Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kathryn Rogers. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Kathryn, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start big picture – what are some of biggest trends you are seeing in your industry?

Craft chocolate is still a very young industry, compared to other craft food industries such as beer, wine and coffee. We are just starting to get our footing with standards for tasting notes, defining terms and best practices in sustainable and direct trade sourcing. As a result, we have a lot of work to do AND we in the craft chocolate industry get to play a defining role in how we work together to create collaborative solutions to industry challenges.

The chocolate industry as a whole is wrought with human rights issues as well as environmental degradation. Just this past year, eight of the largest chocolate brands were under fire (again, it’s been an ongoing issue for decades) for purchasing cacao beans from farms engaging in child labor. Part of the reason for this is that chocolate is being bought and sold as a commodity, so the lowest price beans are the most widely used. The cheap prices are offset by low to no cost labor (slavery in many scenarios) and mass-production that requires heavy pesticides application to keep sensitive cacao trees producing on crowded farms where plagues and diseases are common.

With craft chocolate, the focus is on transparency in sourcing the most flavorful cacao beans. The result are relationships built on true collaboration that include direct trade with cacao farmers as well as vertically integrated supply chain models. Instead of a dispersed supply chain with little to no transparency nor accountability among the chocolate makers, in craft chocolate we have chocolate makers, distributors and cacao farmers all working together to support each other to thrive. In turn, customers get access to more delicious chocolate that is creating a positive impact at every step: healthier ecosystems, fair pricing for farmers and delicious flavor profiles that incorporate high quality, nutrient dense ingredients.

At Maya Moon Co, we are proud to source directly from cacao farmers in Ecuador and Peru and to continue to collaborate at every step in our supply chain for a cleaner environment, healthier customers and fair pricing that supports our farmers to innovate and grow.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I was first introduced to craft chocolate at a festival in Northern California. Some guys visiting from Argentina served this thick, rich and creamy chocolate drink paired with a sound ceremony. There was something powerful about drinking chocolate together with the intention of connecting to each other and the earth that sparked a curiosity in me: what was this potent drink that felt so familiar (hot chocolate anyone?) yet so rich in quality, history and intention?

Over the next seven years as I was on my own journey of self-discovery transitioning from a career in public health marketing to becoming a food entrepreneur, chocolate kept showing up in my life. First in meditation and then as I was brainstorming about how to shift my farm-to-table catering company to a more scalable product-focused model, it felt like the spirit of cacao was whispering to me in her sweet yet bold way. Around the same time, I was co-leading the San Diego chapter of Slow Food and becoming even more passionate about the nexus between sustainability, health and human rights in the food system. As I learned more about chocolate as an industry while simultaneously meditating with a cup of cacao every morning, the path ahead became clear.

In 2018, Maya Moon Co was born as an e-commerce and event experience company with our sustainably-sourced, honey-sweetened chocolate leading the way. In 2019, with the help of 160 Kickstarter backers, I launched our flagship Chakra Chocolate Truffle product, and over the next two years I grew our product suite to include a variety of herbal-infused chocolate truffles as well as a line of functional drinking cacao blends.

During the pandemic, online chocolate sales boomed, and the need for the heart-open connection that chocolate offers became paramount. I started offering small distanced gatherings in parks and on beaches where we would drink cacao and connect through meditation with each other and the earth. Our community grew during this time, and in August 2021 I opened our flagship brick-and-mortar cacao cafe in San Diego: Maya Moon Collective.

Today, Maya Moon Co shares a 2,400 square foot commercial kitchen where we produce and distribute our cacao truffles, drinking cacao mixes and a variety of sweet pastries and savory dishes for the cafe. We source our cacao direct from organic farmers in Ecuador and Peru, and our seasonal produce comes from local farms. At Maya Moon Collective, we are proud to partner with local businesses and artists to offer a curated selection of handmade gifts, a bi-monthly art show, weekly events and an assortment of locally sourced teas, botanical mocktails and cold pressed juices. The Collective has also grown to welcome a Boochcraft hard kombucha tasting room featuring newly released flavors on tap.

As we’ve grown over the years, I am most proud of our continued commitment to our cores values of sustainability, health and connection. These guide everything we do from sourcing our ingredients to formulating truffles and cacao drink mixes using 100% organic ingredients and zero refined sugar. It’s an honor to serve our community and to grow the value chain for our farm partners in Ecuador and Peru too.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

The first few years in R&D before I officially launched the business were me bootstrapping, working full time then part time then as a consultant and pouring all of my disposable income into getting the business off the ground. Thanks to 160 generous Kickstarter backers, I was able to raise $25,000 the second year to seed fund our first line of packaged products. From there, the revenue from product sales went right back into the business.

In preparation for opening Maya Moon Collective, I sold my North Park condo and invested my savings into the creation of our brick-and-mortar space. It’s been an expensive undertaking in an industry with very tight margins, with many stressful moments getting creative to make payroll along the way. But here we are, still standing with a growing customer base and a team of more than 10 pastry chefs and cacao-tenders who are proudly serving our community.

After four years in business as a solo-preneur/female founder, I am just now in the process of opening up Maya Moon Co to outside investors. I am excited for even more opportunities to grow the reach of our mission with a larger network of support.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Two weeks before Maya Moon Collective was scheduled to open, we had our final health inspection, expecting to get final sign off. I had our cafe team trained and on payroll with hours promised for opening. When the inspector arrived, he noticed a discrepancy in our plans that we had both overlooked before. It required us to revise the drainage system on a large majority of our pipes. I nearly broke down that day. I had invested 6 months of non-stop work and hundreds of thousands of dollars in resources to get us to this moment, and it felt like everything was falling apart.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mayamoon.co www.mayamooncollective.com
• Instagram: @mayamoonco @mayamooncollective

Image Credits
Photos by Chris Rov Costa