Discovery of Chocotlán

Business Case Study

Chocotlán is a chocolate international business primarily based in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico. They are woman owned and are working towards opening their doors to the public in a couple of years. Sendero del Cacao translates to path to the chocolate.
Chocotlán’s mission is to redistribute and restore cacao (chocolate plants) that used to grow in the area and region by educating the public and locals, and by constructing an eco-tourism attraction that will fund this initiative.
This will be carried out in a three phase approach that is further detailed below.
Research assistant for the following:
-Business decision consultant and advisor
-Land property valuation search
-Research cacap growth in the region by conducting interviews and storing data and GPS coordinates in an organized and chronological manner
-Researching chocolate market on an international scale
-Research assistant for chocolate biology and geography
-Agricultural engineer assistant

The Phases

Phase 1

Brainstorm, Research, Buy, and Own property to grow cacao
Phase 2

Plant, Grow, and Build the land to prepare for the grand opening
Phase 3

Prepare, Organize, and Officiate the grand opening to the public

Phase One

Experience map starting with the idea and ending in fruitful endeavors… pun intended.

The main prerogative in this phase was to gain a better understanding of what we wanted to do and accomplish as short and long term goals…

Some short and long terms goals included researching cacao’s biology and geography, finding a region to start looking for land in which this biology was agreeable, and if this was going to be an endeavor that would be funded personally or through grants.

Other things to consider were:

Best time of the year to start investigating
Location to start the search
Budgeting
Time constraints
Resource availability and needs
Methods to conduct the investigation of the search of land

Methods for the considerations include:

Field studies
Interviews
Literature Reviews
Market Research
Experience Maps
Flow Designs
Interview Scripts

Methods & Insights

Prior to interviewing locals, we held causal conversation and discussion with them getting to know them and the area in general. Once there was an acceptable level rapport was held, the interviewing process began.

Flow design of the conversation flow ultimately leading to successful and fruitful endeavors. Pun intended.

Common Interview Questions asked:

What kind of sweets do you sell?
What kind of sweets do you like?
How familiar are you with chocolate Abuelita or Ibarra?
Who sells chocolate de tableta (tablet chocolate) in the area?
What fruits grow in the area?
Where have you found cacao trees to grow?
Who do you know that has cacao trees or fruit?
What time of the year do harvests typically happen?
What can you tell us about the rain fall in the area?
And of course the infamous… “Tell me more about that…”

Typical reaction diagram of interviewer & interviewee

Highlight Reel

The Beginnings

One small sliver of notes compiled from the search. This is a page detailing investigation into certain areas where cacao may grow based on prior research.
Interviews

One of the first conversations we had that led us to our first documentation of cacao in the state of Jalisco, Mexico.
Rustic Mexican Chocolate

This form of tablet chocolate is a popular rustic manner of processing cacao in Mexico. This chocolate first started as a harvest from a backyard cacao tree, it was then fermented, toasted, ground up and mixed with sugar and cinnamon. Other findings included rustic chocolate processing machines and machines custom made by a mechanic in the family we interviewed.
Banana and Palm Farmers

This region that used to be rich in cacao was now found to be abundant in banana and coconut palms. This farmer was able to provide us with more information on the local agriculture.
Chocolate Ibarra

This encounter led us to meet one of the three brothers associated with Chocolate Ibarra (Mexican tablet chocolate prepared with hot milk and consumed as a hot chocolate). This photo is one of many that located an area where they were growing chocolate. This piece of property for example was a test land area to see if cacao would grow prosperously. Cacao in the photos are noted beneath the palm trees and had plenty of fruit growing on the trunk of the tree indicating this land was good for growing and harvesting chocolate.
Doña María

After encountering a lead for cacao in the area of a small town in Jalisco, Mexico, we met Dona Maria. She invited us into her home and showed us her cacao plants then later sat down to hear about our mission as well as shared her own experience with her cacao trees and fruit. The fruit pictured here is jackfruit - common to the region.
Doña María's Budding Cacao Tree

Dona Maria’s cacao trees were budding with new and ripe fruit. These trees were grown in a casual manner with other fruit trees, including mango and citrus, as it easily grew in this area. Maria did have to go through trial and error with the trees throughout the years and noted she made special accommodations for it with shade - if it receives too much sun, it burns the leaves.
First Fruit Findings

Being proud of our first fruit findings of course resulted in a happy selfie.

Phase Two

The Contruction & Implementation Phase

Items that need to be constructed and implemented

Carved out tour path on the mountain side
Cacao trees and other fruits planted
Water irrigation
Two-story business home building
Electricity
Road fixture
Vehicle acquirement

Carving the Path

Prior to the placement of the main building and the planting of the trees, the path had to be carved out utilizing the most efficient route so that other organizational structures could be accommodated (restrooms, irrigation, natural rainfall configuration, etc.)
Planting the Trees

The trees that were planted were either first germinated by a seedling from a cacao pod or planted from other local cacao trees anywhere from 6 months to 3 years of age. Cacao trees typically product fruit after 3 years of age and grow off of the trunk of the tree rather than from a typical leaf.

Building the Multi-Story Multi-Use Home-Office

Foundation

It all begins with laying down the foundation.
Top View

This is the top view of the second story being constructed on the South side of the building.
Olmec Head

Along the path you will find several statues and one of them being the Olmec Head. This symbolizes the first civilization to cultivate and create chocolate.
Kitchen

A preview of the kitchen on the first floor - where many memories for visitors and locals will be had.
Mural

One of the first murals painted by Pati from Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico. Thank you, Pati!
Finishing Touches

The finished mural.
First Chocolate Machine

This is the first machine bought by Chocotlán. It is used to grind together cacao nibs, coca butter, sugar, and other ingredients to your liking into a smooth paste.
Inside of the Mellinger

This is where your ingredients would go and the grinding process could take days depending on the desired consistency.
Continuous Growth

Planting cacao trees never ends and is an ongoing process.