Nadi, Viti Levu – (July 26, 2022) CacaoFiji has won the inaugural Pacific Cacao & Chocolate Award 2022 beating competitors from neighboring South Pacific countries such as Samoa, Solomon’s, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines. This was the first Pacific event dedicated to the evolution of cacao, from commodity and a family affair, to luxurious branding and world-class flavour profiling.
The Pacific Cup was chosen by the NZ Public and judges through a guided tasting at the show’s competition booth, thus securing the best beans and chocolate bar from around the Pacific. “Congratulations Fiji and CACAO FIJI; Arif Khan for winning this first Pacific Cup, stated Floris Niu, the driving force behind the competition . Craft chocolate is a growing and exciting food industry where Pacific cacao needs recognition, through its stories of origin, tradition, diversity of flavours and terroirs.
“We are elated by the award as it is not an easy feat beating formidable cacao producing company, stated Arif, founder of CacaoFiji. It goes to show that our commitment to quality and producing award winning beans can be done in Fiji. The Fiji Cocoa Industry has a huge potential but we are facing supply challenges. It will take a strategic push from the top to realize the full potential With this award, I envision, there will an increase in demand for Cacaofiji beans. Our immediate demand is approximately 50 Metric Tonnes.
The awards was held on July 23rd at the Eastern Lounge Mt Smart Stadium, Penrose, Auckland, New Zealand. The ticketed event consists of two mini-events: the Chocolate Trade Event (daytime), and the VIP Cacao Awards (evening). All bars were crafted by Raglan Chocolate.and judged on Show-day by the Public. This event was supported by The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade New Zealand (MFAT); and is collaboration between Grow Asia Pacific Charitable Trust, Ms Sunshine Organic Farms Charitable Trust, Samoa, and SPS Biota NZ.
