Indonesia Introduces Its Cocoas at the Salon du Chocolat in Paris

Some twenty bean-to-bar chocolates were on offer, and above all there were many conversations about their origins and flavours. For five days, visitors to the Salon were able to taste chocolates made in Indonesia, a major cocoa producer whose chocolate-making expertise is still largely unknown in France.

The aim is to present Indonesian cocoa as more than a raw material for export.

The CIRAD/IndoKAKAO stand also attracted chocolate lovers, professionals, institutional representatives and industry players. Among them were the Ambassador of the Philippines to France and a delegation from the Philippine Department of Agriculture.

Behind the Chocolate: Improving Bean Quality

IndoKAKAO’s presence in Paris is part of a cooperation between France and Indonesia that began in 2025. It sits within a wider partnership between Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia, the dP Salsa initiative, which addresses territorial issues at the regional level. The IndoKAKAO project is funded by the Team France Fund of the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and by the Indonesian microfinance agency PNM. It brings together CIRAD, the Indonesian Ministry of National Development Planning (Bappenas), research and training institutions, and industry professionals.

Part of the work focuses on cocoa quality, which depends as much on growing conditions as on what is done after harvest. Fermentation, drying and identifying aromatic characteristics all play an essential role in bean quality and in adding value to the beans.

“We work with our Indonesian partners to build skills at every stage, from farming practices to sensory analysis. Producing good cocoa is not enough: you also need to be able to recognise its qualities, reproduce them and make them known to buyers,” says Christian Cilas, researcher at CIRAD and scientific coordinator of IndoKAKAO.

In September 2025, nine Indonesian professionals took part in a first training course on sensory analysis at CIRAD in Montpellier. A year later, in October 2026, new sessions were held in Jember with the Indonesian Coffee and Cocoa Research Institute (ICCRI), and then in Yogyakarta, with INSTIPER. These courses, also promoted by the French Embassy in Indonesia, help build local skills in cocoa evaluation.

This work is of direct interest to Indonesian chocolate makers who want to better identify their raw materials, master processing and gain recognition for the quality of their products.

The IndoKAKAO project also works in cocoa-growing areas, notably in Sulawesi. With local stakeholders and PNM, the teams are looking at the support needs of farms and at microfinance options, with particular attention to smallholders, women and young people.

The goal is for messages about quality and processing to reach those who actually grow the cocoa. Recognition of a chocolate on the international market does not, on its own, guarantee better incomes for producers. That is why IndoKAKAO combines technical work with training and with collaboration with Indonesian institutions and economic actors.

Promoting the Products Without Forgetting the Producers

In Paris, the chocolates on display are part of the visibility of this sector, showcasing the finished products and the processing expertise that the project supports. This presence at the Salon is an opportunity to highlight the work required upstream, in the plantations, research centers, and fermentation units. Among industry stakeholders. In ongoing and initial training programs.