Tickle your taste buds with OCHO
Published:Thursday | June 15, 2023 | 12:27 AMYasmine Peru/Senior Gleaner Writer
What is OCHO? If you ticked the box that said ‘Spanish word for eight’, then this time around you are not right. But, we will sweetly give you a scrumptious pass and tickle your taste buds with another OCHO.
OCHO is chocolate and it comes with a lifestyle-defining, seven-letter word attached – organic. A United States Department of Agriculture certified organic chocolate brand, the fact that there are no pesticides, herbicides, synthetic fertilisers, nor GMOs (genetically modified organisms) means a whole lot to the health conscious. As for the name, organic plus CHOcolate, equals OCHO.
Recently launched in Jamaica, chocoholics have been noticing OCHO popping up strategically in some supermarkets – that place right by the cashier, just as you are checking out and wondering what you are going to snack on later when you are relaxing. Once the quietly colourful wrapper makes contact with the corner of the eyes, the temptation becomes all too real.
They are available in two sizes: OCHO Minis and OCHO Bars. The minis are really mini – portion control could be a factor here – and they are available locally in coconut, peanut butter, caramel and peppermint. The bars can be had in coconut, peanut butter, and caramel, with peanut fillings. And, did we mention that OCHO comes not only in milk, there is also the dark chocolate variety that will surely appeal to real connoisseurs, as well as those who are prepared to get knee deep in this level of goodness. Coconut filling in both sizes, as well as mint in minis only are available in rich dark chocolate.
Here’s a colleague’s take on it: I am particularly pleased with the coconut and the dark chocolate and I am not even a dark chocolate lover. It being organic means that it’s very healthy for a fat girl like me and that I can indulge just a little bit more. I’m not too fond of the peanut butter and I don’t think that mint and chocolate go together.”
Some persons rave about the unexpectedly thick layer of chocolate that comes with the bars. You actually bite into chocolate before reaching the filling, unlike some popular brands which have their fillings encased in a thin chocolate coating.
Another colleague shared, “I tasted the peanut butter last because I am not a fan of peanut butter chocolates. However, this one was surprisingly good. I had to look at the wrapper to make sure that it really said peanut butter. The caramel was a little bit on the salty side – nothing beats Ghiradelli when it comes to caramel ... just saying – but considering that OCHO is organic, I would definitely say it’s giving.”
According to the manufacturers, OCHO was conceptualised and founded in Oakland California and has since been acquired by Associated Brands Industries Ltd. (ABIL). This brand will now be distributed in Jamaica by their subsidiary, Confectionery & Snacks Jamaica Limited.
“As distributors of confectionery and snacks for many years, we are happy to introduce Organic OCHO Chocolates, which are 100 per cent certified, non-GMO, fair-trade and gluten-free with a vegan option,”Jerazeno Bell, sales operations manager of Confectionery & Snacks Jamaica Ltd, is quoted in a release.
Jamaica is the fourth market to launch and distribute OCHO Chocolates in the Caribbean just after Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Barbados. Organic OCHO Candy can also be found in major chain stores in the US market such as Target, Rite Aid, Wegmans, Stop & Shop and Sprouts.