Two grand ladies of chocolate marked a historic event at Salon du Chocolat in Paris, France. Dona Demetria Gutierrez of Mexico gave a symbolic baby cacao tree from Mexico to Charita Puentespina, founder and resident of Philippines’s Malagos Agri-Ventures Corp., makers of the award-winning Malagos Chocolate.
The event commemorated the Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade, the historic trade route which facilitated the exchange of goods between the Philippines and Mexico during the Spanish colonial era. Gutierrez and Puentespina are both cacao farmers in their respective countries.
The event was held on October 31, 2019, at the Podium at the Porte De Versailles during the Salon du Chocolat, the world’s largest event related to chocolate and cacao from cocoa-producing countries around the world.
Cacao was first introduced to the Philippines from Mexico via the Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade (1565 to 1815). Although the exact variety of the Theobroma cacao brought to the Philippines is hard to determine, what is certain is that the crop thrived in Philippine growing conditions, considering that the country is located within the narrow band in the equatorial belt where cacao grows best.
The chocolate business in the Philippines has experienced a resurgence of late, owing to the efforts of the Philippine government, as well as local farmers like Puentespina and her family company, Malagos Agri-Ventures Corp., to promote Philippine chocolates in the world market.
The company’s Malagos Chocolate has led several other homegrown chocolate brands in garnering several awards from international chocolate organizations in the past few years. Cacao beans grown by Puentespina’s company were recently designated Heirloom Cacao by the US-based Heirloom Cacao Preservation Fund.
Through the Outbound Business Matching Missions service of the Department of Trade and Industry-Export Marketing Bureau, Malagos Chocolates has been one of the seven micro, small and medium enterprises who participated in the Salon du Chocolat. The first participation of the Philippines in the event was in 2017.
According to the report from PTIC-Paris, the company has booked an initial sale per month with a British company for the supply of dark chocolates. Salon du Chocolat recognized them to be among the Top 50 submissions in the 166 entries from 40 countries of the International Cocoa Awards, a first for any Philippine producer for the Cacao of Excellence. The first participation also paved the way for awareness for Philippine cacao beans/chocolates in a globally competitive arena.
Malagos Agri-ventures has also participated in DTI-EMB’s Inbound Business Matching Missions (IBMMs) where buyers abroad visit the Philippines for the one-on-one meetings with the exporters. The International Food Exhibition (IFEX) is one of the venues where EMB assisted Malagos through the B2Bs. Trade leads from various buyers abroad like Europe who are looking for chocolate/cacao products are also being referred to Malagos Agri Ventures for possible future business negotiations.