Welcome to the Jungle

Last week, Arrow Foods found itself deep in the Amazon jungle, nestled between the trees our cacao beans are collected from. The purpose for being there was to understand deeper, the story behind the cacao we sell to customers.

The jungle is well and truly alive—bursting with wild fruits, formidable animals, exotic flowers, and busy insects. But beyond the stark difference of life in the Amazon, what really struck us was the sheer effort and care that goes into every cacao pod.

One fact that isn’t commonly known, is: a cacao pod starts as a fragile little flower.Slowly, it transforms into the pod that’s harvested and eventually becomes the chocolate we find on our shelves. But the process is anything but easy. If even one pod begins to rot and isn’t removed quickly, that rot can spread like wildfire and ruin a large chunk of the harvest. It’s a constant, meticulous battle for the farmers, who comb through their trees like surgeons, targeting anything that could compromise their crop.

And it doesn’t stop there. Keeping the cacao ‘organic’ is a whole different challenge. The locals, with their quiet wisdom, don’t rely on pesticides or chemicals to fend off mosquitos. Instead, they use mint leaves, rubbing them on their skin as a natural repellent. Why? Because a mosquito that lands on someone covered in spray can transfer those chemicals to the cacao pods, contaminating the harvest. It’s a clever, simple solution—one that comes from centuries of living in harmony with the jungle.

As peaceful as the rainforest is, it’s not without its dangers. Cacao prices have skyrocketed in the past 12 months, and with them, the value of cacao beans, too. Trucks loaded with cacao are now prime targets for robberies. Armed guards escort the beans along jungle roads, which are steep, narrow and winding. This is just one of the many steps in getting cacao beans from the rainforest into a chocolate bar.

Since visiting the Amazon, cacao has taken on a new meaning for us. It’s not just an ingredient in chocolate anymore—it’s a story. It’s the sweat of farmers, the resilience of trees, and the ingenuity of people who’ve learned to work with, rather than against, nature.