Chocolate maker hoping idea will fly
DUNEDIN chocolate brand Ocho is hoping its chocolate will take off to new heights by being selected as an inflight snack for Air New Zealand.
Ocho Chocolate general manager Angela Howell said its chocolate would be the perfect snack to represent New Zealand around the world.
‘‘I think we can add to the excitement that passengers have at the thought of coming to New Zealand.
‘‘Imagine if you hopped on to an Air New Zealand flight in London and you got given an Ocho chocolate, you’d think ‘oh my God, I’m on my way to the South Pacific’.’’
Ms Howell said Ocho ticked all of Air New Zealand’s boxes by embodying its values of being local, sustainable and ethical.
‘‘What Ocho really offers is the future of chocolate, which is ethical sourcing and ethical production of chocolate,’’ Ms Howell said.
‘‘Slaveryfree cacao and slaveryfree sugar are the two main ingredients.’’
Ocho sourced its cacao beans from the South Pacific, including countries such as Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands, Ms Howell said.
‘‘Because we source the cacao as closely as we possibly can we have a very low carbon footprint for our chocolate.
‘‘Whereas, for most of the chocolate that you see in the supermarket, the cacao has been grown in Africa and South America and it’s been sent to Europe for processing and sent back again.
‘‘So say by the time it gets to Whittaker’s, it’s already been around the world twice.’’
Ocho had proposed a new 24g bar in the milk, the horopito and kawakawa, and the 70% Vanuatu ranges to
Air New Zealand and was hoping to become the inflight snack for the international and Koru hour flights, Ms Howell said.
‘‘Currently, you get a glass of wine and a cheese board and I think a bar of chocolate could go very well with the wine in particular.
‘‘There’s actually a lot of matching of fine chocolate with beer and wine — it works really well because it’s not sugary.’’
She was excited at the opportunity of having people who never knew anything about chocolate before try an Ocho chocolate, Ms Howell said.
‘‘A huge part of what we’re doing is education and this gives us a great in to a whole new pool of people who we can educate about what chocolate should taste like.
‘‘Chocolate should be good for you because cacao is incredibly healthy — it’s a super food.’’