Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | September 30, 2019 | Worcester Business Journal 9 Peppersartfulevents.com | 508.393.6844 | Eventinquiry@peppersartfulevents.com Holiday Parties That Dazzle Celebrate With Exceptional Catering, Stunning Decor, and Unparalleled Service they made connections to find the right cacao-growing farms in places like Gua- temala, Ecuador and Peru. en, they took one trip aer another to farms to see how the process worked and who they could buy cacao beans from. Committing themselves to paying farmers a fair wage was the next step, the Rogans negotiate directly with farmers and oen pay them directly, too. e going rate for cacao beans is around $2,000 to $2,200 a ton, Tom says. Fair-trade prices are around $2,400 a ton. Goodnow Farms pays $6,500 to $8,500. at makes Goodnow Farms bars something to savor in small bites and not devour in one sitting, and not just because of the flavor. Goodnow Farms, which hit the market in 2016, sells 1.94-ounce bars for $10 to $16, compared to a typical Herhsey's bar sells for $2 or less for 4.4 ounces. e oen dark stories behind those lower prices, though, have been in the spotlight since a Washington Post investigation in June of practices by Hershey's, Nestle and Mars. e inves- tigation alleged cruel cases of child and slave-like labor on cacao farms in Africa, with similar allegations in Malaysia. e Post reported those chocolate companies have acknowledged being far behind on pledges to eliminate such practices in their supply. In July, two U.S. senators proposed blocking chocolate imports tied to child labor, e Post said. ose companies whose bars are ubiquitous on grocery shelves make up a huge bulk of U.S. sales. Small players like Goodnow Farms – which makes 40,000 to 50,000 bars a year with just a few employees – can't necessarily make a meaningful difference on the lives of cacao farm workers on their own. "It's not us," Monica said. "It's the con- sumers that would make the change." Finding a niche For Goodnow Farms, ethical prac- tices were a non-negotiable part of the business, but the quality and taste of the chocolate – and the awards following – have done the most to create buzz and get Goodnow Farms bars to roughly 300 retailers nationwide today, gener- ally smaller markets, cra food stores and wine shops. e chocolate maker opened a booth at the Boston Public Market this year. Take a look at the label on the back of a Goodnow Farms package, and there's no impossible-to-pronounce additives. "We've had to change people's atti- tudes," Monica said. "We're not candy. We're chocolate." Cisneros, from the Northwest Choc- olate Festival, credited Goodnow Farms for being ambassadors for cra choc- olate, having a transparent and ethical sourcing process, and even sharing tech- niques and recipes with others, some- thing that's been rare in the business. "at's a really good mark of character on their part," he said. e Rogans aren't only chocolate purists, either. Goodnow teamed up with the Canton cra brewer Trillium Brewing for a limit- ed-edition chocolate stout and chocolate bar made with Trillium's imperial milk stout. Goodnow has made bars with rum and whiskey from Boston Harbor Dis- tillery of Boston, and coffee from George Howell Coffee of Acton. Goodnow Farms makes its own cocoa butter – a labor-intensive process requir- ing its own machinery – and in Novem- ber will release an apple cider chocolate bar with apple cider from Honey Pot Hill Orchards in Stow, and Macoun apples from the Goodnow Farms property itself. A first milk chocolate bar is being tested. Sourcing chocolate from so many places might not seem to matter so much to a layperson, but Tom compares it to the so-called terroir making wine or coffee in one region taste different from another to those whose pallets can tell the difference. Add in a range of different bean-roasting variations and the natural variations among coffee beans even in a cacao pod, and the variations are endless. "at's what makes it fun," Tom said. "at's what it's all about." W F O O D & D R I N K I S S U E F O C U S • Business Events • Team Building • Sales Meetings • Interviews • Corporate Meetings • Business Luncheons • Business Dinners • On- or Off-Site Catering 50 Water Street | Worcester, MA 01604 (508) 379-3400 | Lock50.com The Perfect Business Partner for all Your Hospitality Needs!

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