Unveiled at a private London prelaunch, Oumé is a new brand focused on chocolate, and grounded in childhood memories of Salomon Kalou and his wife, Kerrina Ferreira. Kiran Grewal reports.
In late May, at an intimate gathering hosted by venture studio Mustard, former Chelsea footballer Salomon Kalou and Creative Director Karina Ferreira unveiled Oumé, a brand that, in Ferreira’s words, is “a way to bring people home and then carry that feeling forward.” Mustard, known for building ventures that lead with strong stories, has been instrumental in shaping Oumé’s narrative, from early brand development to the curation of this prelaunch moment.
“Before I played for Chelsea, I was walking barefoot in the cacao fields after school,” Kalou told the room. “Helping my parents on the farm. Back then, we didn’t even know what cacao was really for.”
Named after his birthplace in the Ivory Coast, Oumé is a brand grounded in memory and meaning. The town itself, located about 300 km from Abidjan, is nestled in the heart of one of the world’s richest cocoa-growing regions. The Ivory Coast produces nearly 40% of the world’s cocoa supply, yet its farmers—like Kalou’s parents once were—see just a fraction of the profits that end up in the hands of global confectionery giants.
That image—of a man standing calmly beside a tree—became the heartbeat of the brand’s identity. “When I saw this picture from Paul Kodjo… it resonated so much to us,” Ferreira said. “It spoke a lot to me when it comes to feelings. It spoke to me in a sense of connection, sense of belonging… so powerful, so deep, emotionally speaking.”
The global chocolate market was worth US$132.65 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach nearly US$197 billion by 2032—yet most cocoa farmers in West Africa still earn less than $1.50 a day, according to Research and Markets. Market volatility, climate change, and the opaque nature of commodity trading have left farmers vulnerable despite their central role in the supply chain. Though initiatives like Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance have introduced minimum price guarantees and sustainability programmes, they’re still beholden to commodity market swings. In 2024, the governments of Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire increased their farmgate prices by over 50%, responding to supply shortages and growing global demand, but structural inequities remain. The question for new brands like Oumé is how to build something both premium and fair, while truly shifting value back to origin communities.
“Oumé, then, is both literal and metaphorical. It’s a town. It’s a feeling. It’s a belief that products rooted in place, owned by those who know it, and expressed with artistic intention can create something larger than profit”
To steer Oumé through that maze, the founders have enlisted Marc Donaldson as Chief Chocolate Officer. A veteran of the cocoa sector, Donaldson is a Senior Partner at On The Ball Consulting and has held senior posts at Barry Callebaut (Managing Director, Asia‑Pacific) and Delfi Cocoa/Petra Foods (President & Director for Cocoa Sustainability). His résumé covers everything from M&A in China to profitable sustainability programmes in Indonesia.
At the London Chocolate Forum 2024, Donaldson’s keynote – “Are You Ready for EUDR?” – urged manufacturers to “treat due‑diligence as an opportunity not an overhead”, announcing that “every cocoa bean, every derivative must be verifiably clean.” Rumour has it he’ll return to the stage in 2025 to outline Oumé’s story, vision and roadmap for its chocolate products.
Donaldson’s expertise in commodity economics, consumer product development and farmer‑level sustainability will be critical if Oumé hopes to prove that a luxury African chocolate can also be a fair one.
“We didn’t just want to make a product,” Ferreira said. “We wanted to make something that feels like going home. And for us, home is emotional. It’s art. It’s a story.”
L-R: Karina Ferreira, Kiran Grewal and Marc Donaldson
The team also revealed early concept packaging: slim, monochrome bars wrapped in crisp white paper covered with abstract black linework that echoes the Oumé logotype in a rhythmic, almost musical pattern. Each wrapper bears the brand name boldly. It’s a strikingly minimal design, letting the visual language of craft speak for itself. But design was never meant to be the whole story. In fact, the product itself played a secondary role in this prelaunch. For Mustard, this event was about seeing who intuitively understood what Oumé represents and identifying a community of early believers. In an industry where launches are often formulaic, Oumé’s decision to lead with narrative, identity and emotion — before putting a bar on shelf — is a bold inversion.
Oumé, then, is both literal and metaphorical. It’s a town. It’s a feeling. It’s a belief that products rooted in place, owned by those who know it, and expressed with artistic intention can create something larger than profit.
“There are almost no premium African chocolate brands coming from the continent itself,” Kalou noted. “We want to be the first to tell that story, with quality, with heritage, and with community.”
The brand is still in its early stages, but its vision is ambitious: premium chocolate, ethically sourced, designed with visual storytelling, and sold globally with proceeds reinvested in community-building and creative industry infrastructure back home. Whether that will meaningfully impact the lives of farmers in Oumé and beyond remains to be seen. But for now, it has sparked interest and curiosity.
Ferreira summed it up best: “Art is how we make people feel. And if chocolate can be art, then this is our gallery.”
Editorial contact:
Editor: Kiran Grewal kgrewal@kennedys.co.uk
