Theo & Philo artisan chocolates are all-Filipino: the founders are Filipinos, the ingredients are sourced from Filipino farmers, and the factory hires locals to handcraft quality chocolate bars in the tradition of the highest quality chocolates in the world. In fact, the Philippine-made chocolates use cacao from Davao and sugar from Bacolod.
Founder Philo Chua’s welcome message on their social enterprise website narrates about how he decided to come home to the Philippines after living overseas, to make chocolates where the cacao plant is homegrown – instead of in European countries known for their chocolates but actually cannot grow the cacao.
Theo & Philo takes pride in saying that their “micro” factory productions of small quantities in each batch of chocolate are overseen by people instead of machines, the way of single-origin chocolate making.
Their 6-step process begins with getting the cacao beans straight from the farmers of Davao. Their personnel then oversee the roasting, cracking, winnowing, grinding. It is in the conching and refining stage where the sugar sourced from Bacolod is added. The final step to temper and mould prepares the chocolate bars for market consumption.
Since their founding in 2010, Theo and Philo chocolates has made waves in the chocolate market and is now available in cafes, specialty stores, as well as in Rustan’s and Landmark malls.
In 2016 the Theo & Philo artisan chocolates have entered the Osaka/, Japan market.
