Iren Merdinyan, founder of Raw Bonbon: I have always been an appreciator of good dessert especially chocolate! I am mainly self-taught but I was fortunate enough to be coached to make my first chocolate mousse and chocolate ice cream by a friend, a brilliant chef who is trained in the art of traditional French cuisine. At the same time I discovered that my love for chocolate could be transformed into a passion for making delicious sweet treats. With a keen interest into yoga and a healthy life, the nutritional quality of the food I ate became very important 9 years ago. However I was not satisfied with the flavours of healthy sweets that were available in the market. After experimenting with raw cacao and raw cacao butter, nuts, and flavours the first raw bonbon was born in 2012. Raw Bonbon started as a dream for healthy yet delicious chocolate sweets, which are to be enjoyed by everyone and not only the raw food aficionados.

We have exceptionally high standards from sourcing our ingredients to packaging our sweets. We use Eco ingredients. High quality raw cacao is the key to the flavours we enjoy to create. Premium matcha and vanilla are vital as well. As sweetener we prefer to use maple syrup or coconut sugar. We source our ingredients from independent suppliers who also support Eco food and agriculture.

I like the look and the feel of things, which are done with awareness and care. The Japanese concept and aesthetics Wabi-sabi is very close to my heart: beauty is imperfect, impermanent and incomplete. To use the words of Leonard Koren (author of “Wabi-sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers”) – Wabi-sabi means treading lightly on the planet and knowing how to appreciate whatever is encountered, no matter how trifling, whenever it is encountered.