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Cocoa has been called “the food of the gods”. The Aztecs already detected the power of this food 3,000 years ago – in particular its revitalizing effects. By developing innovative cocoa products that enhance the inner values of this superfood, KOKOJOO is promoting a healthy, responsible consumer lifestyle.
It is no secret that the cocoa fruit is full of minerals and antioxidants, and not only in the beans but in all parts of the fruit. All KOKOJOO products are 100% natural and preserve or even emphasize the positive nutrients of the cocoa fruit. They are low in calories and sugar, free from artificial additives, gluten and lactose.
Until cocoa becomes chocolate, the raw bean must undergo several weeks of processing. In conventional cocoa processing, up to 80% of the cocoa fruit are discarded. We think that’s too much! To act against this wasteful handling, we currently intervene at two points of the processing to use what is consider “waste”: The pulp of the cocoa fruit is separated from the beans through natural processing in the first days after harvest. It serves as base for other products such as kokojoo juice and sweetener for other kokojoo products. The beans are then fermented over the course of 5-7 days, dried in the sun and roasted. At this point, the beans are conventionally exported to Europe to be processed further.
At KOKOJOO however, we work with cocoa cooperatives in West Africa who by hand break apart the cocoa bean shells from the roasted beans. The shells serve as base for our kokojoo original, kokojoo energize, kokojoo focus and kokojoo concentrate. Studies have shown that the cocoa bean shells in fact surpass the nutritional values of cocoa beans with regards to vitamin B12 and fibers – a true superfood.
Further innovations are already in the pipeline.
In our business process, we rely on a partial relocation of the production chain to the countries of origin of raw materials. Because one thing is clear: there can be no human development without contributing to local added value and strengthening the capacities of raw material producers. We are convinced that this strategy has a greater impact on sustainability than neo-colonial endeavors to exploit local resources and workforce for foreign profit or to market products as “exotic” or charitable.
We act true to the motto: Trade not Aid. For us at KOKOJOO this means that we provide new sources of income for the workers at the origin of our production chains as well as valuing and boosting their innovation spirit – including through our participation in the moa-foundation. This approach starts with crediting the source of our inspiration on the African continent in our corporate identity and extends to taking pride in our roots as an African brand at every step. In doing so, we contribute to making the cocoa world a better place for everyone involved.
This sets KOKOJOO apart from brands that use Africans purely for marketing purposes or worse, that present their production processes in Africa as an idealistic business strategy even though they are in fact motivated by profit-maximization or the self-interest to “save poor Africans” (aka white saviorism).
