ORIGIN MADE
Supporting the arts
IN SUPPORT OF ART
Over the years COCO have collaborated with a number of contemporary artists from around the world (including Sir Billy Connelly, Timorous Beasties, Atelier Bingo, William LaChance, Tom Pigeon and many more). They order designs that they use as packaging for the chocolate products. This allows their products to look unique while also providing a platform for artists to showcase their work to an audience that may never have encountered their art before. COCO's unity with contemporary art and design makes them a key player in the contemporary culture of the Scottish landscape, from where they export their chocolate values and passions around the world. Treating each product as a miniature work of art, COCO are proud to join the international art conversation.
ORIGIN MADE
COCO source their product from the country of origin, buy couverture - high quality chocolate buttons - from Colombia and use it to create chocolate products in their workshop in Edinburgh. They challenge the industry norms that suggest switching to origin and buying the raw commodity at a much lower price. They decided to work with their Colombian partners to source their cocoa and make a product more finished in the country of origin before it reached them in Edinburgh. COCOs visit Colombia every year because they want to make sure things run smoothly. They meet the farmers who are doing great work and make sure they get the tools to work safely and efficiently. As a business COCO feel personally responsible for their product every step of the way. They think it's only fair that customers know all about their chocolate and understand why they are so proud of the way they make it. Read their account of their last trip to Colombia.
We arrived in Bogotá and immediately went to visit the factory that makes the chocolate. The Bean Store is an impressive 200-year-old building that welcomes cocoa beans from all over Colombia. Continuing from the Bean Store, we were captivated by the charm of Bogotá. The city is an explosion of color - filled with graffiti, murals and all kinds of street art. Locals believe that street art adds value to their home and therefore embrace it so much that it becomes part of their culture. Interested in art as much as chocolate, we actively sought to meet street artists and find out more.
We continued our journey and drove north until we reached Medellin, the second largest city in Colombia and the capital of the mountainous province of Antioquia. For decades, Medellin has been considered one of the most dangerous cities in South America. It has undergone a huge transformation over the last ten years and we couldn't wait to see it for ourselves. We were particularly drawn to the city's 13th arrondissement. COMUNA 13 was one of the most dangerous areas in the country in the 1980s and 1990s. Today, community efforts transform Medellin's poorest neighborhood into a colorful and vibrant environment filled with street art and murals. Home to several artists, performers and musicians, the city's transformation is palpable and its upbeat atmosphere is contagious.
We wanted to meet more of the farmers who supply cacao beans to Casa Luker. In most cases, the suppliers are family businesses. The number of workers in this case can easily be from two to four. A cooperative is a more corporate structure and has a larger number of employees. It is important to consider that Colombia has an agricultural base and that agriculture is a significant resource for many families. This is another reason to buy the chocolate after it has been more finished at origin, ensuring that an extra layer of work is done in Colombia, allowing a greater share of the profits to stay in the country.
Nekokli is a small town in Antioquia - located on the eastern shore of the Gulf of Uraba. Historically very poor, it is one of the oldest cities in Colombia and has had a very unfortunate history related to drug trafficking and guerrillas, which has had a negative impact on the labor market. Cocoa farming creates jobs in the legal market, avoiding the need for local workers to travel to a larger city to find work opportunities. We stopped by a local plantation and were able to watch the process from start to finish; from the pruning of the fruit, to the fermentation of the grains. We even witnessed the drying stage that takes place in what is known as the 'Columbian Sauna'.
