11-year-old’s chocolate factory helps support Sabah’s farmers

 

The entrepreneurial young man Armand with a cocoa bean. (Nina Othman pic)

KOTA KINABALU: Eleven-year-old Armand Idrizam looks like your average school-going kid who enjoys snacking on different varieties of chocolates and cookies. But the rows of sleek dark chocolate slabs and baked goods laid out in front of him are not part of his delicious afternoon ritual.

These mouthwatering treats are actually made by Armand himself before he ships them out to chocolate lovers all over Malaysia.

The baby-faced chocolate maker is the founder of Koko Loko, a cocoa-based snack business that purchases cocoa from small farmers in Sabah so they can gain extra income.

Armand, seen here with a happy customer, hopes that Koko Loko will be known throughout Malaysia. (Nina Othman pic)

Armand tells FMT that he persuaded his mother, Nina Othman, to allow him to start a business of his own as he wanted to be able to buy things for his family and himself.

“I tagged along on one of my mum’s work trips where we arrived at Tambatuon Village and met a whole bunch of cocoa farmers,” says Armand, who moved from Selangor to Sabah with his family in December 2018.

He then had the idea of purchasing cocoa from the farmers and experimenting with it to make chocolaty treats.

A meeting with cocoa farmers from Tambatuon Village inspired Armand to start buying from them. (Nina Othman pic)

Armand has clearly inherited his entrepreneurial spirit from Nina, a social entrepreneur herself, who helps promote the livelihood of struggling Sabahan farmers and artisans.

“We worked with the Sabah Society for the Deaf because, at first, we did not possess huge ovens required for chocolate-making. This was a way to help them earn some income,” he says.

After the smashing success of one of its first products, Cocoa Granola, Koko Loko moved on to making breakfast spreads.

“I wanted to come up with a spread because I have very fond memories of eating peanut butter with chocolate swirls or jam,” Armand shares.

“But I decided to mix things up and thus, we have the chunky cocoa peanut butter spread and the dark cocoa peanut butter, which is blended up with cocoa nibs.”

Armand and the chocolate factory

Early this year, Armand decided he wanted to introduce the whole country to his chocolate business. To make this happen, he needed a separate location where the goods could be made. What about a mini factory?

Pouncing on his mother’s suggestion, Armand began crowdfunding for the capital and successfully raised more than the intended amount in less than a month – a whopping RM26,655.

The “Do Good, Eat Chocolate” factory has since been set up in Kinarut, about 20km away from Kota Kinabalu, where Armand and his family members have been busy baking and whipping up a storm.

Koko Loko’s scrumptious Afghan cookies. (Nina Othman pic)

Among Koko Loko’s bestsellers are Afghan cookies, which are rich and crunchy chocolate cookies made of pure butter, coated with Koko Loko’s 60% dark chocolate drizzle and topped with walnuts.

Their cocoa nibs come in three varieties – original, sweet and salty, and sweet and spicy.

“We also make 60% and 70% dark chocolate cocoa bricks that can be used for melting, baking, or even making a nice hot chocolate drink,” Armand adds.

For Ramadan they came up with Iftar Bites, an assortment of nine handcrafted desserts using premium ingredients, cocoa nibs and dark chocolate.

Testing out recipes and making Iftar Bites in his factory. (Nina Othman pics)

Despite being busy at the factory and coming up with new products, Armand has no trouble juggling life as a student with chocolate making.

“I usually settle my homework and school meetings by noon. All my extra time, weekends and school holidays are spent in the factory.”

He has big plans for the future of Koko Loko. Among them is to hire those who are struggling to earn a living due to the pandemic, and teach them how to make cocoa-based treats.

(From left) Armand with his siblings Faheem and Julia and their yummy chocolate spreads. (Nina Othman pic)

Nina shares that before the current movement control order (MCO) hit, they were also considering collaborating with a friend who converts plastic waste into wood.

The idea was to allow plastic as a form of currency for children who were unable to afford cookies or chocolate. But the plan is on hold until MCO 3.0 ends.

“Armand also came up with the idea that 20% of profits should go to Green the Earth projects like tree planting, coral propagation and mangrove conservation,” says the proud mother of three.

Koko Loko delivers to customers Malaysia-wide. (Nina Othman pic)

In case you were wondering, Armand has seen the movie “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” no fewer than five times and aspires to be a full-time chocolatier, just like Willy Wonka, someday. No doubt he’s already on his way there. - FMT

To help Sabah’s cocoa farmers during the pandemic and support Armand and his chocolate factory, visit Koko Loko on Instagram or Facebook to order.