YK Poudel  

Yiga Chocolate, Mountain Hazelnuts, and CSI Market have come together to promote locally-grown hazelnut and launched Divine Tablet, a made in Bhutan chocolate, last week.

While Mountain Hazelnuts produces the nuts (a primary raw material), Yiga Chocolate produces Bhutan Chocolate, and CSI Market will market the produce.

Yiga Chocolate proprietor, Kinley Pelden said that the partnership with Mountain Hazelnuts has proven growth within the vast experience of entrepreneurship and branding.

“We cater to the needs of chocolate connoisseurs and consumers who are mindful of food quality and social environmental implications of sourcing and processing chocolate,” she said.

“Mountain Hazelnuts supporting local entrepreneurs like us compounds and maximizes the value of hazelnuts within the country in form of revenues and employment,” Kinley Pelden said.

CEO of CSI Market, Sonam Choephel said that CSI’s endeavour has been to bring high-quality and impact-driven products to our domestic and international customers.

“We are happy to support and promote Yiga chocolate over the years and to have Mountain Hazelnut as a trusted partner of this journey,” he said.

Since the signing of the MoU between Yiga Chocolate and Mountain Hazelnuts in 2020, over 250kg of shelled hazelnuts have been supplied for Yiga Chocolate to produce hazelnut chocolate.

CEO of Mountain Hazelnuts, Dr Sean Watson said that the co-creation of the dark chocolate partnering with Yiga Chocolate will be a creative journey of year-round hard work and dedication towards the product.

“To us, Yiga’s vision, dedication to craft, as well as perseverance in the face of global challenges embodies the spirit of Bhutanese entrepreneurs, and has been a deep inspiration to us at Mountain Hazelnut,” he said.

Yiga Chocolate is the first artisanal chocolate maker in Bhutan that has supported five employees and 10 suppliers.

The project started in 2018 with Nu 9 million in financial assistance from the Loden Foundation.