I’ve always loved chocolate, but not just for its taste. More than its delicious nature, I find chocolate to be a charming delicacy that is an indulgent want, yet it’s accessible like a need.
You can easily find a chocolate bar or a hot cocoa in a convenience store. In fact, chocolate is often issued to military troops as part of basic field rations. Chocolate is that ingrained into our lives. It symbolises how we, as humans, seek for simple pleasures to keep us going during tough times.
Unfortunately, the economy that is involved in chocolate, from the farming side to the distribution, is mired with lots of unethical practices. That’s why there has been a rise of bean-to-bar chocolate brands that uphold transparent business practices.
Fossa Chocolate is one such brand leading the charge in Singapore.
Three’s a crowd
Before they became chocolatiers, Yilina, Jay, and Charis all came from various backgrounds.
Jay was a marketing major back in university. Post graduation, he took on marketing roles in several companies in the fields of IT, logistics and F&B.
Meanwhile, Yilina studied marketing and technopreneurship in university. With a media and international business background, she was involved in two other F&B ventures prior to Fossa Chocolate.
Charis studied business information technology, but moved to the pastry line at several local and well known F&B companies.
“We have been friends for a long time, entwined together by our love for food,” the trio shared with Vulcan Post.
But of all foods, it was in chocolate that they found their mutual calling.
“Years ago, a friend brought back a chocolate bar from abroad. It had a lovely packaging with letterpress details, usually reserved for important invitation cards in an age where computerised printing is more common,” they explained.
Tasting the chocolate, the three immediately mistook it for a raspberry flavoured chocolate. Looking at the ingredient list, they were shocked to find that it only comprised cocoa beans and sugar.
“There was no raspberry!” they exclaimed. From then on, they were captivated with the possibilities of chocolate, leading to the start of Fossa Chocolate.
Starting from scratch
The trio noticed that only commercial mass-produced chocolate was easily accessible in Singapore. While great for satisfying sweet cravings, these products didn’t carry real cocoa flavour.
“We decided to change that,” the trio shared.
Little did they know what the journey ahead of them would look like.
“We didn’t really have a background in chocolate when we first started,” they explained. “The moment we started making them, it hit us that there were so many things to learn about chocolate and cacao.”
But they committed themselves to the process, researching the industry through online and offline means. They read up on literature, spoke to chocolate makers overseas, did numerous trials, and visited farms to learn about cacao cultivation and the post-harvesting process.
“The first few batches of chocolate we made were nasty but fortunately, they got better,” they said.
But more than some lofty goal to revolutionise the industry, Fossa Chocolate is actually rooted by a simple desire: “To bring forth the wonderful, natural flavours of cacao to our neighbourhood, while pushing flavour boundaries to make chocolate interesting again for a population that doesn’t eat much chocolate.”
Craftsmanship in everything they do
One word that seems to encapsulate Fossa Chocolate’s work is craftsmanship.
“Everything we do, we believe in appreciating flavours through all senses, celebrating craftsmanship, and respecting every part of the value chain,” they explain”ed.
Upholding this craftsmanship, the team often concocts unique and even unconventional flavours with their chocolate. They like to incorporate intriguing flavours such as salted egg yolk, as well as curate cacao that boast diverse flavour profiles.
To that end, Fossa sources their beans from around the world, including Central and South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia. They tend to rotate their sources seasonally to introduce new cacao origins to consumers.
“We source our beans from friends (farmers and traders) we trust,” they explained. “They are sourced without human exploitation and we pay a fair price to remunerate the producers for their work.”
Fossa Chocolate also only uses cacao that are traceable to their source. That way, they can provide full transparency, giving credit to producers where it is due.
Valuing the work of farmers and producers, they purchase all their beans above market prices.
“We want to make sure they are motivated to continue the work they are doing, so we reward them fairly,” they reasoned. “Commodity prices are just so low, the farmers are not going to survive on that.”
Championing Singaporean chocolate
For those who aren’t familiar with craft chocolate, they may associate bigger brands with better quality, perhaps due to the strong traditional branding that European chocolates are superior.
“However, with the new wave of craft chocolate that came about over the past few years, people are beginning to realise that the real mark of good chocolate lies in both the source of the cacao beans as well as the chocolate maker’s techniques, rather than the country where the chocolates are made,” the Fossa Chocolate team explained.
They shared that it’s just like craft coffee, whereby there has been an increasing emphasis on good farming and post harvest practices.
These factors allow for the cultivation of specialty grade beans, reflected in their intense and distinct flavour profiles.
“We put a lot of work into making our chocolates,” the team reminded. “Unlike mass producers who start with the semi-finished product of cocoa mass derived as by-products from commodity grade beans, our work involves a seven-step process that usually begins with hand-sorting raw cacao beans.”
Today, Fossa’s chocolates are sold in specialty cafes, grocers, gift shops, and other retailers both in Singapore and overseas in the US, Japan, and Europe.
They do not have a physical store as of now, choosing to focus on fine-tuning the creation process. After all, it’s the quality of the product that has really allowed Fossa Chocolate to make their mark.
“We are proud to have been the first Singapore chocolate maker to have attained accolades at the International Chocolate Awards,” they shared.
As for what’s in store for Fossa Chocolate, only time will tell. They simply aim to continue working hard to innovate and create interesting products that are fun for both the customers as well as for themselves.
- Learn more about Fossa Chocolate here.
- Read other articles we’ve written about Singaporean startups here.
Featured Image Credit: Fossa Chocolate
