Jolyn Yong's Luxury Vegan Chocolate, Happy Cioccolato is Making The World A Happier Place

Happy Cioccolato, according to Yong, is a medium for spreading health, happiness, beauty, and inclusion. It helps that her chocolates are also delectable, since they are free of sugar, preservatives, and other unnecessary components. "I began it in order to get happiness." I want everyone to feel good after they've eaten my chocolates."

History

Jolyn Yong began with a mere S$2,000. It was barely enough to cover the costs of the raw materials and equipment required to manufacture her handmade chocolate. The plan was straightforward. She would continue if she sold her first batch and consumers returned for more.

Happy Cioccolato now comes in seven flavours and a limited-edition raspberry chocolate biscuit, two years later. Yong also intends to delve into the world of gelato. "I have a fantasy of travelling the globe in a pink ice cream van serving luxury gelato," she chuckles.

Contrary to popular belief, the inspiration for Happy Cioccolato originated from a dark place. A few years ago, a series of unconnected events forced Yong to reevaluate her life. She had through a traumatic break-up, saw many classmates die in odd incidents, and was continuously battling health difficulties, including cystic acne that refused to go away regardless of what she tried. "I believed I would die at the age of 30," Yong admits.

As a result, she abandoned her job and embarked on a globe tour in search of herself. Then, as a parting present, she got a bar of organic chocolate on her visit to Melbourne. Simultaneously, she came upon a YouTube video of an American who had cured his acne in 30 days by modifying his diet. "It convinced me that what we eat determines who we are. I abstained from processed foods, dairy, gluten, soy, peanuts, and sugar, as well as meat and shellfish. "I consumed a lot of veggies and fruits," Yong explains.

These are the ingredients that go into one of Happy Cioccolate's flavours, Glowy Skin: organic Ceylon cinnamon, organic coconut sugar, red dates, and goji berries.

And the organic chocolate bar as well. Unfortunately, when she returned to Singapore, she was unable to locate anything comparable and saw a market need.

Today, Happy Cioccolato has expanded to the point that Yong is considering investing in automated chocolate-making equipment to streamline the process. At the moment, she handcrafts each bar, which takes around two to three days to complete.

"I've been thinking about these issues for a long time. What size am I aiming for? What kind of lifestyle do I want, and how can my company supply it? What contributes to my joy? As my company grows, it is unsustainable for me to do everything manually," Yong muses. "However, I want to respect the craft, which means that the process cannot be completely mechanised." I've realised that what really makes me happy is when I'm able to assist others, and I'd want to utilise Happy Cioccolato as a vehicle for doing so on a broader scale."

She aspires to someday establish a foundation that grants scholarships to young girls and women experiencing financial hardship, as well as a female-run sustainable and ecologically friendly cocoa plantation.