The most sustainable chocolate factory in the world's largest cocoa port

The Factory, Chocolatemakers

Chocolatemakers makes powerful chocolate from bean to bar 100% in-house

What began as a boyhood dream for Enver and Rodney of Chocolatemakers, making their own chocolate, grew into the opening of the world's most sustainable chocolate factory. The founders expect to produce 200,000 pounds of chocolate at the factory, which will be open to the public starting Oct. 5. Large quantities of chocolate bars leave the factory that many thousands of fans in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany consume daily.

'With this we are realizing a long-held dream. From our very beginning in 2011, we wanted to show people how chocolate is made. And not mass-produced chocolate from mega-factories, but the artisanal process where it's all about quality instead of efficiency. Where the bean, its origin and fantastic flavors, are central. We bring the human touch back into the process and you can taste that,' say Rodney Nikkels (48) & Enver Loke (45).

Sjakie and the...
Sustainable Chocolate Factory of course. But that's not so natural, where can you find a chocolate factory where chocolate is completely homemade from bean to bar? Only when you control all the steps of chocolate making can you call yourself a true chocolate maker find
Chocolatemakers. While 60-70 tons (60-70,000 kilos) of chocolate from bean to bar and couverture are currently self-made each year, the two chocolate makers expect to be producing 200 tons of chocolate soon, and eventually even 400 tons.

The Dutch chocolate brand shows that the entire cocoa chain, from farmer to consumer can be transparent, fair and sustainable. Rodney explains, "That means we innovate on all fronts . We look beyond just fair trade or organic: environmentally friendly transport, a zero-waste production process and nature conservation are also part of it. We believe in a holistic approach. The farmer cooperative from Peru with whom we opened a chocolate factory in Peru in May this year are also shareholders in the new factory in Amsterdam. Back in 2014 we were named Amsterdam's most sustainable SME and now five years later we are proud to open our factory, with fully transparent roof of solar panels, so that we provide our own energy needs.'

Visitable chocolate factory
Rodney and Enver spent the past few years building their own sustainable chocolate factory in Amsterdam-West, in the middle of the world's largest cocoa port. Starting at the end of this year, everyone is welcome to visit the Chocolatemakers factory to see (and taste) how the chocolate is made.
This unique tour can be booked through the website www.chocolatemakers.nl

The chocolate factory works exclusively with "single origin beans," purchased directly from farmers. The sailing ship that brings the cocoa beans from the Dominican Republic can dock in front of the new chocolate factory. And there is room for cyclists
of the semi-annual Schokofahrt to distribute chocolate by bicycle to Germany.

About Chocolatemakers
Chocolatemakers makes the chocolate from bean to bar themselves in their own factory in Amsterdam. The chocolate is made with "single origin" beans purchased directly from cacao farmers. Three origins, each with its own story:

• In Peru, Chocolatemakers is working on projects to improve soil quality and last year they built a modern chocolate factory together with cocoa farmers. For the first time ever, this allows farmers to become chocolate makers and thus generate more income.
• From the Dominican Republic, the bars are transported entirely on wind power by sailing ship to Holland to be processed into powerful chocolate.
• In Congo, cocoa provides income for local people so they do not threaten the habitat of mountain gorillas in Virunga National Park.

Large quantities of chocolate bars leave the factory which many fans in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany feast on daily. The products are available among others at Ekoplaza, Marqt, Holland & Barrett and other (eko) stores throughout the Netherlands or via the webshop www.chocolatemakers.nl.

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Christel Willers (Communications & PR) christel@chocolatemakers.nl
Marije Guillaumond (Marketing) marije@chocolatemakers.nl
+31 6 427 65 654