Salvadorans cling to artisan chocolate and dream of expanding their brand

San Salvador, 15 Mar Salvadorans Juan Carlos Valle and Glendy Fernández have clung to artisan chocolate to get ahead and dream of expanding their brand to “as much country as they can.” The husbands are the owners of a small family business of 100% Salvadoran artisan chocolate and have created the brand “Tetonalli”, a Nahuatl word that means soul and is associated with a new beginning. Artisan chocolate is made making the most of its natural properties, that is, preserving the highest levels of cocoa to give it the best aroma, the most pleasant texture and always estimating that it is rich on the palate. Salvadorans have been making chocolate - in various presentations - for three years and the idea of entrepreneurship came about after Juan Carlos was deported in 2017 from the United States, where he worked for five years. Glendy, who was taught by her grandmother how to make round tablet chocolate - known for its shape - and which is used to prepare different drinks, recalls that the “process was hard and with a lot of learning”, since they started selling their product on an outpatient basis and at fairs, and often “they couldn't even get the cost of investment”. Meanwhile, Juan Carlos learned the process by watching videos on YouTube. “Since peeling cocoa was an apprenticeship. At first we did it with our hands and once we spent (with his wife) a whole day peeling 10 pounds (of cocoa) and I said to myself: this can't be. So I investigated and it turns out that with the heat of the hair dryer we could and we peeled the 10 pounds in five minutes,” he said. They now have specialized equipment for the process. Initially, the artisanal product was not accepted for the price, since it did not compete with other similar products that, due to their volumes, could be offered at a lower price, but the spouses found support in the Alianza Cacao project. Alianza Cacao is a member of the Central American and Dominican Republic Cocoa Committee (Sicacao) and is contributing to the guidelines of the Regional Cocoa Strategy, which aims to improve access and positioning of intermediate and finished products for the final consumer. Alianza Cacao trained Salvadorans, supported with strengthening their commercial image, business advice, teams, a business plan and the path of work to start focusing their value proposition. Camila Sandoval, Agribusiness Coordinator of Alianza Cacao El Salvador, said that one strategy of the project is to strengthen the country's micro and small enterprises to be the main drivers of the dynamization of the national cocoa value chain. He highlighted that “information is power” and Glendy and Juan Carlos capitalized on the information in their business plan and focused. The “Tetonalli” chocolates, a healthy and quality product, are made with low-sugar products and natural oils, and around 25 different bars are produced. With the support of the Alianza Cacao El Salvador Project, “Tetonalli” chocolates are sold at 25 points of sale, including convenience stores in gas stations and supermarkets. According to Sandoval, the success of “Tetonalli” is that Glendy and Juan Carlos “owned the processes, capitalized on business consultancies, have been able to focus and adapt their business.” Entrepreneurs went from buying 25 pounds of cocoa a month to between three and four quintals a month, and they buy from producers who also work with the technical assistance of Alianza Cacao and who supply them according to the criteria and quality standards they need. “The success is that we have never closed ourselves to the idea of producing, of generating money, jobs and we have several ways of selling through Tetonalli,” said Juan Carlos. The brand “Tetonalli” is an icon in El Salvador, it has shown that cocoa is an option that allows a livelihood, highlights a crop with identity and is living proof that it is not necessary to leave the country. CHIEF pbd/rrt (photo)