Made in Vietnam

Chocolate made in Tien Giang

With a passion for chocolate, Bui Durassamy, founded the Vietnamese chocolate brand - Kimmy’s Chocolate, and is determined to turn the Mekong Delta into Vietnam’s largest cocoa plant.
Bui Durassamy, or Sammy, has a Vietnamese mother. When he was 24, he left his hometown in Vietnam to settle in Canada. Later, during several visits to Tien Giang, he saw the local people cut down many cocoa trees because no one bought cocoa beans or bought them at low prices.

Bui Durassamy knew that the quality of Vietnamese cocoa beans was highly regarded by the rest of the world while it is estimated that there would be a drought in the supply of cocoa by 2020, given the current rising demand for cocoa.


Bui Durassamy is passionate about creating a Vietnamese chocolate brand. Photo: Files


Vietnamese cocoa is classified in the world's high-quality cocoa group. Photo: Son Nghia


Workers take out cocoa nibs. Photo: Son Nghia


Cocoa beans are dried after fermentation. Photo: Son Nghia/VNP


Cocoa for making cocoa powder and different chocolate products. Photo: Son Nghia/VNP


Drying cocoa with machine. Photo: Son Nghia/VNP


Cocoa paste is crushed into a smooth liquid to make chocolate. Photo: Son Nghia/VNP


Molding chocolate. Photo: Son Nghia


Kimmy’s Chocolate is a brand of and for Vietnamese. Photo: Son Nghia


Bui Durassamy has fulfilled his wish of offering Vietnamese people chocolate made in their own country. Photo: Files

The idea of making chocolate from Vietnamese cocoa beans flashed through Bui’s mind. In 2015, he went back to his hometown – the district of Chau Thanh in Tien Giang province, to realize his dream.

Vietnamese cocoa is classified in the high-quality cocoa group along with Ghana, Ivory Coast and Brazil by the world cocoa processors. Vietnam is also the only country in Asia to grow and export fermented cocoa to make chocolate.
Bui himself did the design work and took two years to build his chocolate factory. In April 2017, Kimmy's Chocolate made its debut and cocoa farmers were the first ones to taste chocolate made in Vietnam.

The ingredients of Kimmy’s Chocolate are taken from the districts of Cho Gao and Chau Thanh. In the near future, Kimmy's Chocolate is aiming to expand the cocoa planting area to Tra Vinh province given the local advantages of the fertile soil.

For more than a year, Bui Durassamy has been working to fulfill his wish which is to let Vietnamese people enjoy chocolate products made in their own country. Besides chocolate, Kimmy’s Chocolate has more than 20 kinds of products including cocoa powder, cocoa butter, cocoa beans, butter chocolate and green tea chocolate. All these products are available in the supermarket systems, restaurant chains and outlets across the country.

Bui Durassamy not only created a Vietnamese chocolate brand, bu also helped farmers improve their lives. Bui now wants to turn cocoa into an industrial tree of the Mekong Delta./.


Kimmy's Chocolate’s products are available in the supermarket systems, restaurant chains and outlets
across the country.











Story: Son Nghia - Photo: Son Nghia & Files


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