Pure chocolate like you have never tasted before, with a true responsibility and commitment to make the world a better place!
About Awki
AWKI represents a chocolate that has the ability to protect you due to the higher nutritional value a healthy combinations of ancestral ingredients.
Nowadays, AWKI is still used among indigenous people in Ecuador as a name, or to refer to a grandfather or to the person whose task is to protect the tribe.
Our journey
2018: The idea was born
In the very beginning, we created another type of company: The chocolate health Initiative.
2018 - 2019 : Pivoting
We pivoted and developed our brand. AWKI came alive.
2019 - 2020: Building what it is important
We worked hard on the product and recipe development. We developed our eco-friendly packaging and had the first approach to #womenincacao at the cacao-producing communities in the Ecuadorian coast.
2021: The path is challening
Sales are coming really slowly. Ecuador is recovering economically but the no culture of consuming real chocolate is very evident and impactful. However, we achieved being in 8 specialty stores in Quito.
2022 : Things seem brighter
We have our very first international client in the US, and now we have 3 clients. We got together in partnership 3 purpose lovers Daniel and Aziz joined the team. We attended the Salon du Chocolat in Paris. Such an experience!! and here we are on this crazy year.
Stay Tuned Xmas and 2023 is coming soon...
2020 Pandemic
A pandemic changed our plans. It was scary due to huge uncertainty but we pivoted again and launched our product where it originated. Ecuador, The middle of the world.
2018: The idea was born
In the very beginning, we created another type of company: The chocolate health Initiative.
2018 - 2019 : Pivoting
We pivoted and developed our brand. AWKI came alive.
2019 - 2020: Building what it is important
We worked hard on the product and recipe development. We developed our eco-friendly packaging and had the first approach to #womenincacao at the cacao-producing communities in the Ecuadorian coast.
2020 Pandemic
A pandemic changed our plans. It was scary due to huge uncertainty but we pivoted again and launched our product where it originated. Ecuador, The middle of the world.
2021: The path is challening
Sales are coming really slowly. Ecuador is recovering economically but the no culture of consuming real chocolate is very evident and impactful. However, we achieved being in 8 specialty stores in Quito.
2022 : Things seem brighter
We have our very first international client in the US, and now we have 3 clients. We got together in partnership 3 purpose lovers Daniel and Aziz joined the team. We attended the Salon du Chocolat in Paris. Such an experience!! and here we are on this crazy year.
Stay Tuned Xmas and 2023 is coming soon...
Who are we
Nathalia Padilla
CEO Founder & Chocolate Gems Crafter
Nathalia is the founder of Awki, the brain and talented hands behind the creation of these unique chocolate gems made with pure fine aroma cacao. She has learned her craft along with Papácacao (Jaime Freire) and Mamacacao (Paulina Pino), two of the most expert cacao and chocolate makers in South America, with 30 years of experience unleashing the powerful secrets of this incredible superfood we all love!
Aziz Murshed
Production Manager
I am from Saudi Arabia and came to Ecuador several years ago looking to start a new life with my children. I was lucky enough to meet great people who introduced me to Cacao and Real Chocolate and I was fascinated. Then looking for business opportunities between Saudi Arabia and Ecuador I met PAPÁCACAO, MAMÁCACAO, and AWKI, and finally, I fell in love and decided to be part of this great adventure. Now I am an empirical professional Chocolate Maker, and I can say that when we are in production it is like making magic and every time Cacao keeps surprising me more and more. If you want to be happy every day, make Real Chocolate a part of your life.
Aziz Murshed
Production Manager
I am from Saudi Arabia and came to Ecuador several years ago looking to start a new life with my children. I was lucky enough to meet great people who introduced me to Cacao and Real Chocolate and I was fascinated. Then looking for business opportunities between Saudi Arabia and Ecuador I met PAPÁCACAO, MAMÁCACAO, and AWKI, and finally, I fell in love and decided to be part of this great adventure. Now I am an empirical professional Chocolate Maker, and I can say that when we are in production it is like making magic and every time Cacao keeps surprising me more and more. If you want to be happy every day, make Real Chocolate a part of your life.
Daniel Torres
Financial and Comercial Manager
After undertaking a couple of projects, there was something that didn’t quite satisfy me in each of them, and I needed something that was coherent with my way of seeing life. I believe that a project should be measured in terms of the impact it is able to generate in society and AWKI does just that throughout its value chain. The concept, added to the fact that chocolate is one of my favorite foods plus seeing how much value can be added to producers, artisans, consumers, and the environment, the question was rather, how not to be part of it and dedicate myself to this?
Papácacao
Strategic Partner
Papá Cacao es la empresa de Jaime Freire, quien la creó y desde hace tres años elabora chocolate con cacao fino y orgánico.
Su producto llamó la atención en Bélgica, Brasil y otros países. En 1999, Jaime Freire adoptó el sobrenombre de ‘Papá Cacao’. Lo hizo cuando estaba en un evento relacionado con la producción del cacao en la parroquia Las Golondrinas, en Esmeraldas. Este empresario, quien estudió Economía en la Universidad Central del Ecuador, se dedicó de lleno a trabajar en cultivos de cacao.
ECUADOR ORIGIN OF CACAO
Our Cacao
Each Cacao tree seems to be a perfect warm melody that invites us to discover more of its fantastic world of shapes, colors and even numbers.
Ecuador’s geographic location allows cocoa crops to have more daylight hours per year, have pure water sources, and grow in extremely fertile soil surrounded by other floral and fruit crops.
The care and dedication we have with our cocoa trees are reflected in the smooth and oval shapes of our shiny leaves, which go with different shades of green, the oval-shaped fruit with a rough texture. First green, then orange, red and yellow while the leaves fall, which are like a soft mattress that improves the quality of the soil, protects the trees and their roots, as well as creating the perfect habitat for the pollinating mosquito. Cocoa is generally a delicious and nutritious food source, which we love to harvest and transform to give you the best experience in every bite.
Our Process
The secret for the quality of a great chocolate is the careful selection of the best raw materials, for Awki we select one of the best cocoas in the world such as Arriba Cacao, then we proceed to mix it in the exact proportions according to our recipes fruit of tradition and experience.
Once this process is complete, the seeds are cleaned and passed to the roasters, giving the cocoa its characteristic aroma and flavor of Awki. The mill turns the nibs into a fine paste that is mixed with cocoa butter, sugar and toppings.
Why we use chocolate as a tool for?
With chocolate we have run several talks for kids about real chocolate vs fake chocolate. This in order to encourage healthier habits in children so they can choose chocolate as a food instead of candies that taste like chocolate.
Through chocolate we generate jobs from people from collectives generally excluded. This also generates a growth of local economies.
Using chocolate, we train women to create their own ventures around cacao, chocolate and other types of products. We mainly wanted to contribute to avoid food wastage, therefore we teach them how to make jams out of seasonal fruits and cacao leftovers.
With chocolate we strive to change the way chocolate is perceived and also provide nutritious options instead of thr common sweets in the market.
Let´s do this together
Awki has allowed us to bond and create alliances with wonderful people who have a common vision, which strengthens our growth.
#myawki
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