Page 36 - IB November 2023

Food Processing Food Processing

SUPPORTING PACIFIC CACAO

FARMERS

By Rowena Singh where Preuss comes from, it also takes cacao from Papua New
Guinea and Fiji. “We get 95% of our ingredients from small
“We are chocolate and cacao manufacturers, but we call domestic plot farmers in the Pacific Islands. Our markets are
ourselves community cultural development practitioners mainly Australia, NZ and Japan as well.”
which is what we all studied, none study chocolate making. Its products can be found in 70 stores across Australia, and
The more beans we move, the more money goes into the Living Koko has just moved into a new manufacturing space in
village economies.” Melbourne.
So says Phoebe Preuss, the co-owner with her husband The business is growing, but still faces a number of
Glenn Reiss, of Living Koko. challenges.
“Our business produces a number of things,” says Preuss. “Our people [are] coming to Australia and New Zealand for
“We have products made of cacao: dark chocolate, drinking seasonal work. There is less support to tend to our lands back
cacao, cacao husk tea, body scrubs out of cacao. We’re a home. So that’s becoming a challenge. This was a huge issue
zero-waste manufacturing space so we get creative with in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, where a lot of family members,
the by-products. We have other services and events in the including my own family, migrated to New Zealand for a
wellness space—supporting rest and restoration for people.” ‘better life’ and for more opportunities. This actually stunted
While the company sources most of its cacao from Samoa, a lot of export growth in the Pacific and there are huge

36 Islands Business, November 2023