Undertake from the roots of cocoa, art and textile export

“What is true chocolate?” Carmen Adrianzén wondered after reading a report on the origins of chocolate. cocoa in Peru. Finding the answer was what led her to create Scrap & Chocolates, a business that he maintains with his two daughters: Ingrid and Adela. At the beginning, the venture was just a hobby, for which they used chocolate substitutes, those that do not have cocoa raw material. Now, they work exclusively with cocoa from Piura and Cusco, from different cocoa-growing areas such as La Quemazón, Palo Blanco, Platanal Bajo, La Pareja, among others.

Adela Siancas, Carmen’s youngest daughter, tells us that she decided to leave her position in human resources to accompany her family in the business, which was formalized before Sunat in 2013.

For Adela, the pandemic hit the industry hard because many companies were not ready for commercial issues and digitization of their stores. However, for them it meant time to improve the image of her chocolate shop.

In this line, one of the main challenges they face is the transport of cocoa from regions to Lima. “What affects us is the freight issue. Not only is it the route from Piura to Lima, but it is brought from remote areas”, details the entrepreneur.

In addition, he mentions that there was an increase in the cost of packaging for his products, which rose between 50 cents and one sol.

Apart from dedicating themselves to transforming cocoa beans into milk, bitter and semi-sweet chocolates, Adela’s family is part of the Semillas de Cacao project, where they train 15 rural mothers in Piura, and of Dulce Esperanza, which consists of guiding women from Cusco who are in the Quillabamba prison.

ceramics to grow

Karla Aranda he describes his artwork as pop and tender in style. Pastel shades are the ones he uses the most to color his illustrations, fanzines, sculptures, polo shirts, cups, plates, pipes and, soon, bags. After finishing her studies in Audiovisual Communication, she did not find a job in the field, which led her to make one of her bravest decisions: to be independent and live from art. In the quarter of November 2022 and January 2023, the unemployment rate in metropolitan Lima was 8.0%.

“In 2017 I started with illustrations, and in 2019 I wanted to experiment, I wanted the characters in my illustrations to not only remain on paper. I was encouraged to start the project as well”, he tells us about Darla Is Not Here, a venture that bears the name of his alter ego in one of his comics.

One of the most difficult circumstances he faces is the lack of support for art in Peru. Likewise, the materials with which she worked have also presented an increase. “Ceramic inputs such as clay and paint have risen. Ceramic paste is three more soles and ceramic paints have doubled”, Karla tells us.

Apart from selling objects, she also conducts face-to-face ceramic classes for beginners: ‘Chelas and ceramics’ was the slogan of the last workshop she launched, where she tells us that most of the attendees are women whom she teaches to express themselves through the clay.

export and inspire

“Like living an adventure”, Samantha Castellanos defines the experience of moving forward —9 years ago— Soft Cotton Sourcing, a company dedicated to textiles. She tells us that she, along with her partner, Edgard del Águila, looked for something that would directly contribute to them and allow them to advance professionally. Currently, they export their products to the United States, Canada, France and the United Kingdom.

Samantha tells us that she has been through difficult times in recent years. In the first place, Covid-19 reduced the capacity of its work personnel between 30% and 40%.

“It was very difficult to know that we were going to have to stop the operation; in addition, with orders of the course. Another problem was the concern and care for the team’s health, ”he reiterated. Subsequently, the crisis of cotton It also marked the sector. “In the 2021 period there was a 25% decrease in world cotton production,” he points out. Although this favored Peru because it had a good run of orders, there was not “the capacity to supply on time.”

Likewise, they had to face the increase in the prices of fabrics, which rose up to 50%. Along these lines, the war between Ukraine and Russia also brought with it an increase of up to two times in freight prices. Despite everything, Samantha has been able to overcome the obstacles. At the end of 2022, the export of textiles totaled US$1,427 million, according to the Central Reserve Bank of Peru (BCRP).

keys

Advance. During 2021, Peruvian cocoa production reached 157,859 tons, while from January to March 2022 there was a decrease of 0.7% due to weather conditions, according to the latest data from the Midagri.