Olam Cocoa backs launch of Twenty Degrees, a cacao business discovering single-origin beans from remote regions

19 Jan 2021 --- Twenty Degrees is a new specialty cacao business sourcing premium quality cacao beans from around the world. The venture is backed by Olam Cocoa and comes as the premium chocolate market continues to grow.

According to Leopold Palmer, business head at Twenty Degrees, industry currently has no agreed definition or standard for premium quality cacao, which means pricing can be opaque and chocolate makers don’t always know what they are buying.

“We’re on a journey to professionalize the premium cacao category,” he tells FoodIngredientsFirst. “We are approaching things differently by working with expert food scientists to test quality and create unique flavor profiles robustly and scientifically that customers can trust.”

Consumers are more interested in their food’s provenance and increasingly seek out high-quality, artisanal products.Exploring new territories
According to Twenty Degrees, the premium chocolate market has seen considerable growth in recent years as consumers become more interested in their food’s provenance. As a result, they increasingly seek out high-quality, artisanal products with a unique flavor and story. 

The company is named after the Cocoa Belt, which ranges twenty degrees North and South of the equator.

“We are helping craft chocolate makers meet this growing demand by exploring new territories in both the established and undiscovered terroirs of the Cocoa Belt. This is to provide unique beans farmed to the highest quality with the greatest possible positive impact,” Palmer explains. 

Twenty Degrees’ close relationship with farmers means the company can provide chocolate makers with new levels of transparency and traceability right back to the farm gate. “We can tell them everything about the cacao beans they buy, from the farmers who grew them to the carbon footprint of the crop,” Palmer notes. 

Single-origin beans & artisanal ingredients
Twenty Degrees sources cacao beans from 10 unique regions, each hand-picked for their distinctive flavor and sensory profile. 

The new business is supporting farmers by bringing single-origin cacao beans to markets that are either too specialist or too remote to be sold to mainstream manufacturers. 

While living and working in Ecuador, Palmer came across the indigenous Eperara community who live deep in the coastal rainforest. “Their home is so remote, the only way to reach it is by boat. There, cacao has been farmed, dried and fermented using traditional methods for generations,” he says.

Their cacao has a truly unique flavor and story, perfect for craft chocolate makers looking for artisanal ingredients with a distinctive sensory profile. A team of agronomists will work with each community to ensure the quality and flavor of its cacao meets the highest standards.

“Yet communities like this struggle to bring their cacao beans to market. Their operations are either too specialist or too remote to be sold to mainstream manufacturers and so their exceptional produce sadly goes undiscovered by many.” 

Bringing beans from remote locations to market 
That’s why Palmer has spent the past year finding a way to help these farmers bring their beans to market. Twenty Degrees will unlock opportunities for those farmers and make these unique and remote terroirs more accessible to craft chocolate makers, while also working with them to help them to improve the quality of their cacao through on-the-ground support, training from a team of agronomists and funding for equipment. 

“We will also invest in the growth and security of the communities we are working with,” he adds. 

“The beans we source have all gone through a three-stage review,” Palmer notes. “First, they have been tested rigorously by Olam Cocoa’s flavor lab in Amsterdam. Secondly, they have been assessed outside of the business by an expert chocolate maker. And finally, they have been reviewed by an independent flavor profiling specialist from the University of Trinidad.”

“That means that when craft chocolate makers buy from us, they can be confident they are getting the highest quality product,” he highlights. 

Cacao sourcing
According to Palmer, it is often challenging to find cocoa beans where quality is consistent, and the sourcing is done directly from the farmers rather than going through local intermediaries. 

“We have an on-the-ground presence in most cacao producing countries. Because we have boots on the ground, our cacao is bought from the farmers, and we know the price they are paid, the community they live in, the carbon footprint, and so on,” he continues. 

“It also means our team of agronomists can work with each community to make sure the quality and flavor of its cacao meet the highest standards. No one else can offer that consistently across such a wide range of origins and terroirs.”

Venture endorsed by Olam Cocoa
Twenty Degrees will be led by an entrepreneurial new team but can draw on the expertise and operational strength of Olam Cocoa, one of the businesses under Olam Food Ingredients (OFI). 

The Twenty Degrees range of premium cacao beans is available now in the US and Europe and can be delivered globally.Twenty Degrees benefits from Olam Cocoa’s long-standing experience in cocoa sustainability and from the insight and expertise of its flavor lab in the Netherlands, which will test the specialty cacao beans and help to bring out their unique flavor, smell and texture.

“We see the backing of Olam Cocoa as a major strength,” Palmer affirms. “The company has spent over fifteen years developing sustainability programs and testing powerful tools to improve yields which can have a big impact on farmers straight away.”

For example, Olam was recently recognized for making a difference in farmers’ lives through its Olam Direct platform at the Innovation Leader’s 2020 Impact Awards, he adds.

“The Twenty Degrees business is taking these learnings and tools and building on them,” comments Palmer. “For instance, we’re working with a community in Ecuador to farm carbon neutral cacao, which simply wouldn’t be possible without the foundation that’s been built by Olam Cocoa.”

Twenty Degrees will also benefit from Olam Cocoa’s operational strength, he asserts. “Most players in the premium market are smaller businesses dealing in low volumes, which makes shipping and storing the cacao more expensive and gives it a far larger carbon footprint.”

“Because we can leverage our existing supply chain, we can operate much more efficiently. That means more of the money customers pay for their cacao goes into the hands of farmers or is invested in community initiatives.”

Also commenting on the launch, Gerard Manley, CEO of Olam Cocoa, adds: “With Twenty Degrees, we are combining our knowledge of cocoa farming and our capability to source from distant and often remote communities with a greater focus on flavor differentiation.”

Sustainable business model
The Twenty Degrees business model is built on positive partnerships with farmers and customers. It helps farmers adopt sustainable farming practices and invest in the growth and security of the communities it works with. 

“And we’re doing this in a way that is transparent, traceable and delivers quality, consistency and taste to meet the needs of craft chocolate makers,” Palmer concludes.

By Elizabeth Green