The consumer shop at the factory of the Cocoa Processing Company Limited (CPC) in Tema was on Wednesday filled with chocolate lovers who were purchasing boxes of chocolate in preparation towards the valentine day.
February 14, which is celebrated worldwide as St Valentine’s Day is commemorated in Ghana as Chocolate day in a quest to encourage Ghanaians to consume chocolate and other cocoa products.
At about 11:30 hours, when the Ghana News Agency got to the premises, a number of people were in queues buying chocolate as those who had been served were carrying their boxes of chocolate with smiles.
The GNA gathered that 25 and 50 grammes of the various flavours of the chocolate had finished as shops owners and hawkers had bought all in anticipation of high demand on 14 February.
However the 100 grammes and other cocoa products including chocolate spread, cocoa powder and chocolate pebbles were available for sale.
Nana Agyenim Boateng, Managing Director of CPC said sales had been very good noting that most retailers came early to buy the smaller gramme bars.
Nana Boateng stated that his outfit had introduced a lot of chocolate flavours and other cocoa products on to the market as a way of adding value and favourably competing with the foreign chocolates.
He said in that light, CPC now had chocolates with exotic nuts including macadamia, walnut, coconut, almonds among others adding that “we also have nine different flavours comprising of Irish cream, milk, ginger, strawberry, and coffee, as well as white chocolate.”
He indicated that CPC also produced chocolates for diabetics and the aged explaining that its dark chocolate now had the highest variants of cocoa ranging between 70 and 90 per cent.
He urged Ghanaians to consume chocolate and other cocoa products as food not as candy as according to him, cocoa had a weighty antioxidant level than any other food.
“Continue to consume cocoa and enhance your age and well-being. While you take chocolate to express your love, you will be enhancing your life because its antioxidant level is very high,” he said.