Owning Your Supply Chain
Tim Hammerich
News Reporter
The cacao industry has faced global shortages in recent years, partially as a result of climate change. Mara and Patrick Tcheuhou wanted to be part of the solution, so they purchased a cacao farm of their own in Cameroon and started their own artisan chocolate company, Bibamba.
Mara… “We didn’t intend to be chocolate makers. We started the farm and you know, the original intention was to sell B2B to other chocolate makers. Our very first shipment to the U.S arrived in March 2020 as the world was shutting down, and you know, everyone stopped. We had already been making chocolate and experimenting but that’s really when we shifted and said, “Everyone is shutting down, no one’s going to buy this raw product. We really need to go with our plan B and start doing it ourselves.”
By owning their own supply chain, Mara and Patrick are able to grow the product with high standards, and make premium fine chocolate in Colorado.
Patrick… “We put a lot of time trying to learn more about the supply chain because we realized there was a reason why the world was seeing a shortage in cacao production and the way of the poverty in the cacao farming communities and the short cut people were taking just because they can’t afford to implement good practices, to be honest. That’s, I think, the main reason why we decided to take the long road of actually starting to farm from scratch and learn down the road and make sure we have the right processes and the right mindset.”
That’s first-generation farmers and owners of Bibamba, Mara and Patrick Tcheuhou.
