Noka Chocolate facts for kids
Noka Chocolate (also known as NōKA) was an American company. It was started by two Canadian accountants, Katrina Merrem and Noah Houghton. The company was based in Plano, Texas. Noka said it was a "chocolatier" that made fancy chocolate gifts. A chocolatier is someone who makes or sells chocolates. Noka sold its chocolates directly to customers. It also sold them through a big store called Neiman Marcus.
Noka's chocolates were made from chocolate that came from different countries. These included Venezuela, Trinidad, the Ivory Coast, and Ecuador. Every box of chocolate came with a "Tasting Guideline." This guide helped people enjoy the flavors. The company's founder said their chocolates were "not so much candy as a tasting experience." Because the chocolates were very expensive, one newspaper wrote that Noka was "not for the faint of heart -- or pocketbook." This meant they were only for people with a lot of money.
In 2006, the business website Forbes.com listed Noka's Vintages Collection. It was named one of the world's most expensive chocolates. It cost $854 per pound. D Magazine also called the chocolates "insanely expensive." Noka Chocolate stopped doing business in 2011.
Chocolate Origins and Online Talk
In December 2006, a blog called DallasFood.org wrote a series of articles about Noka Chocolate. The blog looked closely at what the company claimed about its products. It noted that Noka did not say where it got its couverture. Couverture is the special chocolate used to make finished candies. Many other chocolate companies share this information.
The blog did its own research. It found that Noka's chocolate seemed to be very similar to chocolate made by a French company called Bonnat Chocolates. The blog suggested that Noka was selling Bonnat's chocolate. But Noka was charging more than ten times the price Bonnat asked.
In December 2007, the same blog wrote another article. This one was about Noka's claim that its chocolates were chosen as the "Best Chocolate in America." Noka said this award came from The Nikkei, which they called the "world's largest business daily." However, the blog found that this taste test was not in the main newspaper. It was only in a much smaller version called Nikkei American Edition. Also, it was a paid advertisement, not a real news story.
Noka Chocolate later made a statement about the blog's articles. The company said that its "couverture is made to our strict specifications." But they did not deny that it came from a commercial supplier.
A public relations company from Texas, DPK Public Relations, got involved. The head of DPK Public Relations posted comments online to defend Noka. Soon after, he announced that his company was working for Noka.
Someone from the Media Bloggers Association talked about the online reaction to the blog series. They called it "a cautionary tale." This meant it was a warning for companies. They added that "Getting negative blog buzz, it could be a disaster." This shows how important online opinions can be for businesses.
