Although the signature chocolate river may have been pure fantasy, Africa's cocoa industry is being molded by real-life chocolate-makers who are making it their mission to demonstrate why the continent deserves a golden ticket.
"I've never seen anyone miserable while tasting chocolate. Even if you are miserable, you take a bite of chocolate and it boosts your mood. It makes people joyful. That's part of its mystery and beauty," believes Kimberly Addison, who, along with her sister Priscilla, started Ghana's '57 Chocolate in 2016.
The name of the Accra-based bean-to-bar company is inspired by the year in which the country gained independence and the spirit of developing a nation by manufacturing high-quality products.
Having spent her formative years in Switzerland's second-most populous city, Geneva, Addison was accustomed to giving Swiss chocolate as gifts when visiting friends and family in the United States (U.S.), Senegal, and Ghana.
"I was living in the chocolate nation of the world- or so I thought." Fulfilling her life-long dream of moving back to Ghana prompted her friends to take her on a farewell outing to a chocolate factory two weeks before her departure. It was during that tour that the seed of Addison's life's purpose began to cultivate.
"They had a display of where they sourced their cocoa beans from, and lo and behold, Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana were the two largest displays. I asked myself, 'why on earth have I been taking Swiss chocolate everywhere I travel when the main ingredient comes from the continent of Africa? I should be bringing Ghanaian chocolate to Switzerland"." The only problem - Ghanaian chocolate didn't really exist.
Although Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire are responsible for growing around 70% of the world's cocoa beans, the raw material is most often exported to chocolate-producing countries in Europe and the U.S.
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