Yes. All the ingredients in our products are 100% certified organic. This means that Pacari Chocolate have had to prove that no use of pesticides, harmful fertilisers or genetically modified products were used in any part of the supply chain from the cacao growing production in the farms right through to the final packaged chocolate bar.  Look for the green leaf certified organic logo (or USDA logo in the USA) which means that a product has gone through a rigorous independent assessment and certification process.

Sadly, anybody can put ‘natural’ ingredients on a product even when it contains artificial or chemical ingredients as there is no regulation on the use of the word on products. So if you want to be sure that claims are independently verified to be true make sure you check out the ingredients and look for organic certification.

There are so many benefits to the health and wellbeing of both the consumers and cacao growers and also the environment (protecting local biodiversity and not contributing to pollution or destruction of rivers, animals and plants). These values are at the core of all Pacari Chocolate products.

Certified organic ingredients have to go through a using a comprehensive system of certification and inspection to prove they have been grown and processed with

No toxic pesticides or chemicals

No synthetic growth hormones

No petroleum based fertilisers

No cloning

No GMOs

No artificial preservatives

No artificial colours or flavours

Importantly, this is also verified using a comprehensive system of certification and inspection to ensure compliance with the above regulations. 

The difference is that a ‘tree to bar’ chocolate like Pacari Chocolate is one of the few chocolates in the world that has been produced and packaged in a developing country where cacao beans actually grow! This ensures that over 50% of the wealth stays in the country of origin (Ecuador).

Whereas a ‘bean to bar’ chocolate is where the raw materials (cacao beans only) have been imported from developing countries and then made into chocolate within the non cacao growing countries and less than 7% of the wealth stays with the country of origin.  

Pacari was set up by an Ecuadorian family and works alongside 3500 local families, supporting the local economy and creating local job opportunities beyond farming such as technicians, designers, chocolatiers, sales and shop staff. 

Different chocolates contain different percentages of cacao. If a chocolate has 85% cacao, the remaining 15% of the chocolate is made of other ingredients, mainly sugar or other sweeteners. Therefore, the higher the percentage of cacao, the less sugar the bar contains. All of our chocolate products have 60% cacao content or above. In contrast, a typical white chocolate bar contains only 5% cacao content.

Yes. Our Raw 100% and Raw 101% cacao chocolate bars are sugar free, as are our raw cacao drinking powders (Available in natural, ginger and cinnamon varieties). In addition to this, many of our products use Coconut Sugar instead of unrefined cane suga,  like the Raw 85%, Raw 70% with Maca, Raw 70% with Andean Blueberry and Raw 70% with Spirulina. 

Yes. All Pacari Chocolate products are plant-based and are free from any animal-based and/or animal by-products. They are 100% organic, only use natural ingredients and are free from dairy, gluten, refined sugars, nuts, palm oil and soy. Perfect not only for vegans but for all health conscious and ethical consumers.

Yes. All our chocolates are 60% cacao content or above, 100% organic, only use natural ingredients and are free from wheat, dairy, gluten, refined sugars, nuts, palm oil and soy. Full declaration of allergen information is listed below. Our products do not contain:

• Soybeans and products thereof
• Milk and products thereof (including lactose)
• Nuts, namely: almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, pecan nuts, Brazil nuts, pistachio nuts, macadamia or Queensland nuts, and products thereof
• Celery and products thereof
• Mustard and products thereof
• Sesame seeds and products thereof
• Sulphur dioxide and sulphites at concentrations of more than 10 mg/kg or 10 mg/litre in terms of the total SO2
• Lupin and products thereof
• Molluscs and products thereof
• Cereals containing gluten and products thereof
• Crustaceans and products thereof
• Eggs and products thereof
• Fish and products thereof
• Peanuts and products thereof
• Soybeans and products thereof

All our chocolates are packaged in Ecuador, its country of origin, and this means it is subject to Ecuadorian law which currently requires all food products to contain this disclaimer regardless of production, although this may change in the future. However, all Pacari products are free from wheat, dairy, gluten, refined sugars, nuts, palm oil and soy and have been enjoyed by customers with these dietary requirements for years. If you would like further confirmation of suitability you are welcome to contact us for verification.

Yes. For a product to be kosher certified, and to qualify for a kosher certificate, each ingredient, food additive, processing aid and equipment used in its production must also be kosher. Additionally, to be kosher certified, the production process must be suitable for kosher requirements and therefore it must be approved by a kosher auditor.

Raw chocolate contains cacao beans that have been minimally processed and roasted at lower temperatures to maximise the antioxidants and complex flavours of the natural cacao bean. The difference between raw chocolate and non-raw chocolate is the temperature at which the beans are processed. Raw chocolate is made from cacao beans that are processed at 42°C or below (rather than the usual 130-400°C for non raw chocolates). This helps maintain more of the antioxidants and complex flavours of the natural cacao bean. 

Pacari Chocolate is a fair trade, sustainable, socially responsible company. As all of our chocolate production  takes place in Ecuador, we build relationships and work directly with small cooperatives in Ecuador, many of which are certified fair trade under a range of worldwide different organisations like FLO and SPP. Pacari pays more than the fair trade minimum price set as standard by these organisations. 

Some farming practices harm biodiversity (local flora and fauna) including cutting down natural habitats and varieties of cacao trees in order to mass produce cheaper cloned cacao beans. Pacari is not only certified organic  in both the growing and production process (click here for more information), it is also one of the only chocolate companies with the Demeter Biodynamic Certification. This certification process ensures that raw material production takes place in an auto-regenerative ecosystem which is free from, chemicals, pesticides and fertilizers and keeps an ecological balance between animals, insects, soil, plants and humans protecting the biodiversity of Ecuador (including maintaining a wide variety of cacao trees). 

Most of our packaging is also 100% recyclable. Our chocolate bars are wrapped in recyclable aluminium foil (inner packaging) that may not be recyclable by councils and cardboard (outer packaging). 

Pacari chocolate is largely made from Arriba Nacional cacao beans grown in their natural habitat. These beans are higher quality and available in more limited quantities than other varieties of cacao. They are more expensive to produce, however, they ensure that biodiversity is protected. Most chocolate in the market uses cloned cacao beans which are cheaper because they are poorer quality and make use of farming and manufacturing practices that negatively impact the health of growers and the local environment. In contrast, Pacari employs more expensive, ethical practices to ensure that no pesticides, harmful fertilisers or genetically modified products are used in any part of the supply chain, from the growing of cacao in the farms right through to the final packaged chocolate bar.  

Finally, Pacari Chocolate is a ‘Tree to Bar’ chocolate. This means that local farmer gain substantial revenue from chocolate sales. This ensures that around 50% of the wealth stays in Ecuador, the country of origin. With ‘Bean to Bar’ chocolate, typically not more than 7% of the wealth would remain in the country of origin. The “regualr” chocolate from multinationals will contribute even less to the economy of the country of origin.

All of this means that for the price you pay you can be confident that the chocolate you eat is not only of the highest quality but hs also been produced and packaged in the most sustainable and ethical way possible.

Pacari is a ‘for-profit’ company but has been certified by the ‘not for profit’ B Lab which means it meets the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability and aspires to use the power of markets to solve social and environmental problems. This is shown by the B Corp logo on our website. 

For more information on Pacari B Corp see https://bcorporation.net/directory/pacari-chocolate

Pacari Chocolate is a family-owned Ecuadorian company dedicated to making the highest quality organic chocolate in the world. Santiago Peralta and Carla Barboto built the business based on socially and environmentally sustainable principles to ensure that the production of their chocolate supports the well-being of local communities and the land. The word Pacari means “nature” in Quechua, an indigenous language of the Andean region. 

ABA Stepsworth  is delighted to be the Middle East distributor for Pacari Chocolate since. We love this amazing range of ethical, luxury, organic, dark and raw chocolates and we hope that you do too.

Yes, you can be assure that all our chocolates are palm oil  free. 

Yes. Pacari is being audited every year for the organic and and kosher certifications, `B Corp certifications are carried out every 2 years.

Learn more about our B Corp Impact area scores here: Pacari B Impact Report 

Yes they are 100% child labour free. Pacari Chocolate does not accept and tolerate any child labour abuses, and their policies do not allow to use any cacao that could be related to child labour or exploitation. We hope you will support us to stop child slavery on the cacao supply chain. 

Yes, we do have Biodynamic chocolates.