SAN FRANCISCO, Calif — Hernan Lauber, founder of the Oodaalolly Chocolate Company, was a featured speaker at Kakao Konek 2019, the largest tablea/chocolate/cacao expo and conference in the region. Hernan discussed the potential of Philippine-sourced cacao in the United States chocolate market.
The United States is one of the largest chocolate producing nations in the world – along with Germany, Switzerland, and Belgium. This open market for chocolate means that space is crowded.
Any new entrant to the U.S. market must innovate to stand out. Oodaalolly does both through its focus on ingredients and technique. It produces the best chocolate using the highest quality Philippine cacao using Swiss techniques refined over several generations. Success rests upon a shared value chain based on helping build the reputation of the Philippines as a premier origin for the world’s best-tasting chocolate products.
Lauber discussed the need for stakeholder cooperation with Val Turtur, Philippine Cacao Council Chair, as a means to inculcate collaborative solutions to increase overall revenue generated by Philippine cacao.
Lauber believes the aphorism, “a rising tide lifts all boats.”
The importance of cacao cannot be overstated, as it is the main ingredient in Oodaalolly chocolate. This was echoed in the keynote given by Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio. By being proudly Filipino we can tell a unique story and build up an industry that supports stakeholder growth from farm to bar.
Chocolate maker Lauber founded Oodaalolly Chocolate in 2017. As a Filipino-American chocolate maker with a family history of working with chocolate, Oodaalolly focuses exclusively on sourcing ingredients from the Philippines. A San Francisco start-up with “cacao in our blood,” Oodaalolly sources direct from the Davao region of the southern Philippines to create a unique and delicious product that’s innovative and sustainable.
Kakao Konek is the largest tablea/chocolate/cacao expo and conference in the Philippines region. It is organized by CIDAMi – the Cacao Industry Development Association of Mindanao, Inc. – a value-chain organization composed of local industry stakeholders who share a vision to increase the importance and world-wide recognition of Philippine produced cacao products. The Philippines produces less than 1% of the world’s entire supply of cacao but the crop has been part of the nation’s rich history for hundreds of years and is ascendant on the world stage for its unique flavor.
