Chocolate firm savours results of helping Pacific farmers. It’s what you might call a sweet deal - the Wellington Chocolate Factory (WCF) sources quality cocoa beans from farmers in the Pacific, and those farmers get much-needed income, following a Covid-related downturn in tourism.
And while eating chocolate might not solve the world’s problems, as WCF’s Rochelle Alagar says, it can certainly make it a sweeter place.
Along with Gabe Davidson, Alagar founded WCF in 2013 – the first craft bean-to-bar factory in New Zealand. Their business philosophy goes further than just sourcing ethical cocoa beans – the company also pays up to three times the normal price for its beans, to ensure they are of the best possible quality and help provide a fair standard of living for farmers and their families.
Alagar points out that trade relationships such as WCF’s are vital to our Pacific neighbours, particularly since Covid-19: “Vanuatu has lost a lot of tourism and 25 per cent of its exports are now cocoa. If we can up that a bit more, then more of the community can be looked after.”
Her chocolate journey began long before she founded the company with Davidson: “I’d been a pastry chef for a long time and I started working quite heavily with chocolate. I always like to know where my products come from and I understood there were a lot of problems with the industry.”
Initially they worked with Trade Aid to source beans from the Dominican Republic and Peru, but had always dreamed of using beans grown in the Pacific.
Alagar made her first bean-to-bar chocolate using Fijian beans, but the Pasifika influence became stronger in 2015 – when the pair set sail from Wellington, aiming to cross the Pacific on a vaka (a Fijian waka) using traditional navigation methods.
“We sailed to Bougainville from Fiji. One of our stops was in Vanuatu and we stayed there for two weeks and met a lot of local people and local businesses. One of them was a chocolate shop that was getting cocoa beans from smaller islands around Vanuatu.
“So I bought some of that and stashed it in my bag. We were stuck on the boat for nearly a month sailing back to New Zealand. I remembered I had it in my bag and, when I tried it, it was like eating heaven.”
Later Alagar visited the Solomon Islands’ first chocolate festival, sampling over 100 cocoa beans from farmers there, and from Vanuatu.
This confirmed her preference for supporting Pacific farmers, primarily through the Pacific Horticultural and Agricultural Market Access Program or PHAMA Plus. Supported by the New Zealand and Australian governments, the programme helps Pacific countries gain access to new markets for their products.
Alagar says PHAMA has put a lot of research and development into helping farmers produce more cocoa, and has worked with Vanuatu-based chocolatier Olivier Fernandez, who has become WCF’s ‘go-to’ guy there.
“He’s been coming up with technology, with PHAMA, to produce the highest quality beans. You need the beans picked and processed at the right time. It’s a science and you’ve got to get the temperatures right and be patient and dry the beans properly, and that means helping the farmers with solar power, with water, and power sources to some islands.”
WCF now works with about 300 farmers and Alagar is excited to be able to get large amounts of cocoa from Vanuatu: “This year we’re doubling our orders from Vanuatu. We want it to be sustainable, we want our farmers to be paid right. That payment to the farmer will be three times more than the commodity market’s price for the product.”
Maintaining certified supply chains for its ingredients has been a challenge during the pandemic, but having a man on the ground in Vanuatu and a strong relationship with the PHAMA programme has been crucial.
WCF’s dedication in producing its bean-to-bar chocolate has seen it win many awards, including gold at the 2018 International Chocolate Awards, making its Peru bar the world’s best small-batch dark chocolate.
It’s also collaborated with well-known New Zealand brands, including Karen Walker, Palliser Estate and Duck Island ice cream.
WCF’s commitment to sustainability even includes the way it wraps its bars and has invested in a new packaging machine and has moved away from gold foil, using a new, silver home compostable wrap (made in Hamilton) instead.
The husks from the discarded cocoa beans even find other uses – they have been sent to beer brewers, cosmetic firms and even a tea maker to be used in their products.
- ANZ is stepping up to support business customers in their sustainability ambitions with the ANZ Business Green Loan. Business customers that meet the ANZ Business Green Loan eligibility criteria can borrow up to $3 million at a special 1.50 per cent discount on the current floating base rate. It can be used to fund initiatives that support energy efficiency, renewable energy, sustainable land and water use and the building, renovating or purchasing of green buildings.