Our Story
HOW IT ALL STARTED....
You know how most of us have that moment when we think, "I need to start eating clean and live a healthier lifestyle"? Well, in 2021, I had mine.
"Good guilt free chocolate" Where are you?
Can't find it? make it!
If you are a chocoholic, living in Egypt, trying to maintain your healthy eating habits, you know that its difficult to find a healthy treat that isn't:
A- a protein bar.
B-Granola bar.
C- Cookie.
D- Has dates, or just dates dipped in chocolate.
Like, you simply just want chocolate, "A-health-ier chocolate".
and just like that. . .I started making dark chocolate peanut butter cups. Unexpectedly, they became an obsession for my family and friends!
Curiosity leads to discovery...
Exploring Mama Africa
I take great pride in my African identity, and I have always wanted to discover different parts of Africa.
In 2022, I decided to start this discovery journey beginning with the enchanting destination of Zanzibar.
We all have this perception about Africa and chocolate. So I always imagined that I will find delicious chocolate wherever I go there. I mean it is the OG of chocolate!
But during that trip, I was surprised to find the usual well-known confectionery chocolate brands, in groceries, and even the chocolate desserts I had in fine dinning restaurants didn't taste like its made of high quality chocolate!
and that just left me wondering...
The ugly truth!
The dark side of the chocolate industry
I became interested to learn about the chocolate industry, so I started reading about it.
Finding out about the injustice and the crusility that exist in the industry, triggered me emotionally, it actually hunted me.
Ever since, I couldn't eat a chocolate bar without thinking about the true cost of making it.
Uniting Africa in a buttercup chocolate
Bean to Bar Journey
At this point, it became a classic "startup story" the market study, feasibility study, business plan and the brand creation.
But what made it different is:
1- Learning more about the cocoa industry.
2- Learning how to make chocolate like a chocolatier.
2-a Going into the cocoa forests of west-Africa, meeting brilliant African chocolate makers.
All of this, with an aim to create mwanzo.
