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Cacao beans being raked and turned during drying in Venezuela

Since 1830 · Six generations

From Farm to Creators

Nearly two centuries of Venezuelan cacao heritage, from the Paria Region to the chocolate you create with today.

Our story · Since 1830

A Taste of a Great Story

What began in Venezuela's Paria Region in 1830 has grown into six generations dedicated to exceptional cacao and chocolate.

  1. 1827The Arrival

    A Journey from Corsica

    Our story begins with Vicente Franceschi Vicentelli, who arrived in Venezuela from Corsica, France, in 1827. He settled in Carúpano, in the Paria Region, where our family's connection to Venezuelan cacao began.

    Portrait of Vicente Franceschi Vicentelli: a man with dark side-whiskers in a black coat and a white waistcoat
    Vicente Franceschi Vicentelli.
    Old postcard: La Vigía and part of the Plaza de Santa Rosa, Carúpano
    La Vigía and part of the Plaza de Santa Rosa, Carúpano — an old postcard.
    Old photograph of a Carúpano street with a tram and an early car
    A Carúpano street, with its tram.
  2. 1830The Founding

    The Beginning of a Legacy

    In 1830, Vicente Franceschi established the family business in Venezuela's Paria Region, beginning a tradition rooted in the cultivation and trade of cacao.

    Nearly two centuries later, that legacy continues through our commitment to preserving exceptional cacao varieties and producing distinctive chocolates.

    Old sepia photograph of a white house on a hillside
    A house on the hillside — family archive.
  3. 1990sCacao Research

    Rediscovering Fine Criollo Cacao

    In the early 1990s, the fifth generation began an extensive effort to identify, study, and preserve Venezuela's exceptional Criollo cacao varieties, celebrated among the finest and rarest in the world.

    Venezuela is home to a remarkable diversity of these prized cacaos, and this research laid the foundation for the collection of fine cacao varieties that distinguishes Franceschi today.

    Red and yellow Ocumare 77 cacao pods growing on the trunk
    Ocumare 77 pods on the tree.
  4. 2010Franceschi Chocolate

    From Cacao to Chocolate

    The sixth generation took the next step: transforming our family's cacao expertise into finished chocolate.

    Franceschi Chocolate was created to showcase the distinctive flavors and aromas of Venezuelan cacao, combining generations of knowledge with modern chocolate-making techniques.

    Rows of molded dark chocolate bars, each stamped with the Franceschi F
    Bars out of the mold, each stamped with the F.
    A Franceschi team member in a mask and gloves wrapping chocolate
    Wrapped by hand.
    Gloved hands wrapping a chocolate bar in foil
    Every bar, one by one.

Today · From Farm to Creators

Bringing Venezuelan Cacao to Creators

Today, Franceschi brings together nearly two centuries of family heritage with the dedication of the people who cultivate our cacao, care for the land, and transform it into exceptional chocolate.

From our farms and agricultural teams to our chocolate makers, every step reflects generations of knowledge, craftsmanship, and a shared commitment to quality.

Together, we create internationally award-winning chocolates and cocoa ingredients for chefs, chocolatiers, pastry chefs, and other professional Creators around the world.

Cacao beans being raked and turned during drying in Venezuela
Franceschi production team at work in the chocolate factory
Tempered dark chocolate being worked on a marble surface