Top 10 interesting things about the world’s best Marou chocolate brand

Another interesting thing is that the founder of Marou re are foreigners.

Marou was founded by Samuel Maruta – a Frenchman of Japanese descent and Vincent Mourou-Rochebois – a French man who lived in France, the US and the UK. While Samuel Maruta had been to Vietnam in 1996, when he was a student, and then returned to Vietnam to work, it was not until early 2011 that Vincent Mourou set foot in Vietnam on a trip. Southeast Asia travel, through three countries Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

In Vietnam, Samuel Maruta and Vincent Mourou met by chance during a trip to Vietnam in 2011. So with the same French blood, Samuel Maruta and Vincent Mourou together founded the chocolate brand. Marou is famous in Vietnam. The name Marou is made up of the two founders of this company, namely “Ma” in Maruta and “rou” in Mourou.

“Each cocoa bean grown in a different region gives a different flavor“, this is the sharing of founder Samuel Maruta. Marou Chocolate is divided into five different product lines, based on the taste and location of the cocoa that produces that chocolate and the purity ratio: Tien Giang 70 %, Dong Nai 72%, Lam Dong 74%, Ba Ria 76% and Ben Tre 78% All are dark chocolate (pure) and do not have any other additives or flavors added. Especially in Vietnam is the diversity of terrain and climate, so cocoa beans grown in different areas will give different flavors and have the flavor characteristics of the type of cocoa grown in that land.

In 2013, the Marou Tien Giang chocolate 70% won the Silver medal, and the Marou Ben Tre chocolate 78% won the Bronze medal at the Annual Awards Ceremony of the British Academy of Chocolate.

One of the special features that makes Marou premium taste, that is bean-to-bar technology and manual production process.

Bean-to-bar technology is a production technology that includes the stages of processing and processing cocoa beans until the finished product is chocolate bars. This technology is both new and not new, because chocolate is always made from cocoa beans, but over time, to save costs, very few chocolate companies still produce chocolate directly from cocoa beans. They often buy ready-made chocolate from processing or exporting companies, then melt it, add flavoring and process it into their own chocolate products.

Thanks to the advantage of producing right on the land of cocoa farmers, Marou is able to apply bean-to-bar technology, as well as apply manual production processes and control the entire production process. production and product quality, which helps Marou’s chocolate to achieve high quality and pure cocoa flavor, without mixing other flavors.

And finally, this must be an interesting thing that all readers who follow the article want to know, that is places to sell Marou chocolates in Vietnam.

In Vietnam, Marou chocolate has a relatively high price because it is a premium chocolate, positioned in the middle class and foreigners are the main. The price of a 100gr Marou chocolate box is about 90.000-120.000 VND – equivalent to the price of Lindt & Sprungli.

Specifically, Marou’s chocolates are sold at the following locations:

1. Hà Nội:
– Hanoi wine shop Gourmet 6T, Ham Long, Hoan Kiem.
– Don’s Bistro restaurant 16/27 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho.
– Veggies’s 99 Xuan Dieu, Tay Ho.
– L’épicerie at Hotel Métropole Le Phung Hieu, Hoan Kiem.
– Hanoi Social Club cafe number 6, Hoi Vu alley, Hang Bong, Hoan Kiem.
– Naturally Vietnam store number 4, 67/12 To Ngoc Van, Tay Ho.

2. In Nẵng:
– Internatinal Sun Peninsula Resort Bai Bac, Son Tra.

3. Da Lat:
– La Viet cafe 200 Nguyen Cong Tru.
– Windmills cafe 133 Phan Dinh Phung.

4. Ho Chi Minh City:
– Une Journee A Paris Bakery 234 Le Thanh Ton, District 1.
– Au Parc cafe 23 Han Thuyen, District 1.
– Fanny Ice Cream shop 29-31 Ton That Thiep, District 1.
– Veggies’s Store 29A Le Thanh Ton, District 1.
– Red Apron liquor store 22 Chu Manh Trinh, District 1.
– Annam Gourmet store 41A Thao Dien, District 2.
– Annam Gourmet Shop Phu My Hung – Nguyen Duc Canh, District 7.

And especially, you can go directly to Maison Saigon Marou cafe and bakery at 167-169 Calmette, south of Ben Thanh market, Ho Chi Minh City. This is Marou’s store that opened in May last year. Here, you will see the chocolate makers, bakers, chat with the lovely staff as well as the two bosses of Marou who are also often present at the shop and ready to chat and share their commercial stories. his Marou brand.

The two owners of Marou, Samuel Maruta and Vincent Mourou, are very interested in product packaging. They hired agency Rice Creative to design the logo and product packaging for their chocolate brand.

Rice Creative has Unique packaging design for the Marou brand. Inspired by the most idyllic things, which are leaves and cocoa beans – the products that make up that chocolate, along with the cloud motifs symbolizing folklore and the tropical monsoon climate in Vietnam. Nam, Rice Creative has designed simple but unique motifs on the packaging of Marou chocolates. For the packaging to have its own mark, the designers used hand-printed paper from artisans in Cho Lon, while the motifs were silk-screened in the traditional method with luxurious antique gold color. There are a total of five packaging models for the five Marou product lines, with colors yellow, red, blue, green, and purple. These are the colors of the cocoa beans.

With its unique design and high-quality handcrafted packaging, Marou’s packaging is beautiful and feels luxurious, which is also a big factor in Marou’s success in the international arena.

The very special and interesting thing about the Marou brand is that it is the best chocolate brand in the world is a chocolate brand from Vietnam. Marou was established in 2011 with a factory located in Saigon.

When it comes to chocolate, we often think of brands from advanced countries with temperate and temperate climates in the US and Europe such as Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, France, Germany, the Netherlands… However, cocoa has been grown in Vietnam since the 19th century, during French Indochina. All this cocoa output will be brought to France and produced chocolate, of course “made in France”, so few people know about cocoa originating from Vietnam. Until 2011, when Vietnam gained independence and developed its own economy, the cocoa farming industry gradually lagged behind and was not known to many people. The scale of cocoa production in Vietnam is very small, just under 0,1% of the world’s total output.

However, the founders of Marou realized the potential in the quality of cocoa beans grown in this land with tropical monsoon climate, they founded Marou chocolate company and brought the chocolate brand “made in Vietnam”. become famous all over the world.

Usually, the founders of major chocolate brands in the world come from families with a tradition in the chocolate industry or have had experience in this field or cooking. Lindt & Sprungli Chocolate Company was founded in 1836 by the Sprungli family with a tradition in the confectionery industry in Zurich. The Ferrero Rocher brand was founded by a famous Italian chef named Michele Ferrero.

However, both of Marou’s founders, Samuel Maruta and Vincent Mourou were used to work in a field that has nothing to do with chocolate and had no experience in this field until 2011. When Samuel Maruta returned to Vietnam, he worked in the banking industry and Vincent Mourou worked in advertising, having worked in Hollywood and London.

When they met in 2011, these two foreign men, both impressed by the way cocoa farmers in the Mekong Delta, came up with the idea to pursue a new business venture. On the way back from a trip to explore, Samuel Maruta and Vincent Mourou decided to try chocolate. Vincent Mourou said: “When Sam and I started making chocolate we didn’t have much experience in this field. Back then, Vietnamese cocoa wasn’t really known in the world market. We had to learn. In the process of making chocolate, we realized that the cocoa grown here is of very good quality. Finding a place to grow cocoa in Vietnam is not an easy task, but if you can find it, it is a source of raw materials. produce fine chocolate”.

So, with a passion for cocoa and chocolate production, Samuel Maruta and Vincent Mourou gave up their current jobs to start building the Marou company and reap the success it is now.

Although it was only launched in 2011, the Marou brand has quickly shaken the international chocolate market, comparable to long-standing chocolate brands such as Lindt & Sprungli (Switzerland), Godiva (USA), Ferrero Rocher (Switzerland). Italy), Thorntons (UK), Puccini Bomboni (Netherlands), Guylian (Belgium), Hershey’s (USA), Neuhaus (Belgium), Richart (France), Teuscher (Switzerland)…

Indeed, Marou chocolate has won the hearts of consumers, even in “difficult” markets such as the US, Japan and Europe and Voted the best chocolate in the world. Marou was voted by the travel website Tripadvisor.com as “The best chocolate in the world” (The best chocolate in the world) and National Times magazine called Maison Marou (Marou’s cafe and main store). “The Coffee Shop of the Best Chocolate in the World”.

In 2013, Marou chocolate 70% won a Silver medal, Marou chocolate 78% won a Bronze medal at the Annual Awards Ceremony of the British Academy of Chocolate. More specifically, the prestigious American magazine The New York Times wrote an article about Marou with the title: “The best chocolate you’ve never tasted”.

And despite being named the best chocolate in the world, with a global distribution system, even in big countries like the US, Switzerland, Germany, UK, France, Belgium… But can you believe it? are not, Marou’s factory only has 20 people.

In addition to the two founders and owners of Marou, Samuel Maruta and Vincent Mourou, Marou’s staff also has 18 other people, sharing jobs in chocolate production, purchasing, marketing, contacting with customers. distribution network… All the work of a leading Start-Up company in Vietnam is done with just 20 people. It’s really a very small scale compared to businesses in Vietnam, let alone a top chocolate brand like Marou.

Perhaps the success of Marou also comes from a large part of Samuel Maruta’s experience and business management ability, Vincent Mourou’s experience and ability to work in marketing and distribution and more specifically, productivity and work performance of the entire staff of Marou.

To become one of the best chocolate brands in the world, Marou must of course have a global distribution network. Marou’s chocolate products are widely distributed in third-party retail systems, which are chocolate shops, confectionery stores, grocery stores, supermarkets, convenience stores, cafes, and boutiques. book…

Marou’s chocolates are currently distributed in the following countries: USA, Canada, Switzerland, Belgium, UK, France, Germany, Italy, West
Spain, Portugal, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Ireland, Scotland, Poland, Austria, India, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, New Zealand and Australia.

We can see, Marou’s chocolate is okay distributed worldwide, and especially in coffee shops. Coffee shops in France and Europe are different from traditional coffee shops in Vietnam or chain restaurants in the US like Starbucks. At coffee shops in Europe, the number of customers is quite large and from the upper income class. Cafes in France often arrange seats right on the sidewalk, where customers can sit there talking and observing the street. Therefore, Marou has put his products on sale in cafes as a supplement to the conversation or city view of the guests.