Marou

 

Artisanal brands with an authentic brand story that serves a purpose:

In 2011, two peculiar Frenchmen, Sam Maruta and Vincent Mourou, went soul- searching in Vietnam. They instead found cacao, the likes of which they had never tasted. They immediately got to work becoming Vietnam’s first bean-to-bar chocolate maker. Their journey has since grown to gather farmers, engineers and pastry chefs along the way. Together they are pushing the boundaries of chocolate-making, using 100% local ingredients, entirely in the country of origin.

High Quality End-Product with a stringent production process:

Marou chocolate bars are made from cacao beans carefully selected from six provinces in Southern Vietnam: The unique taste of Marou chocolate comes from the quality of the cacao beans that is source with utmost care. Each origin has its own characteristic: the richness of the soil, the frequency of the rains, the climate of each terroir lend distinctive flavours to the cacao grown in the Mekong Delta to the slopes of the Central Highlands.

Commitment to Sustainable Practices:

Marou works directly with the family-owned farms. They provide technical and material assistance to help them produce the finest cacao beans using the best practices. As a result, they are able to pay them well above market price to reward their hard work and the high quality of their production.

Working with small companies and buying locally makes it easier for Marou to personally check the quality of goods supplied.

Marou understands that by paying their farmers enough, encouraging the next generation, and maintain the health and diversity of their surrounding ecosystem.

About the Founders:

Vincent Mourou left a successful advertising career in San Francisco to find himself in Vietnam. Instead, he found Samuel Maruta, a recovering banker living in Saigon with his wife and two kids. During a camping trip in the jungle in 2010, they quickly decided to make a break for it.

 After googling “cacao plantation” Sam and Vincent set course for a farm in Ba Ria Province with no address. On the ferry ride back to Saigon, they vowed to start a company called Marou Faiseurs de Chocolat. Armed with nothing but a blender, an oven, and cake tins—they got to work in Sam’s kitchen.

 Today Marou makes chocolate bars on the edge of the city Sam and Vincent call home.