Vietnam puts chocolate brand on the world map
06 April, 2021
Chocolate made by French entrepreneurs in Vietnam is embarking on a global expansion after local private equity form Mekong Capital has injected an undisclosed sum in the company which makes what the New York Times calls “the world’s most exquisite bars.”
Founded in 2011, Ho Chi Minh City-based Marou Chocolate is one of the few companies in the industry producing dark chocolate right where the cacao is grown from a single variety.
The chocolate bars soon garnered a reputation of particular deliciousness among connoisseurs and the company soon opened a store in the city and began expanding across the country under the Maison Marou brand.
Over time, the Marou chocolate got recognised by gourmets on a global level and is now shipped to 32 countries,
With the private equity investment, Marou now plans to multiply its network of smallholder cacao farms five-fold and go overseas with its Maison Marou cafés, starting with Japan, Hong Kong and Shanghai.
Despite its success, chocolate from Vietnam is likely to remain a niche industry. Market leaders are Belgian and Swiss chocolatiers, and West Africa, namely Ghana and the Ivory Coast, still dominates cacao bean sourcing.
But the exclusivity is the main selling proposition of Marou chocolate. Made from the rare trinitario cacao bean, an 18th-century blend, the bars have a particular complexity paired with unusual aromas, including licorice, or even tobacco.
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