Chocolate company hopes it can revitalise Samoa cocoa exports

Transcript

A New Zealand chocolate company has released a new range of chocolates using ingredients from the Pacific, vanilla from Tonga and cocoa from Samoa.

The Whittaker's new Artisan collection was released this week, including the 'Single Origin Samoan Cacao' block, which uses cocoa from the Vaai Family Plantation in Samoa.

Another block, 'Hawke's Bay Braeburn Apple with Vanilla', uses pure Heilala Vanilla beans from Tonga.

Leilani Momoisea reports.

Whittaker's head of international markets, Matt Whittaker, says when creating the artisan range with New Zealand producers, he wanted to also include Samoa.

He says Samoa is such a big part of New Zealand culture, and is creating cocoa in our backyard.

Mr Whittaker says there hasn't really been a cocoa export market in Samoa for some time, and some of the processes need to be re-learnt.

He says he hopes the collaboration with the Vaai Family plantation in Savaii can help farmers re-establish an export market.

"We want to use this programme to establish a, for want of a better description, a 'hero' plantation, or a great example or best practice. We can then extrapolate to other plantations and farmers via establishing co-operatives and really using what we've learnt with the Vaai family plantation to broaden the supply base, therefore getting the quality and the yield up, so they can have a product they can export."

He says the Vaai family plantation area is drier than the rest of Savaii, and is well renowned for producing very concentrated fruit flavours in all the products they grow.

"The growing conditions in this location mean that we're getting very, very good cocoa flavours. Plus the flavour is not derived just from the plant, it's from good fermentation, so hence the need for a programme to improve the quality, by getting better process in the fermentation and drying. So overall we wanted something that was a good base to work from, and then to improve that quality."

Whittaker's has also partnered with New Zealand company, Heilala Vanilla, which uses organically grown, bourbon variety vanilla beans from Tonga.

The company set up a vanilla plantation with a Tongan family in Vava'u, after their community had been badly hit by a cyclone in 2001, and has since expanded to Eua and Tongatapu.

The chief executive of Heilala Vanilla, Jennifer Boggiss, says vanilla is the most labour intensive crop in the world, and whole communities are involved over the 12 month harvesting process.

She says the company has been in discussions to combine the vanilla beans with Whittaker's chocolate for years.

"It is exciting, and it's probably the longest sales prospect that we've ever had. It's so exciting to see it finally come to fruition, and that Heilala Vanilla has been called out on the Whittaker's packet, so it can make everybody proud in Tonga, and obviously here in New Zealand as well."

Sofaia Latu from Vava'u works for Heilala Vanilla, and was in New Zealand when the new chocolates were released.

She says the vanilla bean work helps feed her children and family, and the company helps provide water and power to the village.

Sofaia Latu says she's excited to take the blocks of chocolate back home to show her family.

"I think they will be real proud of having that chocolate, because they work hard at the plantation, but it's very different if they know that the Heilala Vanilla is around the world, in the chocolate. I think they will be proud of that and they will feel special."  

Meanwhile, Matt Whittaker says he's hoping to meet with farmers in Samoa this week, in the hopes of including more farms in their Whittaker's Cocoa Improvement Programme.