Ugandan grown cocoa bean is producing one of kind chocolate that is about to make an inroad into USA providing the world with authentic African flavors through South African based chocolate maker De Villiers.
Classed among the finest cocoa beans in the world, the crops grown in the tropical, rainy Bundibugyo district of Western Uganda produce a cocoa bean rich in the complexity of flavors. De Villiers Chocolate uses only these UTZ Certified beans because supporting sustainable cocoa farming is vitally important to Africa’s future.
With their positioning as the first African-originated UTZ Certified chocolate brand, De Villiers are hoping to bring their distinctive new products and intriguing new flavors to the USA, with a diverse range designed to provide an indulgent exploration of sensory delights with unique African flavor profiles.
The new range created for the USA market underlines their commitment to quality and authenticity throughout their chocolate-making process, and encompasses every ingredient – from sea salt sourced from the pans of the West Coast of South Africa, vanilla pods obtained from Uganda, and their handmade honeycomb developed in their kitchens by a renowned chef – to the coffee beans, which they roast themselves.
Pieter de Villiers, CEO and Master Chocolate Maker at De Villiers Chocolate noted, “Once we discovered the cocoa beans of the vibrant Bundibugyo region in Uganda, we began to realize the potential of the journey we had embarked upon. It became our mission to create a chocolate brand true to its origin and the exotic taste of Africa.”
Read also: Wajir’s ‘white gold’ camelccinos debut in Scotland coffee shops
De Villiers Chocolate hopes to launch in the USA with unique, limited-edition pledges created to invite people to join them on their Good Chocolate Journey. Their goal is to raise $10,000 to cover the costs of manufacturing, marketing and distributing their chocolate in the United States.
De Villiers Chocolate has been a journey 10 years in the making. From an exploration of the vast African continent in search of the finest cocoa beans, and a backyard garage hobby using recycled home appliances as equipment, to an obsession with the richness and diversity of a single origin chocolate, which continues to this day.
Along the way their passion for traditionally crafted, authentic products led them into coffee and homemade ice cream. These are produced and sold at their Spice Route Café in Paarl, a historic Cape Dutch estate and key attraction in the heart of South Africa’s Cape Winelands.
Early in this year, the European Union (EU) has granted Uganda US$4.1 million to boost the country’s coffee and cocoa industries.
Cocoa exports from Uganda to the EU have been on the rise hitting a high US$41 million since 2015. However, with increasing global demand for the commodity, quality, consistent production and supply are vital for the global markets. Government records for 2018 show that the country exported cocoa worth $64 million, up from $54million earned in 2017.
In Uganda, few farmers grow cocoa as most people think the crop is not economically viable. Uganda has an estimated 20,000 hectares of land under cocoa cultivation, mostly in the country’s west and central regions and the crop supports about 60,000 households.
