Standout Chocolate is a one-man-band started in Sweden in 2018. Its founder, Fredrik, was an engineer in Sweden's automobile industry but held a growing passion for specialty coffee. Inspired, Fredrik created his own coffee advent calendar for Christmas, which garnered positive public response. Enjoying the art of curation, Fredrik sought to apply his engineering skills further. However, with Sweden already boasting many specialty roasters, he shifted his focus to the bean-to-bar movement. Fredrik has always sourced his cacao directly and exclusively from socially responsible cooperatives and prioritized environmentally friendly practices, utilizing biodegradable and compostable biofilm made from corn or potato starch for inner packaging, while the outer box is sourced from responsibly managed forests. True to their name, among the many bars I tasted during my early adventures with craft chocolate, Fredrik's bars consistently stood out the most, prompting me to immediately decide to carry and promote his creations.