Chocolate and coffee. Similarities and differences. A podcast with Christoph Inauen from Choba Choba
For many, chocolate and coffee simply belong together – as an indulgence. But the similarities and challenges of both products start right at the cultivation stage. The shift towards a better chocolate future for producers requires a different approach – Choba Choba presents a revolutionary alternative to this.
A little piece of chocolate is often served with coffee because, for many, they just go so well together. Coffee itself is frequently described as chocolatey, and both products also look good together. It seems as if chocolate and coffee were siblings.
There are also many similarities on the production side – cacao trees also grow in the subtropics, like sun but not too much heat, enjoy shade, and differ in four original varieties.
“The distinction between Criollo and Trinitario is too simple,” says Christoph Inauen, explaining that they have established a variety garden in Peru to cultivate rare, old, forgotten, and rediscovered varieties. They, that is Inauen's company Choba Choba, which is legally based in Switzerland, operates as a company in Peru, and the producers in Peru themselves are shareholders.
The aforementioned variety garden strongly reminds me of our “1000 Variedades” project in Nicaragua – an experimental plot slightly above our Finca Santa Rita, where we want to plant a wide variety of cultivars and observe their behavior.
Christoph Inauen, Co-Founder of Choba Choba. Image: Provided by Choba Choba
The Choba Choba Model
Christoph Inauen knows the world of cocoa and chocolate inside out. At 26, he built sustainable supply chains for one of the largest chocolate corporations in Switzerland, which still exist today.
A little later, he joined the executive board – an impressive fact that a company was already making sustainability a core concern back in 2007. “Yes,” says Inauen, “he doesn't know of many other companies that started with it so early.”
Inauen traveled a lot to cocoa regions and established new partnerships. After several years, when a producer who had become a friend pointed out to him that despite the new situation, the seals, and all the marketing, not much had changed for the producers, Inauen was stunned.
“Of course, this was a shock at first, but later it became a motivation to choose a new approach.” Thus, Inauen founded Choba Choba with his business partner Eric Garnier and started the “Chocolate Revolution.”
Choba Choba is a public limited company in which 30% of the shares are owned by the producers themselves. They are thus directly involved in the company's profits. Choba Choba therefore produces its own cocoa, which is then further processed in Switzerland by Felchlin.
For Inauen, it is particularly impressive to see how the self-image of many producers has changed.
Previously, a producer would say: Good day, my name is Oswaldo, I am a cocoa producer. Today he says: Good day, my name is Oswaldo, I am active in international cocoa trading.
Christoph Inauen, Choba Choba
Choba Choba pays producers 2.5 to 3 times more for their cocoa than if they were to sell their products on the world market. Therefore, the chocolate is also sold at a higher price in Switzerland – prices have dropped from the former 8.50 CHF to just under 5 CHF thanks to increased efficiency.
For us, it was always clear that a chocolate bar could not cost 1 or 2 francs. That simply makes no sense.
Christoph Inauen, Choba Choba
Chocolate quality as a door opener
The message of Choba Choba is actually easy to understand. However, because it breaks with everything that defines the chocolate industry, it almost seems exotic. Bringing the story to the shelf would be complex, as the product should primarily thrive on its quality.
Excellent raw materials, no additives, and precise processing make Choba Choba a premium chocolate. On the shelf, quality should be the focus – the message for a new approach to the cocoa business should be communicated through other channels.
High price as a stumbling block
Initially, a 90g chocolate bar was sold for 8.50 CHF. The price caused a stir. Can chocolate be that good? The story had to be recognized first. And the criticism of Choba Choba grew louder, claiming that while they want to reach poor producers, the end product is only accessible to the rich.
Through efficiency gains, Choba Choba was able to lower the price and now sells the chocolate in Coop for just under 5 CHF – which is still a lot for a supermarket. Thus, Choba Choba stands out just because of the higher price.
Do small companies even have to become big?
In the podcast with Christoph Inauen, I also talk about whether small companies always have to scale – i.e., whether they must be designed to keep growing and growing.
Most investors see this as a basic requirement. However, and this is where Choba Choba and we Kaffeemacher share the same vision: Ideas must be scalable. There is a need for imitators, those who copy the model or improve it even further.
In the podcast, Inauen says that Choba Choba never wants to reach 100,000 producers, but rather wants to involve the community.
We don't have to see to it that a few investors earn more. The investors should be the community. Meaning producers and consumers.
Christoph Inauen, Choba Choba
Are chocolate and coffee similar?
Yes, definitely. And not just as a luxury product, but also behind the scenes. The supply chain is similar, the situation of the producers, the consolidated market, and the challenges of the future – climate change, the aging of the producers, and soil quality.
Exchanges beyond one's own horizon are always worthwhile and help everyone. In this podcast, I almost always felt like Christoph was talking about coffee – some of the stories are so congruent. As coffee makers, we learn a lot from this – and would like to learn even more. Let's see if we will ever produce cocoa ourselves.
