Crafting Flavor, Cultivating Change: Mindo Chocolate Makers Focuses On Ethical Indulgence In Ecuador And Michigan

In an era where fast food and fast fashion dominate, Mindo Chocolate Makers and El Quetzal de Mindo are advocating for a slow, deliberate approach. In a global chocolate industry marred by environmental degradation and labor exploitation, sisters Emily Meza-Wilson and Alicia Meza have founded company that is dedicated to rewriting this narrative. By preserving Ecuador’s endangered heirloom Nacional cacao, and adopting ethical sourcing and transparent business, Mindo is working to create new systems that re-think food, ethics, and sustainability in the chocolate industry.

Their approach transforms often-discarded cocoa byproducts into nutritious and sustainable products to highlight the diverse uses of cacao. For instance cocoa fruit juice—often discarded during cocoa fermentation has unique flavors and nutritional qualities, and from this, Mindo Chocolate Makers makes miel de cacao, a cocoa nectar with a tart, fruity taste that is now used by companies like Xoca to make prebiotic soda.