Pure Chocolate seeks a sweeter share of Canadian market
September 15, 2026
Major hotel chains, luxury resorts and established attractions commanded much of the attention in the main exhibition hall as the 36th Jamaica Product Exchange (JAPEX) unfolded at Moon Palace Ocho Rios.
Beyond the spotlight, however, smaller Jamaican businesses were working just as hard to make connections, secure distribution agreements and establish a foothold in international markets.
Among them is Pure Chocolate Jamaica, an artisan company established in 2017 by pastry chefs Rennae Johnson, who was born in Jamaica, and her Dutch-born husband, Wouter Tjeertes.
Using locally sourced cocoa beans and Jamaican-inspired flavours, the couple has grown a home-based operation into a business with a 3,000-square-foot factory, six employees, a retail location and distribution in several international markets.
Tjeertes said the company’s journey began after he and Johnson returned to Jamaica following stints in the hospitality industry elsewhere in the Caribbean.
“I came to the Caribbean as an executive pastry chef, starting at the Renaissance in Curaçao before moving to Jamaica, where I worked at Half Moon and met my partner,” he said. “We later moved to St. Lucia and worked at Jade Mountain, which is where I learned how to make bean-to-bar chocolate.”
Recognizing the quality and commercial potential of Jamaican cocoa, the couple returned to the island and started Pure Chocolate from their home while Tjeertes worked as executive pastry chef at the Hyatt in Montego Bay.
“Almost 10 years later, we export to eight countries in Europe as well as the United States, Kenya, Japan and the United Kingdom,” he said. “We are getting there.”
Pure Chocolate’s products include 16 flavours reflecting the island’s agricultural and culinary traditions. Among them are dark chocolate infused with cinnamon, lemongrass, coffee, jerk seasoning and slow-roasted cocoa nibs.
Among Tjeertes’ favourites are a dark chocolate rum bar produced in partnership with Worthy Park Estate, one of Jamaica’s oldest estates, and a milk chocolate bar that blends Jamaican ginger with speculaas, a traditional Dutch spiced biscuit.
“It really brings both cultures together,” he said. “You have my Dutch heritage and the ginger from Jamaica. It is a lovely bar.”
Pure Chocolate’s commitment extends beyond making chocolate.
The company sources cocoa beans from Jamaican farmers, pays premium prices and shares knowledge about fermentation and drying techniques that can add value to their crops.
Its distinctive packaging features artwork created by graduates of Kingston’s Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts. The artists receive a commission from every bar sold featuring their designs.
“Information about the farmers and artists is included inside the packaging,” Tjeertes said. “We believe in making sure everybody gets their fair share.”
Chennel Brown, a chocolatier who has been with the company for a year, said that commitment to sharing opportunities was one of the things that attracted her to Pure Chocolate.
“I love chocolate, but I also love giving back to people,” the former Sagicor sales representative said.
In addition to receiving commissions, the artists are promoted through information placed inside the chocolate packages, making it possible for customers who admire their designs to contact and support them directly.
“Not every company that partners with others gives them a commission to help them grow,” Brown pointed out. “Inside our packaging is essentially a business card for the artists. If you like the designs, you can support them. We are putting ourselves out there, but we are also putting the people we work with out there.”
For small businesses, participating in JAPEX is about much more than displaying products. The trade show provides access to hotel representatives, tour operators, buyers and other decision-makers who could help transform a small Jamaican brand into an export success.
Tjeertes said the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) enabled Pure Chocolate to participate in the event and present its products to potential partners.
“Shows like this help me get our products into hotels, whether through their amenity programs or their gift shops,” he pointed out. “You want to maintain your connections, see who the movers and shakers are and know who is moving where. That is why these events are very important.”
Pure Chocolate also operates a store at Island Village in Ocho Rios, where visitors can enjoy tastings and participate in workshops that guide them through making their own chocolate.
Canada is emerging as an important part of the company’s international expansion plans.
Tjeertes said Pure Chocolate representatives, with support from the Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO), will travel next week to Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal following JAPEX to attend trade shows and meet prospective buyers.
“We are actively looking for distribution partners in Canada, and I believe our products can do really well there,” he said.
Pure Chocolate already works with several small distributors in the United States, but increasing difficulties in that market have prompted the company to pursue opportunities elsewhere.
“The United States has recently become a little more challenging to do business with,” Tjeertes said. “Of course, we are looking for other opportunities.”
Canada represents a natural option.
In addition to its close tourism relationship with Jamaica, the country is home to a large Jamaican and Caribbean diaspora familiar with the flavours reflected in Pure Chocolate’s products.
Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal also offer multicultural consumer markets in which ethically produced, artisan and origin-based food products can find receptive audiences.
For Brown, introducing Pure Chocolate to more consumers also means bringing attention to the network of farmers, artists and workers behind each bar.
She sees the company as proof that a small Jamaican business can create a high-quality product while ensuring that others benefit from its growth.
“It is basically about putting ourselves out there and putting the people we work with out there,” Brown added.
While the large tourism brands might occupy the most visible spaces at JAPEX, enterprises such as Pure Chocolate are quietly telling another important Jamaican story, one rooted in entrepreneurship, community partnerships and the determination to move locally created products onto international shelves.
