Food: Celebrate Vegan Chocolate Day with Ombar

A chocolate bar which is not only delicious but good for you too? It’s the sweet-lover’s holy grail - and it’s made by Ombar, the Sawston brand which has blazed the vegan chocolate trail since 2007. Alice Ryan talks to the team

To begin at the beginning. . . When did you launch Ombar and what sparked the move?

Richard, our founder, launched Ombar in 2007 when he discovered that the original chocolate ingredient, the cacao bean, is a little gem of a superfood with huge health benefits. Richard’s mission was - and still is - to champion cacao and put it back on top!

Your chocolate is one-of-a-kind, isn't it? Tell us what makes it unique?

Ombar is definitely one-of-a-kind! We use between 55%-100% cacao solids, more than most brands, and we don’t roast our cacao beans either, which preserves all the amazing nutrients and minerals. We also only use vegan, organic ingredients and even add probiotics to some of our chocolate to help keep the gut healthy, too.

We've long considered chocolate to be a naughty food, but Ombar debunks that myth, doesn't it? In a way, you're taking chocolate full circle, going back to its roots, aren't you?

Exactly! We’ve scrapped refined sugar, dairy and palm fat and put Ecuadorian nibs centre stage, so you can enjoy the true taste of cacao with every bite.

The fact your chocolate is vegan and refined sugar-free doesn't make it any less delicious; arguably, it makes it more delicious in fact - we can vouch for this! Can you tell us about the flavour profile and how it's achieved?

We think so! Keeping our cacao unroasted means the flavour profile is smoother and naturally less bitter than regular chocolate. Unrefined sugars actually retain some of the complex flavour from the sugar cane or coconut sap. This means coconut sugar, for example, has a distinctive caramel-like taste that works perfectly with the rest of the ingredients. We use either creamed coconut or naked oats in our chocolate. These wholesome dairy alternatives make Ombar chocolate extra creamy and indulgent and balance the flavour of the cacao beans.

Your bean-to-bar process is testament to the brand's ethical ethos: can you talk us through it?

We’re super proud to make all our chocolate from scratch, as ethically and sustainably as possible. We work with cooperatives in Ecuador, where farmers harvest the pods from cacao trees and scoop out the beans. The beans are then carefully fermented and air-dried in the sun before being transported to the capital of Ecuador, Quito. The beans are dried, winnowed and broken into nibs, which are then shipped by boat to our factory in Cambridge. Then, we carefully grind the beans into a paste called cacao mass, which we mix with other ingredients for 24 hours until the consistency is silky smooth. This liquid chocolate is then tempered, moulded and demoulded by hand. Finally, we use machines to wrap our chocolate bars. And ta dah! A small and perfectly formed Ombar is ready.

Chocolate production can, we know, be highly harmful to the planet - but Ombar has the opposite mission, actively supporting the environment, doesn't it?

You’re right, chocolate production can be very harmful to the environment. We wanted to do things differently, which is why we made our Oat M’lk range! This range has half the carbon emissions of “regular” milk chocolate and is wrapped in fully recyclable packing. Also, 3p from every bar sold goes to help the reforestation of Choco rainforest in Ecuador, where we sustainably source our cacao.

What’s the reward of running Ombar - and the ambition?

Our small team - there’s 21 of us altogether, including Paola, our supply chain manager, based in Ecuador - that’s super passionate about making delicious, sustainable chocolate! Our ambition? To become the biggest vegan chocolate brand in the UK.

Find out more and shop at ombar.com