Top 10 Fascinating Facts About Marou, the World’s Best Chocolate Brand

Typically, founders of major chocolate brands come from families with a long-standing tradition in chocolate making or have prior experience in the field or culinary arts. For example, Lindt & Sprungli, established in 1836, was founded by the Sprungli family, known for their confectionery expertise in Zurich. Similarly, Ferrero Rocher was created by the famous Italian chef, Michele Ferrero.

However, the founders of Marou, Samuel Maruta and Vincent Mourou, came from entirely different backgrounds before 2011. Samuel Maruta had a career in banking after returning to Vietnam, while Vincent Mourou worked in advertising, with experience in Hollywood and London.

In 2011, these two foreign entrepreneurs met and were captivated by the way cacao farmers in the Mekong Delta grew their crops, sparking an idea for a new business venture. On a trip back from a cultural exploration, Samuel and Vincent decided to try their hand at making chocolate. Vincent recalls, 'When Sam and I started making chocolate, we had little experience. At that time, Vietnamese cacao wasn’t well-known internationally. We had to learn a lot. But through the process, we discovered that cacao grown here was of exceptional quality. Finding the right cacao farms in Vietnam wasn’t easy, but when you do, it’s a source of premium chocolate-making ingredients.'

With a shared passion for cacao and chocolate-making, Samuel and Vincent left their careers behind to start Marou, and their hard work has paid off with the success they enjoy today.

One of the key factors behind Marou's premium flavor is their use of bean-to-bar technology and handcrafted production methods. This process involves all the steps of transforming cacao beans into the finished chocolate bars. While bean-to-bar is a relatively new term, it’s not entirely new; chocolate has always been made from cacao beans. However, over time, many chocolate companies have outsourced production, purchasing pre-made chocolate and simply melting it down, adding flavorings, and reprocessing it into their final product.

Thanks to Marou’s direct production in cacao-growing regions, they are able to implement the bean-to-bar process themselves, ensuring full control over the production process and product quality. This hands-on approach allows Marou to produce chocolate with a pure cacao flavor, free from added artificial flavorings.

'The flavor of cacao varies depending on where it’s grown,' says Marou founder Samuel Maruta. Marou offers five different chocolate varieties, each based on the flavor profile and the region where the cacao is sourced, as well as its purity level: Tien Giang 70%, Dong Nai 72%, Lam Dong 74%, Ba Ria 76%, and Ben Tre 78%.

All of these are dark (pure) chocolates with no added ingredients or artificial flavorings. Samuel Maruta explains that Vietnam's diverse terrain and climate contribute to the different flavors of cacao grown in various areas, each showcasing the unique characteristics of the cacao grown in the red soil regions.

In 2013, Marou’s Tien Giang 70% chocolate won a silver medal, and Marou’s Ben Tre 78% chocolate won a bronze at the British Academy of Chocolate’s annual awards ceremony.

The two founders of Marou, Samuel Maruta and Vincent Mourou, placed great importance on the packaging of their product. They enlisted the help of Rice Creative to design the logo and packaging for their chocolate brand. Rice Creative crafted a unique packaging design for Marou.

Inspired by the simplest elements—cacao leaves and beans, the very building blocks of their chocolate—along with cloud patterns symbolizing local folklore and Vietnam's tropical monsoon climate, Rice Creative developed simple yet distinctive designs for Marou's packaging. To make the packaging stand out, the designers used handmade paper from artisans in Chợ Lớn, with silk-screened prints in luxurious gold ink using traditional methods.

There are five different packaging designs corresponding to Marou’s five product lines, each represented by a distinct color: gold, red, blue, green, and deep purple. These colors mirror the cacao beans from which the chocolate is made. With its unique design and high-quality craftsmanship, Marou's packaging is not only visually striking but also exudes a sense of luxury, contributing significantly to the brand's international success.

To establish itself as one of the world's finest chocolate brands, Marou had to build a global distribution network. Their chocolates are widely distributed through third-party retail systems, including chocolate shops, confectionery stores, food markets, supermarkets, convenience stores, cafés, bookstores, and more.

Currently, Marou’s products are available in the following countries: the United States, Canada, Switzerland, Belgium, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Ireland, Scotland, Poland, Austria, India, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, New Zealand, and Australia.

Marou’s chocolates are distributed worldwide, with a special focus on cafés. Café culture in France and Europe is distinct from that of traditional cafés in Vietnam or American chains like Starbucks. In European cafés, which attract a diverse and higher-income crowd, seating is often arranged on the sidewalk, allowing guests to chat and observe the street scene. As a result, Marou has placed its products in these cafés, offering a delicious treat to complement the social atmosphere or provide a moment of relaxation while people-watching.

Despite being hailed as the finest chocolate in the world and having a global distribution network reaching major countries like the USA, Switzerland, Germany, the UK, France, and Belgium, you might be surprised to learn that Marou's production facility operates with only 20 people.

In addition to the two co-founders, Samuel Maruta and Vincent Mourou, Marou's team consists of just 18 other individuals who handle tasks related to chocolate production, sourcing, marketing, and managing the distribution network. All of this is managed by a team of just 20 people. This is a remarkably small workforce, especially for a leading chocolate brand in Vietnam.

Marou's success can largely be attributed to the experience and business management skills of Samuel Maruta, the marketing expertise and distribution knowledge of Vincent Mourou, and, most importantly, the efficiency and dedication of the entire team.

Finally, here's an interesting fact that all of you following this article have been waiting for: where to buy Marou chocolate in Vietnam. Marou's chocolate is priced relatively high in Vietnam due to its premium quality, targeting mainly the middle class and foreigners. A 100g bar of Marou chocolate typically costs between 90,000 to 120,000 VND, comparable to the price of Lindt & Sprüngli.

Specifically, you can find Marou chocolate at the following locations:

Hanoi:

• Hanoi Gourmet Wine Shop, 6T, Hàm Long, Hoàn Kiếm.
• Don's Bistro, 16/27 Xuân Diệu, Tây Hồ.
• Veggies's, 99 Xuân Diệu, Tây Hồ.
• L’épicerie at Hotel Métropole, Lê Phụng Hiếu, Hoàn Kiếm.
• Hanoi Social Club Café, 6, Ngõ Hội Vũ, Hàng Bông, Hoàn Kiếm.
• Naturally Vietnam, 4, 67/12 Tô Ngọc Vân, Tây Hồ.

Da Nang:

• International Sun Peninsula Resort, Bãi Bắc, Sơn Trà.

Da Lat:

• Là Việt Café, 200 Nguyễn Công Trứ.
• Windmills Café, 133 Phan Đình Phùng.

Ho Chi Minh City:

• Une Journee A Paris Bakery, 234 Lê Thánh Tôn, Q1.
• Au Parc Café, 23 Hàn Thuyên, Q1.
• Fanny Ice Cream, 29-31 Tôn Thất Thiệp, Q1.
• Veggies's, 29A Lê Thánh Tôn, Q1.
• Red Apron Wine Shop, 22 Chu Mạnh Trinh, Q1.
• Annam Gourmet, 41A Thảo Điền, Q2.
• Annam Gourmet, Phú Mỹ Hưng, Nguyễn Đức Cảnh, Q7.

Additionally, you can visit Maison Saigon Marou, a café and bakery located at 167-169 Calmette, south of Ben Thanh Market in Ho Chi Minh City. Here, you'll be able to watch chocolate makers at work, enjoy some pastries, and chat with the friendly staff, including the two co-founders of Marou, who often stop by to share the story behind the brand.

Although Marou was only launched in 2011, the brand quickly shook up the international chocolate market, standing alongside long-established names like Lindt & Sprüngli (Switzerland), Godiva (USA), Ferrero Rocher (Italy), Thorntons (UK), Puccini Bomboni (Netherlands), Guylian (Belgium), Hershey's (USA), Neuhaus (Belgium), Richart (France), and Teuscher (Switzerland).

Indeed, Marou chocolate has won the hearts of consumers, even in the notoriously demanding markets of the USA, Japan, and Europe, and was voted the best chocolate in the world. The travel website Tripadvisor.com named it the "Best Chocolate in the World," while National Times magazine referred to Maison Marou (a café and flagship store of Marou) as the "Café of the Best Chocolate in the World."

In 2013, Marou's 70% dark chocolate won a silver medal, while its 78% variety took home a bronze at the British Academy of Chocolate's annual awards. Even more impressively, the prestigious New York Times published an article on Marou titled "The Best Chocolate You've Never Tasted."

What makes Marou particularly special and intriguing is that this world-renowned chocolate brand hails from Vietnam. Established in 2011, Marou operates its production facility in Ho Chi Minh City.

When we think of premium chocolate, we often associate it with countries in Europe or North America with temperate climates, such as Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, France, Germany, and the Netherlands. However, cacao has been grown in Vietnam since the 19th century, during the French colonial era. Back then, all cacao harvested in Vietnam was shipped to France to be made into chocolate—labeled as 'Made in France,' which kept the Vietnamese origins of the cacao largely unknown. Before 2011, when Vietnam gained independence and began developing its own economy, the country's cacao industry was small, contributing less than 0.1% of global production.

Recognizing the potential of the cacao grown in Vietnam's tropical climate, Marou's founders established the company and brought the 'Made in Vietnam' chocolate brand to international prominence.

Another interesting fact is that the founders of Marou are actually foreigners. Marou was founded by Samuel Maruta, a Frenchman of Japanese descent, and Vincent Mourou-Rochebois, a Frenchman who has lived in France, the U.S., and the U.K.

Samuel Maruta first visited Vietnam in 1996 as a student and later returned to work. Vincent Mourou, on the other hand, only set foot in Vietnam in early 2011 during a Southeast Asia trip that took him through Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.

In Vietnam, Samuel Maruta and Vincent Mourou crossed paths during their exploration of the country in 2011. With their shared French heritage, the two founders decided to establish Marou, a world-renowned chocolate brand, in Vietnam. The name 'Marou' is derived from the founders' names, with 'Ma' from Maruta and 'rou' from Mourou.