Haitian Cocoa and Breadfruit Shine on the Global Stage

CHICAGO - Oct. 22, 2025 - PRLog -- Haiti's cocoa and breadfruit are stepping onto the world stage. Haitian-Canadian chocolatier Ralph Leroy has crafted a gourmet cookie, Choucoune, made with Haitian cocoa, coconut shreds, and gluten-free breadfruit flour. The cookie will be unveiled at the Salon du Chocolat in Paris, October 29 – November 2, 2025, the world's largest chocolate and pastry exhibition.

"For 16 years we've been planting breadfruit trees and building the flour market in Haiti," said Mary McLaughlin, co-founder of Trees That Feed Foundation. "Seeing breadfruit featured in Paris shows how far this work has come."

"Using natural Haitian ingredients is impactful on its own, but breadfruit's nutrient-rich, gluten-free qualities make it truly exceptional," said Fabrice Leclercq, ILO Chief Technical Adviser in Haïti.

The innovation comes through the P.R.O.F.I.T. Project (Project to Strengthen Agricultural Opportunities through Training and Technological Investment), supported by the International Labour Organization (ILO – UN) and funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The project also partners' with the World Food Programme's school feeding program first started by TTFF to provide nutritious food to school children in Haiti. PROFIT is building four breadfruit flour processing centres in Haiti's Grand'Anse department. Once complete, they will produce 1,600 tons of flour annually and serve 55,000 children in 255 schools.

Trees That Feed Foundation partners with fellow nonprofits, government entities, and smallholder farmers to plant food-bearing trees, especially breadfruit. Its mission is to feed people, create jobs, and protect the environment in underdeveloped communities of the Caribbean, Central America, and Africa.

Breadfruit is a nutrient-dense, gluten-free superfood that provides abundant harvests, supports local economies, and helps fight hunger and climate change. Learn more at https://treesthatfeed.org/breadfruit-the-super-tree-that-feeds-employs-and-heals-the-earth/