Auro Chocolate A world-class Pinoy creation
While Filipinos naturally have a sweet tooth, many of them have a growing taste for good chocolate from Europe or the US. But, bean-to-bar chocolate company Auro plans to change that as it strives to put the spotlight on the country’s premium cacao beans.
Kelly Go, a self-confessed chocolate lover, was greatly inspired by the journey of her mother who searched for the best possible sources of cocoa seven years ago.
“My mom always has this love for chocolates and one day she saw an American chocolate bar that uses cacao beans from Davao. That time, no one was really aware that we could make our own chocolate and not just the usual tablea,” the 27-year old Go shared. “She went to Davao and interacted with the farmers. But my mom had a full-time job back then and she could not devote her time,” said Go, who finished Political Science from the University of Chicago.
Go’s love for chocolates and passion to help local farmers prompted her to pursue Culinary Arts in Paris and eventually, Industrial Chocolate Manufacturing in Germany.
“I worked at a large bank but I did not like it. That was what propelled me to find another route and pursue something I am more passionate about which is food and chocolates,” Go said.
And hence began Auro Chocolate’s journey in taking cocoa production to a whole new level. The name Auro came from Au, the chemical element symbol for gold and Oro which also means gold in Spanish.
It was in Chicago when Go met Mark Ocampo who was then studying at the Art Institute of Chicago and working in an advertising agency in the US.
“When I started this project in early 2015, I kept talking to him about it, sharing my experiences. That struck a chord with him. He was looking for a reason to come back to the Philippines so we decided to move back,” Kelly said.
The Filipino bean-to-bar company uses the best cacao beans that thrive on rich volcanic soils in the lush tropical forests of Davao, where 80 percent of the country’s total production comes from.
Even if the Philippines was the first country in Asia to grow cacao, the local cacao industry remains underdeveloped and has lagged behind other cacao producing nations.
And with the rich cacao heritage that the country has, Auro aims to bring back the golden days of cacao especially the extremely rare criollo porcelana heirloom variety, the first of its kind planted in the Philippines.
“It is the rarest cacao in the world, one of the most premium and we have it. People are not aware of it. It was abundant before because that was the only variety we used to have. When newer varieties started coming in, they didn’t appreciate it,” Go said.
Despite its significant value and potential, criollo has become the lesser known variety of cacao, taking up a measly 0.1 percent of the world’s cacao production. Luckily for the Philippines,
criollo is Davao’s rare and special cacao.
“The biggest challenge is how do we tell this multifaceted, complex story about our heritage when it comes to cacao and the kind of partnership we have with the farmers,” she said.
Auro works closely with about 1,500 to 2,000 farmers from Davao and South Cotabato to make cocoa farming a profitable proposition. Its goal is to explore other regions and see if there are different flavors it can create.
Auro currently sells three kinds of cacao-based products: cocoa which can be both in nibs and mass, couverture which is primarily used for baking, and the bars which take up majority of the company’s sales. Apart from the very rare criollo, Auro makes use of the
forastero, which makes up the majority of cacao production in the world, and the trinitario which is a hybrid of the two.
“We want to have the best Filipino chocolate. We’ll keep researching on how we can turn the cacao beans that we have into an even better chocolate,” Go said.
“We are not saying no to new varieties but with the heirloom that we have, it makes the Philippines unique in terms of flavor. If we plant the clone, which is also okay for the bulk sector, we become generic and we just want to keep a little bit of what’s really special,” she added.
Auro has invested in a 2,000 square meter factory in Calamba, Laguna which has the capacity to produce 1,000 kilograms of finished chocolate daily.
The plant, accredited by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, still has a lot of room to grow as Auro is only manufacturing around 100 to 200 kg.
Auro has made a name of its own in a span of two years after it scored major corporate clients like flag carrier Philippine Airlines and high-end cafe Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, as well as other hotels and stores.
It wants to grow further with plans to open a pop-up store. It also wants to see its products on shelves of major supermarkets nationwide by next year.
“I know we could still do better, but we are really proud of what the team has achieved given a short period of time,” Go said.
And while 90 percent of its production goes to local consumption, Auro has started to penetrate the global market. It exports 10 percent of its produce to various countries in Europe.
It achieved its biggest milestone last month after the Department of Trade and Industry sponsored Auro along with seven other local chocolate companies to be in Salon du Chocolat in Paris, a yearly trade fair for the international chocolate industry.
“We need to build the reputation of the Philippines. We need to ensure that our quality is consistent because when you export, people expect a certain level of quality and we want to be able to deliver that,” Go said.
“How we see it is that the more local chocolate companies there are, the more the public becomes aware that we are capable of producing Filipino chocolates,” she added.
While the government has done a great job in encouraging farmers to plant more, Go said the focus should be on research and development.
At present, the country’s annual average production is 10,000 metric tons to 12,000 MT. However, it is still not enough to meet the local demand of 30,000 MT yearly.
The world market has projected that cacao would be in demand for the production of cocoa butter and chocolate in the next five years. It also predicted that there would be a global shortage of one million MT of cacao by 2020.
Auro aims to find innovative ways to better connect chocolate lovers and consumers around the world with the country’s farmers.
“We serve as the medium and we want to tell the compelling stories of our farmers, for people to have an idea of the challenges that they face and for consumers to help improve the lives of local farmers,” Go said.
Go wants Filipinos to patronize local chocolates and help contribute in removing the misconception that imported chocolates are much better than the ones that come from one’s own soil.
“Filipinos got used to really fine and smooth chocolates. And we are working on how can we meet those expectations and even surpass them because we also happen to have this great story to share,” Go said.