A startup business starts with a lot of hard work, persistence and background history. Well, these two Filipina sisters in Dubai had something very similar to start this chocolate company. From making something for their diabetic mother to achieving the goal to provide healthy options, these Filipina sisters have come far. Let’s check out their goals, motives and future plans with their chocolate factory.
Dubai Siblings Run A Healthy Chocolate Factory
The sisters proudly proclaimed that in addition to being delicious and comforting, the UAE-brand chocolates were also nutritious and ethically sourced, which meant that the farm-to-bar single-origin chocolates were acquired using ethical and sustainable practices.
They worked together on an idea because they were concerned about their own health. This is how Co Chocolat came into existence in 2019 as an online-only company first. Then they grew the brand into a physical store within Candylicious at Dubai Mall. Currently, the sisters own their own chocolate factory and café in Al Warsan, where the highest-quality cocoa beans are processed to perfection and roasted in small quantities in accordance with their dietary needs and flavour preferences.
Also Read: Air India Express Introduces Direct Flight Between Goa To Dubai Starting Today!
Investment And Mission
Saudi investor Fahad bin Juma became interested in Co Chocolat after learning about their activities in Dubai. He also looked upon their agri-social venture in Agusan del Sur, the Philippines. Fahad felt inspired by the sisters’ ethical principles and commitment to good health. Hence he decided to invest $1 million (Dh3.67 million) in the company.
Through their agri-social venture in the Philippines, they obtain their cacao beans by collaborating with small-holding, biodiverse farmers. The cacao plant is grown safely and naturally to produce unprocessed cocoa.
To satisfy their mother’s and their own sweet tooth, the two sisters set out on a journey to develop diabetic-friendly chocolate. Mother, 75, was diagnosed a Type 2 diabetes in the middle of the decade.
Iman and Luchie talked about working together on a business between 2015 and 2016. They thought of concentrating on the need for “healthy chocolates” in the marketplace. They conducted an independent investigation that brought them to a region in Mindanao, south of Manila, the capital of the Philippines.
Then the execution began and now the sisters sell a range of flavours and chocolatey products.
Cover Image Courtesy: Go Chocolat