About Brand
Krakakoa is a bean-to-bar chocolate maker from Indonesia. Its mission is to make delicious chocolate made from 100% Indonesian cocoa beans, bought from smallholder farmers at a higher price than the fair trade Minimum. Krakakoa trains and equips its partner farmers with the tools and knowledge to improve cocoa bean quality, increase income, and combat pests through sustainable and organic farming methods.
The Story
After spending six years as a consultant with McKinsey, travelling the world working on agricultural projects, Sabrina Mustopo came home to Indonesia with a mission. She wanted to fix Indonesia's chocolate sector.
She knew that by improving farming practices, cutting out the middle men and adding value to the final product, she could create a top-quality product which changed farmers' lives for the better.
It took a lot of time and patience to build the trust of the farmers. "It's very foreign, this concept: who is this person coming to this village and wanting to pay us more for cocoa beans, wanting to give us free equipment and training?" Time, patience, and a partnership with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in Lampung helped make the change.
Now Krakakoa works with farmers to build their knowledge of the latest farming techniques, and makes sure that they are able to implement them by paying even more than the Fairtrade Minimum.
The Impact
Krakakoa now sells its range of chocolate bars through its own store and through six different high-end supermarkets in Indonesia. It has secured investment funding from LGT Venture Philanthropy and the Angel Investment Network Indonesia (ANGIN). The company plans to grow further and improve more farmers' lives - it's aiming to work with 1,000 farmers by 2018.