17:26 | New York (U.S.), Sep. 21.
National start-up Q'uma's Maras Salt 70% Cacao chocolate grabbed a silver medal at the
International Chocolate Awards' 2018 Americas Competition under the "Dark chocolate bars with inclusions or pieces" category.
Over 800 products presented by 130
chocolate companies from 16 different countries participated in the event, which took place in New York.
Q'uma —a young company with great market potential— is co-financed by and receives technical advice from Peruvian Production Ministry's (Produce) Innovate Peru Program, which has allocated over S/210,000 (around US$63,636) to boost the innovative goods' commercial launch.
The start-up —led by Francesca Valdivia— is also supported by Lima-based Pacific University's business incubator known as "Emprende UP."
Organic chocolate
According to Valdivia, Q'uma is a bean-to-bar chocolate maker that carefully selects the finest organic ingredients with the purpose of producing high-quality
chocolates in small batches.
"We want to be recognized for making the country's and the world's most delicious fine
chocolates," she expressed.
The business also promotes fair-trade by working directly with small-scale farmers from northern San Martin region, as well as supporting them with coaching programs to improve their harvesting techniques and management skills.
"With our project, we have a positive impact on farmers' families by improving their quality of life and development opportunities," Valdivia added.
(END) NDP/RRC/DTK/MVB
Published: 9/21/2018