Marou founders, Samuel and Vincent, met on a jungle camping trip in Vietnam. They quickly bonded over a shared desire to escape the mundaneness of their day jobs and embark on a life-changing odyssey. A random Google search for "cacao plantation" led them to a farm in Ba Ria Province. On the ferry ride back to Saigon, they decided to try their hand at this chocolate making thing using just a blender, an oven, and cake tins in Sam's kitchen. Easy enough, eh? Well, what came of these experiments was one of the first "bean-to-bar" enterprises in Asia, and one of the few at the time worldwide crafting chocolate at its source. Their efforts also contributed to a growing network of rejuvenated cocoa farms throughout Vietnam, as farmers could now fetch premium prices for their beans. They continue to source directly from farmers in six different parts of the country and have really helped put Vietnam on the bean-to-bar map.