Cacao - Starting From Chocolate and Going Back to Cocoa Bean

Chocolate is pretty much commonplace in today's society and can be purchased in a variety of ways from boxed chocolates to candy bars. You will find candy bearing the name of their inventors including Stephen Whitman, Henri Nestlé, Milton Hershey, William Cadbury, Harry Burnett Reese, Forrest Mars, and Theodore Tobler in many different stores. Chocolate is found in the United States Army D-rations and chocolate has been to space as part of the diet of United States astronauts. All of this began in the 1800's with the creation of the first solid chocolate candy, prior to this chocolate was not as easily accessible.

The later part of the 1800's during the Industrial Revolution many new inventions were create including the complex machinery that could grind and process the cacao beans. 1910 was a year that marked a huge change in the chocolate market as the United States banned any cacao beans that were received through slave labor.

In 1765, the very first chocolate factory was built in New England and this delectable treat spread like wild fire. Chocolate was a huge success and everyone wanted to enjoy the delightful taste of this treat.

Prior to chocolate being introduced to America the first solid eating chocolate in 1847 in England and with a few years in 1876 in Vevey, Switzerland, Daniel Peter created a way of adding milk to the chocolate to create the delicious milk chocolate we have today.

During the 1600's, Chocolate Houses were seen throughout England. Here everyone could enjoy a cup of chocolate while gambling, discussing politics, and socializing with others of the upper class. Of course, these delicious chocolate drinks had all kinds of flavors added such as sugar and cinnamon. Through trial and error, different flavorings were added to chocolate until they discovered a drink similar to the hot chocolate we drink today.

Herman Cortes can be thanked for bringing cacao beans to Europe in 1521. Cortes was given a taste of the royal drink "chocolatl, which meant nothing more than a warm liquid. The chocolate drink Cortes and his men drank was quite bitter and not pleasing to their taste buds, however, he added a bit of cane sugar and the drink was astounding. Emperor Montezuma was known to have drunk fifty or over cups of this drink on a daily basis served in golden goblets as if the drink was a food offered to the gods.

The cacao bean was discovered by another explorer, Christopher Columbus; however, the dark brown beans were not very impressive to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. The beans were nothing more than just another seed and nothing more.

The Mayan and Aztec Indians used the cacao tree and its beans to create a spicy oily drink known as xocoatl. The cacao beans were ground with cornmeal and chilis, and then mixed with water. At one time, all Mayans were drinking xocoatl, however, once the cacao beans were being given as a tribute only the wealthy rulers, soldiers, and priests were able to enjoy the treat. The drink had an important role in their religious rituals including human sacrifices.

Marabel Cocoa Farms - cacao - Sanchez and Hispaniola cacao beans producer and importer from the Dominican Republic.
Tel: (800) 919-3744
Tel: (626) 446-5995

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Tags: Chocolate, Starting, Cocoa

Is Your Business Perceived As Godiva Or Hershey Kisses?

Informal studies have been conducted where chocolate tasters actually preferred ordinary Hershey's Kisses over elegant Godiva chocolates. Imagine people preferring the taste of chocolates that come wrapped in foil and jumbled in a bag over hand-crafted chocolates carefully placed in a gold box! How can a $4.00 bag of Kisses win over a $40.00 box of Godiva chocolates, and if Kisses taste better, how does Godiva get away with charging more? Perceived value is the difference. How would you feel if someone presented you with a bag of Kisses versus a gold box of Godiva? Regardless of the actual chocolate taste, you would likely feel more special if someone gave you the Godiva box (perhaps you might even feel a bit insulted by a bag of Kisses!).

Hershey's created chocolates people like to eat and Godiva created chocolates people like to give.
How you present your business has a tremendous impact on how your customers perceive your business. Your perceived value is largely based on how well you present what you do and what you offer. Whether your business is products or services based, if you can't show your value in physical presentation or experience, you have a steep road ahead of you for attracting and keeping clients. Even more important, you need to come across as a Godiva so that your clients willingly refer you on. You may have the best products and services anywhere around, but if you can't show this value you're missing out on bigger opportunities.

If you want to present a stronger image and have your clients perceive a better experience, then it's time to take a look inside. Evaluate what's working, what's not, and where energies are being wasted. If you are confident your products and services are just right for your target market, then it may be time to re-evaluate how you are presenting them and your business. Below are some guidelines for what you need to do to increase the perceived value of your business.

• Differentiate your business from others. Be the uncommon offering!
• Practice intentional congruence. Ensure that everything you do mimes and merges with everything else you do.
• Connect all the dots. Check that your business processes are clearly defined and consistent with your business objectives.
• Learn from others who have businesses you admire!

Taking the time to look at your company's strengths and making a few strategic tweaks to accentuate your company's value is time well invested.

Heather Nelson is owner of the professional services business Champion Assistants. Heather focuses on helping small business owners achieve their goals by helping them implement sales and marketing strategies. For more information, please e-mail info@championassistants.com or visit http://www.championassistants.com and blog http://www.virtualofficechampions.com

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Tags: Business, Perceived, Godiva

Healthy Chocolate Candy Ingredient Alternatives

Chocolate candy manufacturers believed cocoa butter was crucial to achieving the delicious chocolate candy customers craved. Even as alternatives were later discovered, many still argued that nothing was better than the original. As consumer health needs grew and the climbing price of using cocoa butter ironically forced manufacturers to look for cost-saving options, the use of alternatives has offered new chocolate candy options which both serve customer health needs and offer more competitive material costs.

Recently, Hershey vowed to keep cocoa butter in its products with their "real chocolate" marketing campaign. With a major product with dominant market share, the Hershey signature bar, they can afford to take this approach. However, there is a sizable segment of the chocolate flavor loving population that view conventional bars made with cocoa butter as not a viable option.

There are some who simply cannot digest this particular type of vegetable fat. Others have more serious allergic reactions such as hives, rash and digestion issues. However these consumers still love the taste of chocolate. For these chocoholics, natural substitutes like coconut oil or ingredients like soybean oil do the job as well as (and arguably better than) the original, without the health problems.

Chocolate makers also like alternatives for their ability to help control melting thresholds and because they are easier to process. There is also the fact that they offer a cost savings in material. Industry analysts cite a huge jump in candy prices last year. Insiders say it is because the cost of ingredients that have skyrocketed and unfortunately passed on to the buyers.

Unfortunately, US regulations promote cocoa butters hierarchy by reserving the "chocolate" label only for candy made with it. These same restrictions do not exist in other parts of the world. For instance, in Europe up to 5% of a products ingredients may contain equivalents and still be considered chocolate. Experts believe that equivalents are the closest that you can get in terms of their fatty acids and are commonly a mix of shea and palm oils. Not surprisingly, the equivalent category of alternatives is also the most expensive, but still about half the cost of cocoa butter.

Typically, cocoa butter can cost over 3 times as much as other alternatives. Producing chocolate with low melting points is nice, but saving money is usually the first reason manufacturers start considering replacements, substitutes or equivalents. While some companies chose not to use alternatives, others feel they have no choice and have to substitute to remain cost competitive. This is the irony, the pressure to control material costs has created new product categories and new healthy options for chocolate lovers.

Joel Bernstein
BS Management Science Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI)
MBA Rutgers University.
Joel Bernstein writes about Bulk Candy and confectionery products. Candy is great to write about because it is a happy topic that people enjoy. Enjoy this article about chocolate candy healthy ingredients. Candy shop owners, and consumers and Candy Store owners should find it interesting.

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Tags: Healthy, Chocolate, Candy, Alternatives