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Adobo and turon flavored chocolate? Local artisanal brand Theo and Philo to showcase these and more to foreign dignitaries
By KIMBERLY TSAO,GMA Integrated NewsLocal artisanal chocolate brand Theo and Philo was recently tapped by the Office of the President to create a special package for the office's state visits and visitors.
The office plans not only to give Theo and Philo products to foreign visitors in the Philippines, but to bring them along abroad to give to international officials and the like.
In the special package are six of Theo and Philo's existing flavors: the 65% dark chocolate with green mango and salt, the 65% dark chocolate with calamansi, hot chocolate adobo, milk chocolate with barako coffee, milk chocolate with pili nut and pinipig, and milk chocolate with turon.
"I think it showcases a lot about our Filipino flavors, Filipino culture," Theo and Philo founder Philo Chua tells GMA News Online, adding that the packaging of their chocolates "really showcase the flora and fauna of the Philippines so I think it's really a good representation of the Philippines and what we have to offer here."
Theo and Philo's beginnings
Theo and Philo started in 2010. "Theo" is short for Theobroma Cacao, the scientific name of the cacao tree, which is the source of all chocolate.
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"Philo" meanwhile comes from the Greek word, "philos," which means "love." It also happens to be the founder's namesake.
"I started it because I saw single origin chocolate from other countries being showcased by different chocolate brands," he said, adding that he wanted "to showcase Philippine cacao."
"When we started out, there was still no premium chocolate to speak of. We were the first bean-to-bar chocolate company in the Philippines," he added.
According to Philo, the Philippines is the first country in Asia to have cacao.
Philo was born and raised in the Philippines. He has a computer science degree from Ateneo de Manila University and a master's degree in entertainment technology from the prestigious Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania. He also worked in the IT industry in the U.S. for a while.
"That's how I got to learn how to cook since I had to live there myself. I had to cook for myself," he said, adding that he always had an interest in baking, which is partly why he turned to a chocolate business.
Even with his IT-related degrees, he said he also "always wanted to do something creative."
Creating flavors
"When we first started out, I was always thinking, 'Why would people buy our product over another one?' As I thought about it, the thing that makes us unique is us being Filipino, and that's why I decided to focus on Filipino flavors," he said.
It currently has a dozen flavors on offer with green mango seasalt, labuyo, and barako coffee as its bestsellers.
"We started out with traditional chocolate flavors, and then, putting a twist to it to make it more Filipino. For example, dark chocolate orange. So, that's something quite common in other countries, but instead of using orange with chocolate, we used another citrus, which in this case, is calamansi to make chocolate calamansi."
Instead of the usual Rice Krispies chocolate, Theo and Philo use pinipig or pili nut, and instead of chili, which is sometimes used for chocolates in Mexico, Theo and Philo opts for labuyo.
Chua, who comes up with most of the flavors himself, said, "I really just take a lot of inspiration from different things, from travels, from eating around."
Save for the adobo, Theo and Philo's chocolates are gluten-friendly. Their dark chocolates are also vegan-friendly, and they even offer 90% dark chocolate for those who prefer less sugar.
Apart from chocolate bars, Theo and Philo also offers cookies and cakes.
"Food kasi I think it's one of those indulgences or luxuries that you can have every day. Nobody gets tired of eating food. Specifically for chocolate, I really like chocolate because it's quite versatile talaga and the nice thing about chocolate is it really lights up people, it lights up people's eyes when you talk about it."
Aside from offering unique chocolate flavors, Theo and Philo also works directly with the farmers in Malabog, Davao and provides them with additional income. They were initially connected with the help of Gawad Kalinga.
Theo and Philo also supports Gawad Kalinga's disaster recuperation initiatives, gives monthly transportation allowance for approximately 39 students to go to school in Davao, and more.
"The goal was not just to do well, but if the business does well, then we'll also be able to help people out," Philo said.
Corporate gifts and seasonal offerings
Creating the special package for the Office of the President isn't new for Theo and Philo as they've long offered corporate gifting.
They've created a chocolate rum bar and chocolate rum balls for a liquor company's corporate gifts. The brand has also created special flavors like dark chocolate with pastillas for a social entertainment app company./
Theo and Philo can also customize with special chocolate wrappers or packaging, special sets, and special flavors.
For seasonals like Valentine's Day and this month of hearts, Theo and Philo offers a Garden of Love Box, which comes with 1 chocolate-covered nut bar of your choice and two chocolate bars of your choice -- complete with flowers inside a bright red box (P1,850).
They also offer the Be My Valentine's Box, which has a chocolate-covered nut bar and five chocolate bars — all of your choosing and with flowers inside the box as well. (P2,350). Both are available until supplies last.
Advice for aspiring entrepreneurs
For aspiring entrepreneurs, Chua said patience and persistence are important.
He advised, "Make sure you have something to offer that's different, whether it's service, whether it's product, whether it's design."
"There should still be something different about your company or about you that will make them want to choose your product or service over the others -- just having a better idea of what you can offer that's different from others that will help you serve the customer and that will also serve a different need of the customer," he said.
If you're interested in ordering Theo and Philo products, you may order directly from their website. For special requests, you may email them.
Their products are also available at local stores and restaurants like Kultura, Bo's Coffee, and Rustan's Makati and Shangri-La and occasionally at other Rustan's branches, and at more stockists nationwide and abroad in countries like the USA, Australia, Hong Kong and more.
The full list of stockists can be seen here.
— LA, GMA Integrated News