ZOTO Chocolate
Zoi Papalexandratou & Tom De Winne founded ZOTO in 2016, taking the name from their initials (Zo / To). Both have worked as natural scientists in the cocoa sector and traveled half the world. Zoi worked for the non-profit organization Lutheran World Relief before they started their own business. In the meantime they have 2 children and have to manage the time they spend on cocoa plantations.
Highly aromatic cocoa - the mission
Their mission is to find unknown cocoa varieties, discover their potential and preserve them, as well as make them reference varieties for good cocoa. In this regard, post-harvest, i.e. fermentation, during which the flavors develop, and drying are enormously important. The goal is to bring out the flavors of the particular cocoa through the post-harvest process and produce a high quality aromatic cocoa. In this way, cocoa farmers can operate profitably.
Creating understanding - the vision
Their vision is to produce exceptional cocoa with full traceability so that chocolate manufacturers can convince their customers of the quality. In addition, they want chocolate makers to have a direct relationship with cocoa farmers to connect them more closely and create more understanding of the important work cocoa farmers do. Without good cocoa, there can be no good Chocolate.
