With the desire to continue strengthening partnerships with the institutional sector for the promotion and marketing of fine Colombian cocoa, ALO&Partners, in synergy with the Embassy of Colombia in Italy and the Italian Latin American Institute (IILA) presents UMAU to SIGEP.

Thanks to its sustainable growth and commitment to the development of cocoa growing communities in Colombia, CCC with its commercial brand UMAU, meets again the ALO&Partners team to join efforts and participate in the 40th edition of SIGEP from January 21 to 25 in Rimini, Italy.

UMAU is a company dedicated to the production and commercialization of fine and dry cocoa beans of origin, which represents the traditional and artisanal production of Colombian cocoa and its image at international level.

It has been a work of planning, organization, time and considerable effort focused on the search for land and selection of suitable plant material to offer a panorama that represents potential, viability and opportunity in the context of sustainability.

The lands managed by UMAU where the cocoa plants grow provide fruits of unparalleled quality and at the same time take care of the entire ecosystem.

The land and cocoa come from different regions of Colombia, mainly from Cimitarra, Santander, where the main plantation is located; Santa Marta, where small producers and associations work; as well as the Northeast of Antioquia and the departments of Urabá and Cesar.

Thanks to these rich soils, different types of cocoa are obtained, all with high quality standards for different customers with a wide variety of profiles and origins.

On September 1, 2015, UMAU began the first work to transform Hacienda Monte Oscuro (in northern Colombia) into one of the largest cocoa plantations in the country.

In April 2016, the second stage began, and cocoa planting started with more than 459,000 plants.

By May 2017, the third stage of the project had begun, with an additional 192,000 cocoa plants being planted.

In November 2019, the last stage of planting that has been performed to date was carried out, thus totaling 704,000 plants planted.

UMAU is formed by a Private Equity Fund with 76 Colombian investors, making it the only cocoa project with 100% Colombian capital.

Hacienda Monte Oscuro currently has 704 hectares of cocoa planted with high technology.

The UMAU has an agroforestry system consisting mainly of native forests, abarco trees (Cariniana pyriformis) and mata ratón trees (Gliricidia sepium), which guarantee optimal production while respecting environmental sustainability criteria.

The strategies implemented by the CCC are aimed at benefiting the agribusiness sector, the community and the biodiversity of the areas where cocoa is grown.

Today this is how UMAU works for the land and the community, to obtain a product with high quality standards, but at the same time also taking care of the native flora and fauna, opening the way to new generations of producers who are trained and identify with this project because it guarantees education as well as economic and social progress for all.

These are the principles through which UMAU with the support of ALO&Partners will be presented at SIGEP, the international exhibition of gelato, pastry, artisan bread and coffee.