Sweet as... Entrepreneur finds new type of chocolate
A FRENCH Wellingtonian businesswoman is employing prisoners to introduce Kiwis to a new kind of chocolate.
Cupuacu, pronounced ku-pooah-soo, is a Brazilian fruit that’s tangy, tart, but sweet with pale flesh. And when founder of Wildness chocolate Marie Monmont visited Brazil for a holiday five years ago, she discovered what she’s described as the untapped potential of the cupuacu plant.
With more than six years of French culinary training under her belt she’s developed vegan, organic chocolate bars and employs inmates at Rimutaka and Tawa prisons to package the bars.
Originally from a rural town near Lyon, France, Monmont moved to Serra Grande, Brazil, in 2012 for three years, raising three children on a farm with no electricity and no kitchen.
‘‘We lived in the forest and were surrounded by fruits: mango, papaya, cacao, coconut, banana, everything, she said.
‘‘But I saw that for every cacao tree there was a cupuacu tree.’’
Locals used the fruit in ointments and medicines because of its healing properties, but also in lollies and ice cream.
Monmont wants to introduce people to new tastes. So she worked with cupuacu for years to create a palatable chocolate bar.
After just 10 months, Wildness products are being bought by Intercontinental and Accor hotel chains, are sold in stores and supermarkets around New Zealand, and in restaurants.
‘‘When I started the business, I wanted to connect the dots between business, the environment, and the people.’’
Monmont looked into who had the hardest time finding work and landed on prisoners.
‘‘They’re paid and I’m teaching them entrepreneurial skills. I started this business on my own and I teach them how I did it.’’
Monmont is now working on a project called Behind Bars that will have prisoners manufacture and package cupuacu granola bars from scratch.