating confections in southeastern …

“If somebody wants to buy anything from another country, they have to be more responsible to the end of it… you just need to stick with it… put your life into it.” -Tomo Zukoshi, Co-Founder of Adi Chocolate and Fijiana Cacao While the vast majority of travelers will associate Fiji only with resorts, pristine beaches, …

“Having a business is like having children; it doesn’t really make sense money-wise, and it’s the same with a small business.” -Barbara Wilson, Co-Founder of Mindo Chocolate Makers While Covid-19 has ravaged populations around the world, it’s also nearly halted the global economy. Almost every industry around the world is heavily affected, most often in …

“Eating chocolates is no longer like when we were kids… we snacked on chocolates, it’s more about enjoying eating a good piece of chocolate. It’s like a lifestyle.” -Ronald Ng, Co-founder of Lemuel Chocolate Singapore is much better known for its financial institutions than its fine food selection, and this is for good reason. The …

“I look at my sister’s kids… and I think that the chocolate that we’re making today is the kind of nostalgia that I want to give them, because I think it’s a better system for the future.” -Joshua Rosen, Founder of Charm School Chocolate Coconut milk chocolate has become a pretty standard part of any …

“Actually fermenting and drying cacao the way it’s supposed to be takes money and effort. And I think in India today, a farmer would start doing it only when he [sic] sees money on the table.” -Karthikeyan Palaniswami, Co-Founder of Soklet Chocolate Indian food is famous, but Indian desserts, and certainly Indian chocolates, haven’t yet …

“The Malaysian grower cannot survive at prices that are coming out of Africa. The living standards are different; labor costs are different.” Ning-Geng Ong, Founder of Chocolate Concierge Malaysian origin chocolates are about as common as Cambodian or Hawaiian chocolates. That is, they exist— but you can’t really find them unless you go to the …

“The reality here [in Ghana] is that cocoa is kind of it… Cocoa is part of the national identity here.” -Dr. Kristy Leissle, Cocoa Researcher & Scholar With 15 years of cocoa research in West Africa under her belt, Dr. Kristy Leissle is well-poised to speak on the topic of its future. African farmers grow …

“I would say… for the farmers we’re working with, [for] eighty percent of them cacao is the most important income solution, but for zero percent it’s their only income.” -Jan Schubert, Conservation Leader at Original Beans Chocolate Jan Schubert works in the cocoa industry in Latin America, largely in Ecuador, Peru, and Colombia. Focusing on …

“Just because nobody’s told you you could, doesn’t mean you can’t.” -Samuel Maruta, Co-Founder of Marou Chocolate Samuel Maruta is the co-founder of Marou Chocolate, a craft chocolate company based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Since its founding in 2011, Marou has worked directly with Vietnamese cocoa farmers to source the seven cacao origins …