CrioCo Wild Chocolate Shop
Announcing - CrioCo Opens Wild Chocolate Shop in Placencia, Belize A Farm-to-Bonbon Celebration of Craft, Community, and Conservation
CrioCo is proud to announce the December 2025 opening of its Wild Chocolate Shop on the Tipsy Strip along the main sidewalk in Placencia, Belize, inviting locals and visitors into a farm-to-bonbon chocolate experience grounded in craftsmanship, transparency, and environmental stewardship.
Founded by Jacob Marlin, Shaman Marlin, and Timothy Gregory, CrioCo traces its inspiration to the rediscovery of 100% Criollo cacao at the BFREE Biological Research Station, www.bfreebz.org, more than three decades ago. Since that pivotal moment, the BFREE team has worked to establish a viable, sustainable crop of these rare beans through a long-term agroforestry conservation-based program. The cacao is designated “Heirloom Fine Flavor” by the Heirloom Cacao Preservation Fund, reflecting the highest standard of flavor and its genetic significance.
About CrioCo
CrioCo is a Belize-based, farm-to-bonbon chocolate company focused on sustainability, research-driven craftsmanship, and conservation. Through direct cacao sourcing, innovative formulation, and community engagement, CrioCo creates chocolate with purpose.
In addition to its Belizean roots, CrioCo sources cacao from select agroforestry projects within Belize and across cacao growing regions of the Americas. Products made from these origins are now available, with CrioCo’s first 100% Criollo-based chocolates from BFREE slated for release later this year.
“Our goal has always been to build something excellent, honest, and regenerative,” said the founders. “Opening in Placencia allows us to share Belizean cacao, thoughtful craftsmanship, and our commitment to conservation directly with the community and with travelers from around the world.”
The CrioCo Wild Chocolate Shop is now open in Placencia and is staffed by Shaman Marlin, Roxanna Chen, and, most recently, Nelly Cadle. The team is offering chocolate bars, confections, bonbons, and evolving seasonal creations—each telling a story of cacao, science, and place.
CrioCo works from cacao genetics through finished chocolate, crafting bars and confections that express terroir while honoring the people and ecosystems where it’s sourced. The Placencia shop serves as both a retail space and a window into the chocolate-making process, offering guests access to ongoing research and development, limited-release chocolates, and a deeper understanding of fine chocolate from the ground up.
Sustainability and stewardship are central to CrioCo’s mission. The company commits 5% of all sales and 50% of profits after break-even to funding BFREE, ensuring that environmental impact grows alongside the business.
