TM: The idea came from our joint Peace Corps experiences, but also our private sector experiences (Brett's was in Madagascar): Kind of an appreciation and realization that we could use capitalism creatively to change some things in Madagascar.
Dish: I see. And did the Malagache government invest or help you with your venture? Or did Peace Corps? It seems daunting to start a company that exports out of one of the poorest countries in the world. How did you get started with it?
TM: No assistance from government or Peace Corps. Brett's last 2 years in Mada were spent exporting seaweed. The same company also exports vanilla and he got hooked up with them. Challenging, yes. Daunting, sometimes. It helps knowing the language and how things are on the ground, but there are a number of challenges we face simply because we operate in Madagascar (communications, infrastructure, etc).
Dish: I hear ya loud and clear. Writing my Madagascar cookbook was a similar uphill, but very fun and eye-opening battle! So, how did you decide what products to export? Your product line. I LOVE that you are doing a chocolate—soup to nuts—IN Madagascar. What’s that one they have there? Jacques or something? I always loved that.
TM: Right. The ONE they have there is Robert. We're working with the manufacturer of Robert to create our new line, coming out in the fall. The idea with our business model is to partner with local manufacturers that already have the capacity (i.e.equipment) but don't have the market knowledge/access to the U.S. The economic benefit of doing everything in Madagascar is that chocolate is worth roughly 4x the amount as the cocoa required to make it.
Madagascar has some of the best cocoa in the world, but until this project they have never exported actual chocolate to the U.S. market. In terms of the product line, it took a couple of wrong turns to get where we are today. But the starting points are the areas where Madagascar has a global, sustainable competitive advantage - vanilla and cocoa.
Dish: Right on. That sounds like an extremely viable and logical way of going about things. We're about out of space, but could you tell our readers where they can find the delicious chocolate and various Madecasse spices in New York?
TM: Sure. They're available at all Garden of Eden locations, all Amish Market locations, Zabar's, West Side Market, Grace's Market, The Chocolate Room (Brooklyn), Blue Apron (Brooklyn) and a number of others.
Dish: Fantastic. I'll be looking out for it.
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