Chocolate manufactures were not concerned with the origin or the quality of cocoa beans until Valrhona was founded by a pastry chef from the Rhône valley 1924. Valrhona started the movement of sourcing high quality chocolate directly from the source. They produce a much smaller quantity of product than large manufacturers and they try to find the best beans a plantation has to offer. In 1980s they started the new standard of prominently displaying the percentage of cocoa in the chocolate and labeling the origin of the bean. They are also the company that started to call their chocolate “grand cru”.
One of the finer quality of cacao beans grown in the world can be found in Venezuela. In 1929 José Rafel Zozaya and Carmelo Tuozzo founded Tuozzo Zozaya & Cia in Caracas. They started to produce Venezuela’s finest chocolate and started to gain a good reputation. They named the chocolate “El Rey” which translates to “The King”. In 1973 they expanded their business and started to export derivatives like liqueur, butter and cocoa powder around the world. After much success in this venture they decided to start producing chocolate made from 100% Venezuelan cacao beans and they are still supplying their high-end chocolate today.
In 1997 chocolate connoisseur Robert Steinberg and winemaker John Scharffenberger started the first American contemporary artisan chocolate company. Their goal was to source the best beans in order to produce the best chocolate. They led the new rediscovered concept of “bean to bar” in America. They also started sourcing other high-quality ingredients to pair with their chocolate. After many years of being an independent company Hershey bought them in 2005. They argued that it only would make their product better, but many critics disagree.
Now small companies like Dandelion in San Francisco started to use this labeling and practices with the same mission of bringing their “bean to bar” products to the public. Apart from origin being important consumers are looking more at labels including fair trade or rainforest alliance symbols. In order to be considered fair trade a plantation needs to pay a fee to get certified and assure that they pay fair wages and are not using child labor. The fair-trade movement has come under scrutiny based on its lack of enforcement and regulation. The rainforest alliance is a better one because they track their process and they are more accountable. Other companies like Dandelion prefer to do something that is called direct trade. This means that they develop direct relationships with the farmers and pay them what they think their chocolate is worth which is generally a lot more than they are used to getting paid. They see this as an investment towards having better products. Companies around the world are not only looking at their profits but they also want to make sure that the farmers get their fair share and also profit from this crop. This shift also represents how the consumer now a days is concerned with more than just the taste of the product. As consumers become more aware of standard production practices, they can choose whether to continue supporting a company.