Otro día: completado ✓. Today was actually the first day it rained while on the trip, though it was more of a sprinkle. So much for a rainy season. Luckily, we were inside most of the time. Today we visited Sibö Chocolate, Riverside Pizzeria & Gastropub, and ULatina for a medical devices presentation. Today I honestly had a rough start, I was extremely tired but the chocolate fueled me up!
To start the day off we had a chocolate tour at Sibö, which had a very homey feel and we were surrounded by nature (though no oompa loompa in sight, isn’t that a chocolate factory requirement?!?). What made the visit even better was how passionate the owner was about chocolate, his passion even convinced me to buy some. Throughout the tour he taught us the history, from the natives to famous names such as Lindt, Nestle, Hershey, Cadbury, etc. It was extremely cool hearing all the names and what they did to revolutionize (is that the right word) chocolate. We also learned about the pharmacy of the world, the rainforest, and how cacao has healing properties such as medicine, being an antidepressant, and lowering blood pressure and bad cholesterol. This is part of the reason he was so passionate, as he wants to help his customers health wise as well as add value to agricultural goods. Throughout the history lesson we also got to try chocolates!! Though I was not a big fan of some, it was still interesting to try flavors I wouldn’t normally gravitate toward. Sibö’s business model is to make the world better, this is done through sustainable packaging such as cacao paper boxes made out of cacao husks and planting cacao is also good for the rainforest. He not only is sustainable for Costa Rica but also for people, as he does not want to exploit/replace his staff so he uses mechanization that simply makes it more efficient for them, and he pays farmers 3x the price of others. He also HATES sugar because it is bad for the environment, overall he is a nice guy who genuinely cares for everyone and nature.
After the chocolate tour we had lunch at Riverside, which was a pizzeria that repurposed a burnt down disco. The founder, Daniel Harris, wanted to create a sustainable business environmentally, financially, and community wise. He does so by having a farm-to-table concept with organic gardens around the restaurant and all waste being composted for fertilizers for said garden (table-to-farm). He also supports the locals by having local musicians play at the restaurant and having art for sale from local artists on display. After a filling, tasty lunch, we headed to ULatina for a medical devices presentation. We got to learn about different medical devices and how Costa Rica has one of the biggest medical device exports per capita in the world. We then toured the labs in the university, getting to see 3D printers and the devices in person.
The point of the day today was to consider the triple bottom line framework and what it looks like when its working or even falling short. Now you may be thinking: “Taliya, what the HELL IS triple bottom line??” Trust me, I don’t expect you to know, as I didn’t until this morning. Triple bottom line is a framework where a successful business is not measured just by profit but also by people and the planet. So basically a business is successful if they are financially sustainable but ALSO have a made an environmental and social impact. All three stops today embodied this framework in different ways. The framework looks like its working when profit, people, and planet aren’t competing priorities, but instead work together. Like the founder of Sibö said, “I win, my customers win, my competitors win, my staff wins, and my suppliers win,” he was not just focused on profit (the him winning part fyi) but about making an impact on people. He also didn’t even start the company just for profit, but to help Costa Rica!!! He believes that cacao supports reforestation and he has upcycled cacao husks to make packaging, making an environmental impact. THATS how you know it is working, when profit is an addition to the impact your business makes on the world, when it betters the community and the world. If you have that mindset, instead of being a money-hungry capitalist, your framework will never fall short. Riverside echoed this same mindset, repurposing a burnt down building, composting all waste back into the garden, and supporting local artists and musicians. Different industry, same philosophy: profit as a byproduct of doing good, not the other way around.
I know, I know, I just went all academic on you. You’re probably like: “wow Taliya you yap a LOT”, thanks… Although it may seem boring, it is something important to consider, even if you are not a business owner yourself. It would also be cool to see such a framework in the US 🤔. I may not have been Charlie in the Chocolate Factory today, but everything was still so fun. ¡Que tengas un buen día!
