DAVAO CITY — Davao City-based Malagos Chocolate bagged four golds and one bronze at the 2020 World Drinking Chocolate Competition, according to Rex Victor P. Puentespina, sales and marketing director of Malagos Agri Venture Corp.
Puentespina said, in an email, that Malagos won gold for its Malagos 100% Premium Unsweetened Chocolate in the beverage made with water category, and additional golds for growing country, chocolate maker, and direct traded.
The same product also won Malagos bronze award for another category -- beverage prepared with milk.
The homegrown company was the only Asian brand that brought home the international awards, winning alongside Ara Chocolat of Chocolat Chaud Chuncho in France and Pumatiy of Pasta Pura de Cacao Chuncho of Peru.
Organized by the International Chocolate Awards in partnership with Schokoladen Gourmet Festival, the competition celebrates the origins of chocolate as a drink and comes with a revival of high-quality drinking chocolate within the craft chocolate movement.
The chocolate festival, run by Chocolats-de-luxe.de based in Germany, was held online.
“What makes our gold victory even sweeter is that our Unsweetened Chocolate is the base throughout our entire product line. It is our purest with only one ingredient, the fermented dried cacao bean,” Puentespina said.
He added that the award was a validation of the company’s never-ending quest for excellence in the field of cacao farming and chocolate-making, recognizing the work poured by the hardworking Filipino farmers for the thriving chocolate industry.
He said Malagos won in the same category in 2015, which put Malagos and Philippines on a global chocolate map.
“With these new awards, Malagos Chocolate has gone full circle. Back in 2015, it was in this same category that we were able to claim our first international award, which placed the spotlight on Malagos and Philippine cacao,” he said.