Kerala cocoa gets global boost as Japanese chocolatier places major order after farm visit

KOCHI: When officials from a 100-year-old Japanese chocolate company arrived at Renny Jacobs farm in Kerala a few weeks ago, they werent there for courtesy. They spent two full days walking through his cocoa fermenting sheds, cracking open fresh cocoa pods, tasting pulp, studying the aromas rising from drying yards, and following Renny through mist-covered slopes in Idukki and Kottayam, where he has worked for more than three decades. By the time they boarded their flight back, they had placed a firm order: a full container load 13 tonnes of Indian cocoa. For Renny, chairman of India Cocoa, a company he owns, it felt like a moment that had been years in the making. They told me this was only the beginning, Renny tells the TNIE . And for Indian cocoa, which has long lived in the shadow of Latin American and African origins, it may indeed be the beginning of a new chapter. Renny knows what a turnaround looks like. He began his journey in the 1990s as the exclusive agent for Cadbury. The contract expired some years back, he says. That partnership shaped Indias early cocoa supply chain, but it also locked Indian beans into a low-end bracket, destined for bulk chocolate. When the relationship ended, most would have stepped away from the commodity. Instead, Renny chose to reinvent his role in cocoa. He decided to chase the one thing Indian cocoa had never been known for: flavour. He wasnt making an empty bet. The Western Ghats among the oldest mountain ranges in the world offer a natural canvas for flavour diversity. In Idukki, moist air moves through slopes layered with spice trees. In Pollachis shade-grown belts of Tamil Nadu, humidity wraps around every plantation. In Andhra Pradesh, cocoa thrives in Eluru and East Godavari districts. Every valley produces a slightly different profile, from bright fruit notes to mellow floral tones. Our geography gives us the unique flavours others dont have, says Renny. Yet, for decades, all that natural advantage was wasted at one stage: what happened after harvesting. Once cocoa beans were scooped out of pods, fermentation should have become the star of the process. Instead, it became Indian cocoas undoing. Farmers rushed through it, unaware of how dramatically fermentation influences flavour. Post-harvest handling was our biggest weakness, Renny says. Fermentation can either lift a bean or completely flatten it. To fix this, he began working directly with farmers, travelling across villages, building small fermentation units, teaching them how to manage temperature, timing, and turning cycles, and insisting on slow, controlled drying. He promised better prices for better beans and paid them, even when global prices were volatile. Cocoa prices are now soaring internationally, but Renny continues to offer premiums. If you want flavour, you reward the farmer. Thats the rule, he says. And the farmers have responded. In Kerala, the season is from April to June. He buys during these months, as the cocoa during these months offers quality. He buys cocoa from the Anamalai Hills region in November, December, and January, as these months offer him an excellent crop. And in Andhra Pradesh, its February, March, and April. This staggered rhythm means Renny can access fresh beans for nearly the entire year, a luxury most origins dont enjoy. As the quality improved, global buyers began to take note. The Japanese visit is only one part of the shift. Rennys premium batches carefully fermented, meticulously sun-dried, and sorted by region are now drawing interest from chocolate makers in Switzerland, the US, and other parts of Asia, like Korea. Some buyers start with tiny trial lots. Others, like the Japanese team, commit quickly. They said our beans were clean, bright, and unlike the India they remembered, Renny says. That one container order is only a fraction of his ambition. India Cocoa is now pushing towards a processing capacity of 1,000 tonnes, aiming to become the countrys largest premium cocoa processor and one of the most reliable flavour origins in the Asian region. From being Cadburys contract supplier to becoming one of the most important champions of premium Indian cocoa, Rennys journey reflects the larger transformation happening in Indian agriculture: a shift from volume to value. His fermenting units, drying yards, and training sessions scattered across three states are creating what India never had a disciplined, flavour-first cocoa culture. We have the soil, we have the climate, we have the uniqueness, he says, standing in the afternoon sun as fresh beans dry behind him. Now, we have the technique too. And the world is finally tasting the difference. Indian cocoa, once sold cheaply and quietly, is stepping into the global spotlight. And leading it is a man who believed the Western Ghats held their own flavour gold, long before anyone came looking.