Chocolate San Carlo was founded over eight years ago in Marcala, La Paz. It was the dream of a determined woman who wanted to preserve the flavors of her childhood and turn them into cacao-based products. Her name is Rosalba Castellanos, a distinguished pharmacist who made a professional transition into entrepreneurship, leaving her career to follow a passion: making chocolate with a Honduran identity.
Today, the company is located in Danlí, El Paraíso, a region known for its agricultural vocation. There, it maintains traditional production techniques but also faces the common challenges of new businesses: limited access to technical advice, scarce resources, and a rapidly changing market. According to the Honduran Council of Private Enterprise (COHEP), 70% of new businesses in the country do not survive their first three years.
While Rosalba was establishing her company in Marcala, Swisscontact was working with local stakeholders to introduce a new crop in the "Departamento El Paraíso": cacao.
For Rosalba, specialised guidance marked a turning point. With several decades of experience in the food industry – especially in chocolate production with one of the world’s largest companies – and specialisations in vegetable production, quality, chemistry, food science and technology, as well as processing and manufacturing, and being a notable researcher in agronomy and food sciences, Rinus brought an expertise that encouraged Rosalba to see her business through a new lens. Together, they looked for ways to improve without losing the essence of her products, making production more organised, efficient, and sustainable.
Working with quality beans has been one of Rosalba’s key strategies. She sources her cacao through cooperatives such as GUATE and ECAPANP, located in Trojes, El Paraíso – a region known for producing grade “A” beans with distinctive flavor profiles. These cooperatives are supported by Swisscontact’s Paraíso Verde project, which, thanks to funding from the EU and its Global Gateway strategy, provides technical assistance in areas such as post-harvest, quality control, and marketing through their collection centers.
This high-quality raw material, combined with the production processes, earned San Carlo Chocolate national recognition by winning first place in the National Cacao Competition – dark chocolate bar 70% – validating the quality of its product. With this foundation and a recent award in hand, Rosalba reaffirms her commitment to continuous improvement.
For two weeks, Rosalba and Rinus shared hands-on training and ongoing conversations. They focused on reviewing each stage of the process: from blends to the distribution of tools and the use of local ingredients.
"Before this experience, I had a mental block. I had only one product that I believed I could make well. I thought there was nothing more to offer. But since Rinus showed me everything I could do with the ingredients we have in our city and our country, my perspective changed a lot. Now I know I can give new purpose to the ingredients I have at my disposal.", explains Rosalba.
Beyond technical aspects, they also reviewed internal organisation methods and strategies to boost marketing – aiming for the company to reach new customers and markets, both within Honduras and abroad. This phase of support helped strengthen not only production but also the company’s confidence and vision.
Rinus sees the experience as enriching: "The world of cacao has given me many experiences and much happiness, and as a volunteer I want to give back to the industry, to the people who grow within it. I’m happy to help Rosalba and Chocolate San Carlo in this way. It’s a journey together – we’ve explored local ingredients and flavors to stand out. To find how to be better, tastier, more natural, and with something that can’t be copied: the authentic flavor of this land."
The intervention at this chocolate company represents the SEC programme’s first experience in Honduras – a significant step toward connecting specialised knowledge with businesses that already have a story but can benefit from tailored technical support.
The story of Chocolate San Carlo is just the beginning of a path that opens real possibilities for Honduran cacao: more innovation, more added value, and more recognition. Opening the door to this kind of support means planting new ideas and hope. The award received by its chocolate confirms that Chocolate San Carlo is on the right track – the company now operates more efficiently, develops new recipes, and has clarity on how to continue improving.
Knowledge, when shared respectfully, adds value. And in this case, it helped consolidate what had already been built: quality, authenticity, and pride in one’s own identity.
