Cebu chocolate firm plans overseas expansion

HOMEGROWN chocolate company Ralfe Gourmet, Inc. is gearing for overseas expansion under its famous commercial brand The Chocolate Chamber (TCC), starting with a boutique in Guam early next year.

“We are currently working on licensing (for The Chocolate Chamber Boutique in Guam),” said Raquel T. Choa, company president.

A new TCC format is also expected to roll out within the first quarter of next year in Shangri-la hotels in the Philippines, starting with Shangri-la Mactan.

Shangri-la hotels in Ford, Edsa and Boracay are next on the list for the TCC Closet, which will be established as part of the hotel chain’s souvenir shops.  Eventually, this will be carried over to hotels even outside the Philippines.

Choa said she wants to bring the name of the cacao and chocolate-making industries outside the Philippines.

“There’s a lot of chocolate makers in the Philippines. I want to tell the whole world that Filipinos exist in the chocolate-making industry,” she said in an interview on the sidelines of a forum on the cacao industry yesterday.

“I firmly believe that this is our hidden treasure,” she added.

Since beginning her chocolate company three years ago, Choa has made leaps and bounds in not only making the name The Chocolate Chamber known nationwide, but also globally.

Currently, TCC provides ingredients for hot chocolate in several high-end hotels in Manila, including the Manila Hotel and Raffles Makati.

The company was selected to prepare giveaways for three of the APEC seminars held in Cebu, Bacolod and Bataan. Collectively, TCC produced some three to four tons of cacao products, both for tokens and for selling.

Cebu hotels supported the brand, with Marco Polo creating a “chocolate lounge,” Radisson Blu renaming its “coffee break” into “chocolate break,” and Cebu City Waterfront Hotel allowing Choa to present the traditional, native way of making chocolate in the Philippines.

Through the presentation of the chocolate during these events, Choa’s chocolate garnered a lot of interest and attention from not only the delegates themselves, but from their spouses as well.

“After the meetings, the business increased in terms of production,” she said.