On the banks of an avenue in Florianopolis, no one can imagine that a nationally recognized gourmet chocolate factory is located on the top floor of a commercial gallery. Invento Chocolates was born in March 2022 under the leadership of two childhood friends and has already been awarded the Bean to Bar Brasil award, which is considered the most important in this segment in the country.

Filipe Carniel and Guilherme Bortoli are the founders of Invento Chocolates. Photo: Leo Munkhoz/North Dakota.

One of the factory’s founders, chocolatier Filipe Carniel, says he started making bean-style chocolate in 2012. at that time it was little studied and therefore the enterprise had to be interrupted for several years before it started working.

“Even the cocoa vendors were not prepared to sell cocoa of sufficient quality to be made at home. We need good cocoa that has been harvested at the right ripening point, fermented properly. In 2012 it was very hard to find, so I didn’t have much success,” he explains.

Filipe joined his friend Guilherme Bortoli in 2015 to found MU Gelato, which is the duo’s main business today. “We opened four ice cream shops and around 2019 saw the market evolve from grains to bars, and that’s when we decided to start,” he says.

The chocolatier says there was still little or no equipment for small-scale production of bean-to-bar chocolate that year. So they decided to build the necessary equipment themselves. Hence the name of the brand: Invento Chocolates.

The hardware was developed by Invento partners – Photo: Leo Munkhoz/ND

When the equipment was ready, it was time to go in search of raw materials. The couple traveled to the city of Para in northern Brazil in search of premium cocoa producers.

“We bought a ton of cocoa from several producers in Tueré. We chose five cocoa suppliers, checked, tested and made sure that it was of excellent quality, and then started testing,” says Filipe.

Repopulation of land degraded by heavy logging involves reforestation with trees native to the Amazon associated with cocoa plantations that need shade during growth.

One of Invento’s partners, grower Ze Antonio, grows about 30 species of trees native to the Amazon on a 25-hectare cocoa plantation. “The cocoa tree needs 25% shade, but on the other hand, I also need to contribute to the environmental system, then I restore the forest throughout the cocoa area,” the manufacturer emphasizes.

Producer Ze Antonio, along with Guilherme Bortoli and Filipe Carniel, founders of Invento, on a shaded cocoa plantation – Photo: Invento Chocolates/Disclosure/ND

This partnership, in addition to valuing every type of cocoa that exists in Brazil, also contributes to the development of the region’s productive economy.

“We paid 40 BRL [no kg] to the producer. Large industry pays the price of a commodity listed on the stock exchange, which is now about 10.80 reais. So farmers are very happy with this form of marketing, both for the economy and for personal development, because they really like to participate in this production process,” says partner Guilherme.

In addition to supplying cocoa, producers are responsible for the entire post-harvest process, such as fermentation, drying and temperature control, he said. “It’s up to them, and then they send us cocoa. What they do there, the impact and the result is very great in what happens here,” Guilherme comments.

Commercial Partnership Promotes Personal and Economic Development of Cocoa Farmers – Photo: Invento Chocolates/Disclosure/ND

“It just fills us with joy. This applies not only to me, but to all of us here in the State of Para, and especially in the Tueré region. This shows that we are on the right track,” emphasizes Rogerio, who is also a partner producer of Invento.

national recognition

After numerous tests, Invento Chocolates submitted three chocolate bars to the top industry award in Brazil: two from the Intenso line and one made from pure milk.

Gold and bronze medal winners 70% Sítio Ascurra and 70% Tuerê are part of the Intenso range, which aims to highlight the nuances and differences of each cocoa from each manufacturer. “One is more sour, the other is more chocolatey, the third is more earthy, fruity, floral, and it’s very noticeable,” explains Filipe.

The 45 percent Ao Leite Sítio Ascurra bar took the gold. Candy competed with about 120 other labels.

Newly opened bean to bar chocolate factory in Florianopolis wins national recognition – Photo: Leo Munoz/ND

“This award represents the joy and satisfaction of recognizing work, but also a great responsibility to keep the drive to do our best. We are a young brand, and this award opens the door to markets outside the island and Santa Catarina,” says Guilherme Bortoli.

Partners note the demand for the brand from resellers in other states and regions of Brazil and comment on the need to increase production to meet demand. Currently, 20 kg of chocolate is produced every three days. The number is expected to double in this first moment, in addition to the launch of new products already in the testing phase.

Bean to Bar Movement

According to Guilherme, the bean to bar movement is similar to what is happening with coffee shops and breweries, which offer consumers better products of different types. “The idea is to break this paradigm that there is only one kind of chocolate. Every harvest is one, every place that harvests [cacau] one, each roast is one,” he emphasizes.

Bean to Bar chocolates highlight the differences between each type of cocoa – Photo: Leo Munkhoz/ND

In addition to the store, Invento currently sells chocolate through its website and through partnerships with businesses in the Florianópolis and Caxias regions of Rio Grande do Sul.