Press releases

Local company Fire Mountain, producers of luxury chocolate to exhibit at the renowned Chocfest

12 November 2021
ITC News

(Geneva) Fire Mountain, a new luxury chocolate company that is passionate about producing ethical products, will be exhibiting at renowned foodie event Chocfest, held on 13-14 November 2021. Co-founder of Fire Mountain, Paul Bup, is a teacher that lives in Leicester.

Fire Mountain is no ordinary chocolate. It’s made from cocoa beans harvested in the rich volcanic soil of Mount Cameroon – an active volcano over 70 million years old. It’s a rich, dark, single-origin Cameroonian chocolate; and like a speciality cheese or a fiery chilli – there’s something special about cacao. And it’s those unique bursts of flavour that makes tasting Fire Mountain chocolate an unforgettable experience to savour.

But it’s not just the products that are unique – the process behind how the business operates is also pretty special. The brand, as well as producing delicious, luxury products, also prides itself on the ethical production of chocolate. After working in the coffee and cocoa business for close to 10 years, the founders saw first-hand the poverty cycle and challenges faced by the farmers, and so they decided to do something about it.

Fire Mountain helps to develop the farmers capacity through education including financial literacy and effective farming methods to improve the productivity and yield per hectare. Now, the smallholders that farm the soil for Fire Mountain are also its stakeholders. It’s what the founders call ‘farmer to bar.’

Co-founder Mike Paul said Fire Mountain is a brand that believes you don’t have to choose between delicious and ethical.

‘We believe the best things in life should be shared. That’s why we want you to share the unmistakable taste of Fire Mountain Chocolate, but we also want our farmers to share the rewards for their hard work’.

Co-founder Paul Bup said added that Fire Mountain runs its business like a family.
‘It’s funny how crop rotation works in a cycle because that’s how we run our business. One big circle. One big family. By supporting local farmers, we grow a community as well as a crop. Families aren’t forced to flee for employment. We fight against child labour, for an education for our children and fair price for our farmers. We’re sustainable and traceable. When we harvest, we all share the benefits of our beans – people as well as planet.’

The Company’s successful participation at the Salon du Chocolat in Paris, was sponsored by the International Trade Centre’s (ITC) United Kingdom Trade Partnerships Programme (UKTP) which is funded by the United Kingdom.

Notes to editors

  1. Fire Mountain chocolate is made from single origin Cameroon cocoa, sourced around the rich volcanic soil of Mount Cameroon. It is craft chocolate, produced using a bean to bar process. The cocoa is ethically sourced, using sustainable packaging and with no additives.
  2. Fire Mountain Ltd is a company with experienced partners who have been Trading in coffee and cocoa from Cameroon since 2013. It provides chocolate products to distributors, retailers and chocolatiers. Processing is undertaken by very established chocolate producers and chocolatiers based in the UK and Italy. Our available products are: 70% Dark Chocolate 37% Milk Chocolate. These are supplied as 30g and 60g bars
  3. Fire Mountain works directly with farmers and gives them a fair price for their produce, stability for their families and a future for their children.
  4. Fire Mountain focuses on ethical sourcing of cocoa through direct trade to ensure a fair price for the farmers, to guarantee a living wage for their efforts. Its works to develop the farmers capacity through education including financial literacy and effective farming methods to improve the productivity and yield per hectare.
  5. Fire Mountain chocolate can be bought from BigBarn, from Fine Food Angels or you can contact Fire Mountain directly on sales [at] firemountain.uk (sales[at]firemountain[dot]uk).
  6. Chocfest is a renowned food lovers event, held in Melton Mowbray on 13-14 November 2021.

About ITC - The International Trade Centre is the joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations. ITC assists small and medium-sized enterprises in developing and transition economies to become more competitive in global markets, thereby contributing to sustainable economic development within the frameworks of the Aid-for-Trade agenda and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

For more information, visit www.intracen.org.

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Vittorio Cammarota
Chief, Communications and Events
T: +41 22 730 0322
E: vcammarota [at] intracen.org (vcammarota[at]intracen[dot]org)

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