{"id":6627,"date":"2015-01-27T13:49:39","date_gmt":"2015-01-27T21:49:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/?p=6627"},"modified":"2022-10-24T15:32:44","modified_gmt":"2022-10-24T22:32:44","slug":"from-the-ground-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/outsidechocolate\/from-the-ground-up\/","title":{"rendered":"From the ground up"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"SPAGnVOLA
SPAGnVOLA\u2019s main shop & factory are located in a faux downtown area of the Kentlands shopping district in Gaithersburg, MD.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I\u2019ve wanted to check out SPAGnVOLA Chocolatier<\/a><\/strong> on one of my annual East Coast excursions for several years, but something always got in the way: their location in the northern \u2019burbs of DC, winter storms, lack of time (when visiting family and friends is top priority), various illnesses that come with travel… I once managed to get inside the store, but it was Christmas Eve, and like any good chocolate shop, the place was mobbed. No chance of talking to anybody, much less taking photos of the space.<\/p>\n

Finally, this year was the charm. We stayed at my sister-in-law\u2019s house close by, the weather was great, and they were open the week between Christmas and New Year\u2019s Day when Cacaopod and I had a chance to drop by, chat leisurely with the managers, and try some of their chocolate.<\/p>\n

Farm-to-bar & beyond<\/h2>\n

The reason I wanted to check out SPAGnVOLA (pronounced spang-vo-la)<\/em> was their story. Husband-and-wife owners Eric and Crisoire Reid have their own cacao plantation in the Dominican Republic, and when they couldn\u2019t get a decent price for their cacao beans, they learned how to make their own chocolate which they sell in their own stores in Maryland. Their single-estate, organic chocolate products include handmade truffles, bonbons, and bars. They also serve hot chocolate and espresso drinks (from Dominican Republic beans, naturally) at their shop. Plus gelato, sorbet and macarons. Whew!<\/p>\n

According to an interview with Eric<\/a>, they started with the farm in the Dominican Republic, originally raising livestock, then transitioning to growing fruit and finally cacao. They couldn\u2019t find buyers for their beans initially because Eric and his wife were focused on growing and processing beans organically, using sustainable traditional methods and treating their farmers fairly. Buyers were only interested in quantity and low cost, so Eric said to his wife, \u201cLet\u2019s make our own premium chocolate from our own beans.\u201d<\/p>\n

It only took one batch to convince them to go their own way. Crisoire is their head chocolatier and learned to make chocolate at the Barry Callebaut Chocolate Academy<\/a> in Chicago. They opened their boutique in 2011, and their chocolate factory is in the same building.<\/p>\n

\"SPAGnVOLA
If you are nearby, come into a SPAGnVOLA store to pick your own selection of chocolates to give (or keep). Online you can only choose quantity, not selection.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Vertically integrated business<\/h2>\n

In interviews, Eric talks about\u00a0SPAGnVOLA being a vertically integrated business, but it is more than that. By keeping all of the critical elements of their business\u00a0(growing, fermenting, roasting, grinding, molding, marketing & selling) under their control, they seem to have a more secure future and hence more freedom to shape their business to their vision.<\/p>\n

And their vision seems to be about community and treating customers, staff and farmers fairly. For us customers, that means quality assurance from farm to factory to store \u2014 since it\u2019s all a continuum at SPAGnVOLA \u2014 and little perks like free samples and free tours (sign up on their website). For employees, it means a commitment to hiring, training and promoting local staff for their stores and factory (they currently have 2 stores), and maintaining a convivial working environment.<\/p>\n

Taking care of farmers<\/h2>\n

Most uniquely perhaps, is their commitment to the farmers. If you know anything at all about the cacao farming industry, it\u2019s that farmers are often exploited. There are chocolate companies who don\u2019t exploit farmers, and it behooves us all to seek out and patronize those who treat their farmers fairly. Since SPAGnVOLA started on the farming side of the equation, they probably understand the situation better than most, and they are very committed to fair labor practices in the field.<\/p>\n

With their own farmers, in addition to paying them a living wage,\u00a0SPAGnVOLA allows them to grow their own produce on the plantation which the farmers can then sell to make additional money for themselves. SPAGnVOLA also includes them in the loop, educating them about chocolate beyond the raising and processing of cacao beans. For example, they send samples of their finished products back to the plantation so the farmers there can understand the importance of how they raise and process the cacao.<\/p>\n

In an interview on YouTube, Eric said, \u201cMost farmers have never tasted chocolate.<\/a> And most consumers don\u2019t know where chocolate comes from. So we connect that, through our tours and though the education, both back home and here in the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n

Helping cacao farmers help themselves<\/h2>\n

With a proven business model, Eric is now working to help other cacao farmers become self-sufficient. In Barbados, Eric is working with a university to set up a chocolate manufacturing plant, so cacao from different Caribbean countries can be processed into final products locally. The factory would also serve as a training center to teach local people how to manufacture high-end chocolate and become chocolatiers.<\/p>\n

Eric is involved in a similar plan in Ondo State in Nigeria, where they have established a \u201ccocoa academy\u201d to teach locals, especially cacao farmers, how to process cacao into chocolate. Ondo is the leading cocoa-producing state in Nigeria, but has lacked the industrial infrastructure to capitalize on this valuable resource fully. When the governor of the state visited SPAGnVOLA in Gaithersburg, he saw a working system for increasing the value and wealth of cacao farmers and decided to work with Eric on developing the same for Ondo State.<\/p>\n