Ecuador is not only famous and known for its nature, for its traditions, for its delicious dishes and for the beauty that it is surrounded by, but also for its centuries-long history as the main producer of chocolate. And in fact, the Ecuadorian one is considered one of the best chocolates in the world, the Nacional Arriba is the well-known cocoa bean from which chocolate is born.
In 1800 Ecuador was the largest exporting nation of chocolate in the world, however in 1900 the disease of the plants and the changes in the world market made the country lose its glory, despite that, Ecuador came back to the scene thanks to the sustainable businesses, the farmers and also thanks to the tourism. The World Tourism Organization, with data from 2019, showed that Ecuador had a growth in the number of tourists by 51%, 2,42 million guests compared to 1,6 million visitors of the previous year.
Today we are going to discover Pacari, an Ecuadorian company founded in 2002 by Santiago Peralta and his wife Carla Barbotó who describe it as a “company born from a dream. A dream that seeks to create a positive impact in the world, changing its history through chocolate”. The values that the company wants to enhance are respect, trust, leadership and sustainability to promote development in total respect and in total harmony with nature. It is no coincidence that the word Pacari means nature in the Quechua language. The importance of cultivation, the correct fermentation process and the microclimates allow the production of high-quality chocolate, Pacari is also the first company to work with biodynamic cultivation, in other words the cultivations are considered as a single land which works uniformly.
Pacari chocolate has won many awards over the years, more than 300 international awards and even the prestigious International Chocolate Awards in 2014. It is an organic and unique chocolate in the sustainable cocoa production process, the founders called their creation model “from tree to bar”, there are no intermediaries, Pacari’s business does not involve the sale of cocoa beans to third parties to produce chocolate. Let’s be honest, Pacari’s fame and peculiarity are mainly due to the over 150,000 Ecuadorian families of expert farmers who, with the work handed down from generation to generation, contribute to the high quality of the product.
Until now Pacari has produced about 35 different flavours and its ancestral and internationally recognized product is the “arriba” chocolate. In 2008 the company, to the delight of chocolate lovers, began exporting its products outside Ecuadorian borders, currently Pacari sells its delicacies in 42 countries around the world, including Colombia, Argentina, United States, Canada, Italy, Spain, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Russia, United Arab Emirates and Japan.
“No queremos ser el mejor chocolate del mundo. Queremos ser el mejor chocolate para el mundo”, Pacari.
“We do not want to be the best chocolate in the world. We want to be the best chocolate for the world”, Pacari.
