Videri Chocolate Factory Creates Chocolate Confections From Bean to Bar

Open a box of chocolates from Videri Chocolate Factory, and you know exactly what you’re going to get – locally roasted, handcrafted artisan chocolate treats made from the finest cocoa beans the world has to offer.

Videri Chocolate Factory opened in Raleigh in 2011 and quickly gained a large following among chocolate lovers across the state and beyond.

“We are one of the few bean-to-bar chocolate makers in North Carolina,” says Sam Ratto, founder and chocolate maker at Videri Chocolate Factory. “We source our cocoa beans from farmers in Central and South America. Once we receive the fermented beans, we hand-sort every bag and roast the beans to our flavor specifications.”

Then they turn the roasted beans into 70% dark chocolate and 55% dark milk chocolate bars as well as a fun array of bonbons. Some of the most popular bonbons are the Chewy Salted Caramel, Honey Caramel made with local honey and their seasonal flavors. The Chocolate Covered Caramel Popcorn is also very popular.

Holiday flavors are particularly sought after this time of year, and they make tasty gifts with a North Carolina flair.

“Our holiday flavors include a Peppermint Crunch Bar made with crushed candy canes, and we make a Jingle Bell Caramel gift box that has four different flavors with eight total pieces,” Ratto says. “We have a Gingerbread Caramel, Salted Loblolly Caramel, which is a very North Carolina thing, and we sell a lot of hot chocolate mix during holiday season.”

Sweet & Sustainable

In addition to being delicious, Videri’s high-quality chocolate is also responsibly sourced. When the factory orders beans from a bean broker or farmer, those farmers or brokers are required to provide Videri with third-party, verified statements of how much the workers are being paid. This process ensures Videri only purchases beans from companies who pay their employees a livable wage.

“We always purchase beans from farmers who are getting paid above fair-trade prices,” Ratto explains. “As an example, we hear a lot of stories of folks in West Africa getting paid 50 cents a day or $1 a day to farm cocoa, whereas farmers in our network are getting paid per pound to harvest the cocoa beans. In our factory, we also use recyclable or compostable packaging to reduce waste and focus in on farmers.”

To further reduce waste, Videri Chocolate Factory gives their leftover cocoa hulls to local gardeners instead of throwing them away. The cocoa hulls make excellent mulch, especially for rose and azalea bushes and vegetable gardens because they hold a lot of moisture.

“Cocoa mulch is a pretty interesting thing,” Ratto says. “It’s the byproduct of when we roast, crack and separate the shells. When it cracks, the shell goes into a bag, and that shell has a little bit of cocoa nib in it, so you can use it for tea. But the majority of it is a byproduct of the roasting and winnowing, and we put it in bags and place it up front for people to take for free. Quite a few people come in regularly for it.”

Videri Chocolate Factory Tours and Tastings

Though Videri chocolate tastes rich and luxurious, the factory is far from pretentious. The cozy downtown establishment prides itself on being a welcoming business that makes guests feel happy and at home. The exposed-brick and wood-beamed building formerly served as a freight depot, and its historic nature adds to the chocolate factory’s charm.

Visitors are encouraged to come inside and see the chocolate-making process firsthand. Free self-guided tours are available any day the factory is open, and there are QR codes at each step of the process where you can watch a short video to learn where cacao is grown, how it is fermented and how it is turned into chocolate bars and confections. There’s even a scavenger hunt that ends with a chocolate prize.

For an even more personalized experience, visitors can sign up online for a paid guided tour and savor a chocolate tasting with one of Videri’s chocolate makers.

“There is a crazy chemistry of how cocoa beans grow on a tree, get fermented and dried and smell like vinegar, and then we turn it into a chocolate bar,” Ratto says. “Some people have no idea chocolate came from a pod that is actually a fruit.”

Videri Chocolate Factory has “tasty relationships” with more than 100 bakeries, restaurants, coffee shops and even breweries around the state that incorporate the locally crafted chocolate into their baked goods, mochas and beers.

“We will celebrate 13 years in December,” Ratto says. “We want people to know there is a great place in Raleigh to check out with your family and see how chocolate is made. You can also go to our website and order something delicious. Keep us in mind when you need holiday gifts for friends or relatives, as well as custom corporate gifts for your customers or employees.”