Chocoholic of the Month: Claudine Surrel

As part of our 'Notes from Latin America', we are featuring the people who make up the La República family. In this interview, we speak to Claudine Surrel - our Quality and Research & Development Manager. 

“I am the Quality and Research & Development Manager for República del Cacao. Three years ago, in October 2013, I arrived in Ecuador to start a new life and become part of an exciting and challenging adventure, that of República del Cacao professional range. Since then, I have worked every day in our beautiful factory in Quito!
When the professional range project began, the team was very small but we had the desire to create something big. Accordingly, we first started by installing the machines, then we began training our local operators and developing our new products. You should have seen
how emotional it was when the first drops came out of the molding machine!
Since then, the brand has grown and we´ve become one great family, full of dedicated people from all around the world (just follow Chiquito and you will understand what I mean). During these 3 years, we have built our identity so that today República del Cacao rhymes
with quality and authenticity. We are close to our local partners, sourcing the best ingredients and always improving our traceability in order to offer our clients not just chocolate but a true story!
For me, República del Cacao is a unique experience, rich in creation, relationships and emotions. I am so proud to be part of this community! We all contributed to making it the way it is and we will continue to improve it with love and passion!”