Beyond Good, formerly known as Madécasse, is a Brooklyn-based chocolate and vanilla company. It was established in 2006 by Brett Beach and Tim McCollum. The company sells a range of single-origin chocolate bars and vanilla products sourced from the island of

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

. All of their cocoa is certified

direct trade Direct trade is a form of sourcing practiced by certain coffee roasters, chocolate makers, tea sellers, gemologists and more who build direct relationships with the farmers, artisanal miners and processors who sell their products. There is no s ...

and is sourced directly from Malagasy and Ugandan cocoa farmers. For several years, Beyond Good worked with a local chocolate producer in

Antananarivo Antananarivo (Malagasy language, Malagasy: ; French language, French: ''Tananarive'', ), also known by its colonial shorthand form Tana (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Madagascar. The administrative area of the city, known ...

before moving its production facility to

and

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

History

Brett Beach and Tim McCollum met while

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an Independent agency of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...

volunteers in Madagascar. After eight years on the island, McCollum and Beach devised their business model. Beach and McCollum wanted to produce chocolate on the island.Follmer, Ma
"Madecasse Takes Bitter out of Chocolate Sweetness"
, ''Take Part '' March 1, 2011 Beach and McCollum started Madécasse at Beach's residence in

Lawrence, Kansas Lawrence is a city in and the county seat of Douglas County, Kansas, United States, and the sixth-largest city in the state. It is in the northeastern sector of the state, astride Interstate 70 in Kansas, Interstate 70, between the Kansas River ...

.Watkins, Tat
"Cuckoo for Cocoa Processing: Making Chocolate—Not Just Picking It—Helps Madagascar Develop"
''Good Business'' 7 February 2012. They partnered with cocoa farmers of the Ezaka Cooperative.
''PCC Natural Markets'' The company initially had trouble meeting the quality standards of the United States, as the cocoa beans needed more fermentation and drying. The farmers received training, equipment was purchased, and a bonus program for the company was developed. According to Malagasy-born Michaël Chauveau, Director of Operations in Madagascar, Madécasse partnered with a factory on the island that has steadily increased its production outcome. As the company expanded, it partnered with more farming cooperatives to meet rising demand. Beyond Good exports vanilla beans and extracts from Madagascar. Beyond Good has offices in Brooklyn and Madagascar. In January 2020, the company officially changed its name from Madécasse to Beyond Good. The company introduced a line of

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

n chocolate bars in early 2020.

Recognition

In 2010, Beyond Good was included in''

Food & Wine ''Food & Wine'' is an American monthly magazine published by Dotdash Meredith. It was founded in 1978 by Ariane and Michael Batterberry. It features recipes, cooking tips, travel information, restaurant reviews, chefs, wine pairings and sea ...

s list of 40 Big Thinkers 40 & Under. In 2011, it was listed as one of the World's 50 Most Innovative Companies by ''

Fast Company ''Fast Company'' is an American business magazine published monthly in print and online, focusing on technology, business, and design. It releases six print issues annually. History ''Fast Company'' was founded in November 1995 by Alan Webb ...

''. Beyond Good was named a Leader of Global Change in 2012 by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

and Foundation for Social Change. In the same year, the brand also won the Good Food Award in the Chocolate category. In 2022, it received the Good Egg Award on the 202
Chocolate Scorecard
for its work with human rights and environmental issues such as traceability and transparency, living income, child labor, deforestation and climate,

agroforestry Agroforestry (also known as agro-sylviculture or forest farming) is a land use management system that integrates trees with crops or pasture. It combines agricultural and forestry technologies. As a polyculture system, an agroforestry system c ...

, and

agrochemical An agrochemical or agrichemical, a contraction of ''agricultural chemical'', is a chemical product used in industrial agriculture. Agrichemical typically refers to biocides (pesticides including insecticides, herbicides, fungicides and nematicide ...

management.

References

{{reflist American chocolate companies Food manufacturers based in New York City Agriculture in Madagascar Companies based in Brooklyn Food and drink companies established in 2006