Ecuador apparently takes pre-competitive cooperation seriously. At a recent choc fest, the organizers built a large pavilion right in the center of the exhibition hall for a spate of Ecuadorian chocolate companies. There they huddled together in close quarters. Reps generally looked pretty satisfied, appearing friendly with one another. Not so much competitors, at least in this setting, but complements.

Each brand basically follows the same business model: select some cocoa beans from in-country farms (all proclaim Arriba Nacional in their bars as if Ecuador grows nothing but); transport them to Quito for processing into chocolate (handled by manufacturers like Tulicorp or Equitoriana); hire a logo / packaging designer (including that all-important back-story -- typically saving poor farmers). Ditto an exporter, given that local Ecuadorians can hardly afford this.

Where to? The USA & Europe of course. Trouble ahead....

The current bywords on everyone's lips in the craft chocolate world are market (over)saturation. Visit any retailer selling these bars & crowded shelves await shoppers with a bewildering array of options that vary by cacáo percentages, origins & a burgeoning number of brands.

Instantly overwhelmed, the choice usually melts down to not the character of their contents but the color & design of their packaging. With apologies to Rev. Dr. MLK Jr. Marketing triumphs -- again.

Whether craft chocolate proliferates with innumerable small batch markers, or a shakeout ensues followed by consolidation, might be determined by the cushion in their 401(k) accounts because, at this rate, consumers aren't buying the capacity out there.

Or perhaps the solution lies elsewhere still... Now that exporting to America ain't necessarily the route to riches, everyone asks What about China?. Hey, GL there.