Samoan cacao

Living Koko levels up as demand increases for Samoan cacao

Over the past year, the small Australian chocolate business, Living Koko, has gone from importing 500 kilograms of cacao beans from Samoa, to 6 tonnes, as the global pandemic saw many Samoans return to the land and production soar.

Samoa's cacao growers supply chocolate manufacturers around the world including Living Koko in Melbourne, which is run by Phoebe Pruess.

"It felt like a lot of pressure to us... we definitely had to level up here," she said.

Living Koko uses Samoan cacao beans to make a wide variety of products including chocolate, skin care, and tea.