An Interview with a Chocolate Retailer

Poppy:

Hello and welcome to The Poppy Podcast. I’m your host, Poppy. Today, I’m speaking to Veronica Hui, who runs Bittersweet, an ethical chocolate company that goes the extra mile to guarantee the quality and fairness of its chocolate bars. 

Poppy:

Hi, Veronica. How are you? Thank you for speaking with me about chocolate!

Veronica:

My pleasure. I can talk about it all day. Chocolate is my favorite thing in the world.  

Poppy:

Can you tell us about Bittersweet, and how it came about?  

Veronica:

Sure. Back in 2010, I decided to make chocolate that’s true to its taste, no additives or flavoring, no milk, and very little sugar. But I realized that the quality and variety of cocoa I could get in the U.S. was limited. There were only a handful of chocolate manufacturers that I could purchase from, and I was not impressed by any of them. 

Poppy:

What did you do then?

Veronica:

I did some research and found that I could buy cacao directly from farms in Ghana. So, I started making trips to Ghana, searching above and beyond for farmers who were interested in producing high-quality cacao beans. The farms I partner with now are great at organic farming. That is, farming without using pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Their careful fermentation process brings out the natural flavors of cacao beans! 

Poppy:

Does this mean that you don’t have to deal with any middlemen?

Veronica:

Oh yes! We have a very short supply chain. We pay the farmers twice as much as the market price, and the beans are processed locally before being shipped to us. We have pretty much eliminated the extra costs when cacao traders and big manufacturers are involved.  .  

Poppy:

Is that why your chocolate is still reasonably priced?

Veronica:

That’s right. There are no other ingredients but sugar and cocoa butter. Hence the name, Bittersweet. When you eat our chocolate, you can actually taste the fruitiness of our cacao beans. Another thing that keeps the cost down is packaging. I went for the simplest and greenest packaging available. No fancy tin cans or silk ribbons for that matter.  

Poppy:

Well, Veronica. Thank you so much for telling us about Bittersweet. I hope more chocolate companies do what you do. Keep up the good work! 

Veronica:

You’re welcome.