For San Francisco chocolate maker Tcho, one of the biggest challenges is sourcing the beans that produce the company’s finished product. It’s all grown, fermented and roasted thousands of miles away, in places like Peru, Ghana, and along the Amazon. But Tcho has figured out a way to make the miles melt way, using a data storage and online portal program also accessible to the people growing the cacao beans used in Tcho’s chocolates. Tcho’s chocolatiers add and share their notes for each batch of beans. The farmers can see the response in real-time.
That’s just one way Tcho is using technology to help run its chocolate factory, as we’ll show you in this video report. Beyond connecting employees and farmers, Tcho workers also use an iOS app developed to both check the cameras around the factory and turn equipment in the lab on and off. That means no more overnights for chocolate makers who need to turn off a roasting batch of chocolate.