How Grain de Sail Chocolate is Funding Sustainable Maritime Logistics
At Grain de Sail in Brittany, two brothers are harnessing the wind to create a sustainable cargo shipping venture and wine, coffee and artisan chocolates are helping to fund it.
Taste, Sustainability, Adventure
Jacques and Olivier Barreau on Grain de Sail cargo sailboat photo courtesy of Grain de Sail
Brothers Jacques and Olivier Barreau worked as offshore wind turbine entrepreneurs in Brittany. After selling their shares in the wind farm developing company, they wanted a new project that combined their three shared passions: taste, sustainable development, and adventure, so they established Grain de Sail. “The idea was to self-finance the construction of a sailboat, with the promise of delivering a good product,” explains Pierre Maruzzi, director of sales and operations at Grain de Sail.
The sailboat presents a sustainable commercial transportation option for those seeking to reduce their carbon footprint. To raise necessary capital, the company settled on roasting coffee and crafting artisan chocolate, as well as importing wines from France.
Boat to Bar
Grain de Sail caramel bar photo courtesy Grain de Sail
First, the brothers founded a coffee roasting facility in Brittany in 2013. A chocolate making factory there followed in 2016. The pair partners with one of France’s best chocolatiers to develop recipes, and master every step of the chocolate-making process. “When the brothers founded Grand de Sail, they didn't know how to make chocolate at all,” said Maruzzi. “So they decided to surround themselves with experts.”
The result? Grain de Sail chocolate bars pivot around taste, texture, and appearance. “One of the key attributes to Grain de Sail chocolate is that you really have this melting sensation when you eat it,” Maruzzi said. “On top of the taste, there is this idea of texture.”
A very precise crystallization process that produces a shiny, thin tablet imprinted with Grain de Sail and Brittany scales logos, and a distinctive cracking when broken. “These are the three aspects,” sums up Maruzzi, “The cocoa taste, the melting in the mouth, and the shiny aspect and beautiful pattern on the bar.”
The team also invests in top-of-the-line equipment, and executes highly rigorous procedures, such as lengthier conching, and smaller particle standardization.
Terroir of Chocolate
Fair Trade, Direct Trade and Transparent Trade
Presently, Grain de Sail imports about 40% of its all-organic cocoa from the Dominican Republic, and the rest from Peru. Rather than Fair Trade, they opt to interact directly with small farmers, most of whom tend under 12 acres. This allows for greater operational transparency, resulting in farmers pocketing more money directly. The company also pays growers more to transition from conventional to organic farming. Read more about Fair Trade, Direct Trade and Transparent Trade.
Despite sourcing variations, Grain de Sail seeks to maintain a particular ‘house style,’ not unlike a Champagne house style. Consequently, the chocolatier engages a full-time import director charged with visiting each farm, then assembling a distinctive aromatic profile. “We're more focused on finding a blend that is consistent throughout the years, and throughout the batches,” says Riou.
Importantly, Grain de Sail prides itself on sourcing regional, organic ingredients. For example, nearby farmers provide the ingredients in their buckwheat and milk chocolate bar, dubbed an ’ode to Brittany.’ “There's a sourcing philosophy for all the inclusions that we source as locally as possible - finding the best, the closest - to come up with quite unique recipes,” says Maruzzi.
Sustainable Shipping Solutions
Grain de Sail in NYC photo courtesy of Grain de Sail
By 2018, the company amassed enough funds to construct the boat. But rather than a traditional, wind-powered, commercial schooner, the brothers designed a modern cargo sailboat, replete with state-of-the-art technologies.
Twice a year, Grain de Sail 1 cargo sailboat departs St. Malo, Brittany for New York City harbor. The temperature-controlled hull holds Grain de Sail chocolates, plus sustainably-produced French wine and spirits.
“Right now, no one’s shipping in a refrigerated container,” explains Jacques Herviou of Natural Selection Wines, who imports biodynamic Maris Wines from Grain de Sail. “The lead time, last time I checked, it was six months to get a booking. So everything's getting shipped in dry (uninsulated) sleeves, whereas the boat is insulated. The wine is under the water level, and there is a heat exchange system in the hold. So as far as temperature, it's as stable as anything.”
After unloading the chocolate and wine in New York City, the boat loads up medical supplies from non-profit foundation in New York destined for the Caribbean. Once in the Caribbean, the crew offloads medical supplies earmarked for a non-profit foundation, loads the cocoa and coffee, and sails back to France.
Sweet Future
The future promises even bolder adventures. In 2024, Grain de Sail will launch a second, larger cargo sailboat built with ten times the current shipping capacity. “We have a goal of 100% of sustainable cargo ship imports,” said Riou. “For now, it's not possible. It's step by step.”
Chocolate production goals prove just as sweet. In December 2022, Grain de Sail shipped its first batch of chocolate bars to the United States. Recently, the company partnered with a Brooklyn micro-chocolate factory to create single-source bars. Together, in collaboration with master Dominican Republican cacao producer Rizek, the satellite factory intends to develop terroir-driven, single-source chocolate bars suitable for international palates, and acclaim.
Ultimately, Grain de Sail offers chocolate lovers a tasty tale of two brothers, one boat - and a shared passion for taste, sustainability, and adventure - one artisan chocolate bar at a time.