In stores this month, Grand Art, Mascarin's range of bean to bar chocolate bars with organic cocoa from Madagascar, does not only aim for high quality. The Réunion chocolatier forms a partnership with the producers who supply it with its raw materials via the fair trade company Sambirano SA.
For Mascarin, the Grand Art range is a showcase of his values as well as additional know-how of which he has acquired mastery of the process. The search for quality and sustainability of supply based on equity is the basis of the project. At the beginning, the brand had hoped to implement it, at least in part, with Reunion cocoa producers. Failing that, Mascarin turned to our neighbor Madagascar, land of world-famous cocoa, to launch your product. Reunion roots are expressed in the packaging : the brand called on the painter Charly Lesquelin to image a world of cocoa. It is also expressed in the proximity and impeccable nature of the supply of cocoa beans.. By purchasing from the company Sambirano SA, Mascarin associates its name with fair trade, allowing small Malagasy producers to promote quality organic cocoa. The Réunion chocolatier invites us to get to know Ms. Safiath, current official producer of the cocoa used to make its bean to bar chocolate. Frédéric Auché, general manager of Mascarin, went to meet her on her four-hectare farm, northwest of Madagascar, the region of choice for Malagasy cocoa.
A plot of the farm is now reserved for Mascarin. Ms. Safiath is part of one of the three large Malagasy cocoa cooperatives. Women are very present in this activity, the fact that Mascarin chose to partner with a farmer is not insignificant either.
An issue of notoriety and image
Targeting high-quality chocolate lovers, the three Grand Art tablets (68 %, 78% and 85% cocoa) have been available in supermarkets since October. Mascarin's bean to bar chocolate made its first notable appearance for Easter at the Mascarin pop-up store in the Leclerc du Portail shopping center. Pop-up store which will be back for Christmas with, in his offer, bean to bar chocolate candies. Roasting and crushing beans, grinding and production of cocoa liquor : the company has set up a production workshop separate from its main industrial tool to promote the artisanal know-how of bean to bar. This workshop employs three people. Mascarin relied on the expertise of a specialized chocolatier, Corinne Maeght. One of its research and development engineers, Sarah Verbard, trained with her. If imported Malagasy cocoa is certified organic, the process is not yet. This is why Mascarin bean to bar chocolate does not yet claim to be organic.. But this will definitely be the next step.
Sambirano SA, the hyphen
The Sambirano SA company buys cocoa at a price 15 to 20% higher than that of the Malagasy market. It contributes through its support to improving the production and living conditions of farmers..
After Sambirano Aromatic created for the marketing of vanilla, the company Sambirano SA was created in 2005 for the marketing of cocoa on the same fair trade and organic basis. In this approach, Sambirano SA was supported by Max Felchlin AG, Swiss producer of grand cru chocolate, in the co-financing of social projects. Sambirano SA, with his technicians, is committed to a benchmark international certification process on the European markets, Swiss and American : Fairtrade International, USDA Organic (label of the National Organic Program of the United States Department of Agriculture), European Union organic label, label Biosuisse. " On the technical side, we help producers to increase their production in quality and quantity” summarizes Nathalie Dugas, in charge of social projects at Sambirano SA. Cocoa pollination depends on insects, and Sambirano SA is carrying out in particular a strategic pollination project which would make it possible to increase production by 20 to 50% without increasing the cultivated areas., “which would be unfavorable to the forest”. On the social plan, Sambirano SA, under the leadership of Felchlin, is at the initiative of health insurance for farmers and their families. The company distributes school supplies to children every year. Cocoa was introduced to Madagascar by the French in the 19th century. Ten thousand hectares of cocoa support 27,000 producers along the banks of the Sambirano River.
THREE QUESTIONS TO FREDERIC AUCHE, GENERAL DIRECTOR OF MASCARIN
You surrendered, from October 10 to 17, in the Ambanja region where the cocoa for the new Grand Art range comes from. Why ?
In this journey, I was accompanied by Sarah Verbard, our R engineer&D du bean to bar. We wanted to be sure that our suppliers work in good conditions. We went to Madagascar to build a real partnership with them through the fair trade company Sambirano SA. If needed, we are ready to help them financially to improve their production equipment.
Wasn't it logical for Mascarin to turn to Malagasy cocoa?, one of the best in the world ?
Madagascar, whose cocoa terroir is one of the most famous in the world, proves to be an obvious alternative due to its geographical and cultural proximity to Reunion Island. But I remind you that we originally wanted, with bean to bar chocolate, contribute to the emergence of a Reunion cocoa sector. This has not been possible until now.
Was the fair trade option planned from the start? ?
I wanted Mascarin to be associated with an approach of this nature. With the company Sambirano SA, we have the guarantee of a fair relationship with Malagasy producers. On the other hand, the quality and traceability of our products are assured. We meet the regulatory constraints in this area of the French and European market.
