The Story of the Birth of OCA
OCA's cocoa plantations and factories are located in Ba Ria = Vung Tau Province in southern Vietnam. Located in the cacao belt (an area between 20 degrees north latitude and 20 degrees south latitude across the equator), where cacao is said to be grown, it is blessed with the fertile soil and suitable climate of the Mekong Delta, and high-quality cacao is cultivated.
However, there was no end to the number of farmers who quit their cacao farms despite the fact that they used to grow high-quality cacao beans. Even if you work hard to grow high-quality cacao beans, it does not lead to sufficient profits, and you cut down the cacao trees that you have grown... Such a sad reality was there.
Ba Ria = Vung Tau Province was the hometown of Thu, the current representative of OCA Vietnam.
We were fortunate enough to visit a cacao farm in Ba Ria = Vung Tau Province and met Thanh, who would later become our co-founder. He has been researching cacao in this area for more than 20 years and is a pioneer of cacao in Vietnam.
After meeting him and learning about the wonders of cacao trees in this area and the harsh situation of farmers, we wanted to work together with the farmers to increase the value of cacao and spread it to the world. OCA was born in Vietnam in 2019, and OCA JAPAN was established in 2021 to convey its thoughts here in Japan.