Marou, Vietnam

Vietnam

MAROU

Uncommon Cacao began sourcing from three regions that Marou exports in 2022 for sale in Europe; Tien Giang, Ba Ria and Lam Dong.

A decade ago, two friends with a love of old cars and muddy adventures gave their names to a crazy idea: Marou, Faiseurs de Chocolat.

Since then that seed has grown into a company that spans continents and touches the lives of thousands of people. Marou’s sourcing philosophy is centered around long-term relationships with producers. Together they have learned to implement standardized fermentation techniques in each province to achieve the consistent bold flavors, and Marou has established a model of higher prices and transparent recognition for producers who have agreed to more labor-intensive methods to produce cacao meeting the highest quality standards. Uncommon Cacao began sourcing cacao from three regions in 2022 for sale in the European market: Tien Giang, Ba Ria, and Lam Dong.

Download 2024 MAROU Transparent Trade Data

TERROIR

Lam Dong province is located within the Central Mountain region. Marou’s team travels dusty dirt roads and narrow suspension bridges to reach the cacao farmers. The hard work of the smallholder producers, many of whom are indigenous K’Ho peoples, has paid off, and their production of quality cacao has steadily increased.

A decade ago, two friends with a love of old cars and muddy adventures gave their names to a crazy idea: Marou, Faiseurs de Chocolat.

Since then that seed has grown into a company that spans continents and touches the lives of thousands of people. Marou’s sourcing philosophy is centered around long-term relationships with producers. Together they have learned to implement standardized fermentation techniques in each province to achieve the consistent bold flavors, and Marou has established a model of higher prices and transparent recognition for producers who have agreed to more labor-intensive methods to produce cacao meeting the highest quality standards. Uncommon Cacao began sourcing cacao from three regions in 2022 for sale in the European market: Tien Giang, Ba Ria, and Lam Dong.

Download 2024 MAROU Transparent Trade Data

TERROIR

Lam Dong province is located within the Central Mountain region. Marou’s team travels dusty dirt roads and narrow suspension bridges to reach the cacao farmers. The hard work of the smallholder producers, many of whom are indigenous K’Ho peoples, has paid off, and their production of quality cacao has steadily increased.

Samples are only available from Europe

Wholesale Orders

Samples are only available from Europe

Wholesale Orders

2024 MAROU Farmgate Price

$9.20 USD

This is the actual price paid to the cacao producer for their product (typically on a per kg or per lb basis) when they sell it to the first buyer.

Farmgate price is often paid for "wet" or fresh cacao, recently harvested and scooped out of cracked pods for sale. Wet cacao loses 60-70% of its weight during fermentation and drying, typically reaching 7-8% humidity before it is sold.

Uncommon calculates farmgate price for each cacao supplier based on the specific weight loss conversion percentage provided to us by the supplier, and we report farmgate price on a per kg dried equivalent basis for all cacao beans we source.

Pictured are fermenting expert Pham Chieu Sang and his wife Vong Nhit Kiu

2024 Marou FOB Price

$6.50 USD

This is the price paid by Uncommon to our partners for cacao transported and loaded onto a ship for export.

Uncommon then covers all of the costs of shipping, freight charges, insurance, import, domestic logistics, warehouse ingestion, customs and duties.

Free on board (FOB) is an international shipping term that represents the seller's responsibility for bringing the cacao over the rails of the export ship.

Pictured is fermenting expert Vo Van Ban

2024 MAROU Average Sales Price

$10.64 USD

This is the weighted average price per kg for cacao sold to the premium & ultra premium chocolate makers who purchased it during this year from Uncommon Cacao.