"We support entrepreneurship among farmers and exporters who grow special cacao and we help them find new markets to grow their business."
We are Mariana de La Rosa and Marika van Santvoort, founders of Gaia Cacao. We started this venture in 2019 because we felt there is a gap between farmers who grow special cacao, and chocolate makers who want to buy from fully traceable supply chains. Organising the logistics can be a total hassle. So, we handle that.
We have been working in the cacao and chocolate industry for more than 6 years and are well connected in the scene. Check us out on LinkedIn if you would like to read more information on our backgrounds.
Our mission?
We support entrepreneurship among farmers and exporters who grow special cacao and we help them find new markets to grow their business.
We directly connect farmers with buyers to keep a short and transparent supply chain.
We support farmers, buyers and businesses in creating a more sustainable and valuable cacao ecosystem.
This is how our work looks like:
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30% sourcing & selling cacao beans, powder and butter
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30% logistics & distribution
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40% consultancy & training to NGOs, governments, private companies and farmer organisations
Like to know more? Reach out to us! We’re happy to collaborate.
Marika & Mariana
Follow us on Instagram @gaia_cacao
WHAT PEOPLE SAY
Dennis van Essen
The Highfive Company (Netherlands)
Both Mariana and Marika are extremely focussed persons, with great attention to detail. Their in-depth knowledge of the industry are remarkable.
Alloysius Attah
Farmerline (Ghana)
Marika’s knowledge of the cocoa industry, professional attitude and expertise in cocoa was
a huge advantage to our business. She used her skills and network in the project to succesfully help our company forward.
Jorge Redmond (Chocolates El Rey)
I worked with Mariana and she is very tactful with clients and has great technical knowledge. About imports and logistic planning, she is diligent and attentive to detail, always putting in the extra mile so things go according to plan.
Fernando Consuegra (KKO Real)
So far we reached only traders, but we never had direct connections with chocolate makers. Trough Gaia we can. They speak our language and are able to help us grow trough their connections in Europe.