Today we visited Sibö chocolate and learned all about their production, their beliefs, the general history of chocolate and the role that Costa Rica played in that journey. We also got to try many different forms and types of their chocolate, and they were very delicioso!
Coffee and chocolate are both famous in Costa Rica due to the high quality that Costa Ricans strive to achieve when growing, harvesting, and exporting. Both beans grow on trees and have to be taken out of their shells to be enjoyed. Additionally, both are commonly roasted and then turned into their final product. Both have an interesting timeline and story about how the coffee and chocolate we know today came to be. Also, these two foods are commonly paired together to create a delicious product!
Some of the biggest challenges and risks to the chocolate supply chain are due to climate change issues. Like coffee, chocolate needs certain temperature and weather conditions to grow and have high quality. For this reason, Sibö works to be a sustainable company throughout their growing, harvesting, and packaging process. They still must have some sort of economic income, so they are as sustainable as they can be while still making a profit.
A small company like Sibö competes with a marketing powerhouse like Britt by providing educational experiences, unique chocolate flavors, and sustainable practices. To illustrate, Sibö teaches people about the history of the chocolate industry and Costa Rica’s part in that process. Additionally, rather than growing chocolate in large quantities and sizes, Sibö grows smaller cacao which has a higher quality and better taste. They also have really cool and unique flavors such as basil and lime, nutmeg, chile, and cinnamon, ginger and caramel, and more! Lastly, Sibö uses the byproduct cocoa husks, which would usually just be thrown away, to make their chocolate boxes. They have saved over 12 tons of plastic because of this. The box is twice as expensive, but they gave a local Costa Rican family a business that has sustained them for multiple years. It also takes more work because they must take the time to produce it. They also use cellophane, which is more expensive but biodegrades much faster than other plastic materials. Overall, Sibö incentivizes farmers to have high quality and sustainable practices through their own company.