Nakau

What Nakau does

Nakau (legal entity: Na Floresta Alimentos Amazônicos) is a Brazilian bean-to-bar chocolate manufacturer founded in 2013 and headquartered in Manaus, Amazonas. The company produces organic chocolate bars made exclusively from 100% Amazonian várzea (floodplain) cocoa, sourced from approximately 36+ smallholder farming families across 7 municipalities along the Rio Madeira and Rio Amazonas. Cocoa is transported by boat from these riverine communities to the company's Manaus factory, where it undergoes fermentation, roasting, and chocolate manufacturing. Nakau achieved MAPA organic certification in 2020, becoming the first organic chocolate factory in Northern Brazil.

The company's core product line consists of three chocolate bar SKUs: original Amazonian organic chocolate, coffee-infused chocolate, and pepper-infused chocolate. Revenue is generated through direct-to-consumer e-commerce via its online store (loja.nakau.com.br) and through physical retail distribution to supermarkets, empórios, specialty food shops, and restaurants across 14 Brazilian states. The company emphasizes a community-led go-to-market built on transparency, paying producers 120% above local market rates, full supply-chain traceability with individual farmer profiles, and annual transparency reports detailing financials and cocoa pricing. Nakau positions itself as a social-environmental enterprise with a stated mission of preserving 5,000+ hectares of Amazonian forest by making sustainable cocoa farming economically viable for traditional caboclo, ribeirinho, and indigenous communities.

Nakau is privately held, operates with a 1-10 employee team, and has secured one disclosed funding round of $53,487 from SITAWI Finance for Good in 2020. Core institutional partnerships include SEBRAE-AM, Rede Maniva de Agroecologia (REMA), and MAPA. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and revenue figures are not available in source materials.

Name

Nakau

Legal name

Na Floresta Alimentos Amazônicos

Website

https://nakau.com.br

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Nakau (Na Floresta Alimentos Amazônicos) is a Manaus-based bean-to-bar chocolate manufacturer producing organic chocolate bars from Amazonian várzea cocoa. Founded in 2013, it sells DTC and across 14 Brazilian states, sourcing from 36+ riverine farming families paid 120% above market rates.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Manaus

HQ country

Brazil

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Chocolate product sales: Nakau generates revenue through the sale of organic chocolate bars made from Amazonian várzea cocoa. Products are sold via e-commerce (direct-to-consumer) and through physical retail channels including supermarkets, empórios, shops, and restaurants across 14 Brazilian states. The company follows a bean-to-bar production model in their Manaus factory.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Nakau produces organic bean-to-bar chocolate made from 100% Amazonian várzea (floodplain) cocoa, manufactured in its Manaus, Amazonas factory. The company pays cocoa farmers 120% above market rates, holds organic certification from MAPA (Brazil's Ministry of Agriculture), and sells its chocolate products — including classic Amazonian, coffee, and pepper variants — through an e-commerce store and physical retail across 14 Brazilian states.

Product overview

Na'kau is a single-product chocolate brand produced by Na Floresta Alimentos Amazônicos, a socioenvironmental impact company founded in 2013. The company produces organic chocolate bars made exclusively from 100% Amazonian várzea (floodplain) cocoa. The product line includes three main chocolate variants: the classic Amazonian organic chocolate bar, chocolate with coffee, and chocolate with pepper. All products are bean-to-bar chocolate manufactured in Manaus, Amazonas, certified organic by MAPA, and distributed across 14 Brazilian states through retail stores and an online store.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Na'kau Chocolate Amazônico Orgânico Organic chocolate bar made from 100% Amazonian floodplain (várzea) cocoa, produced in the Manaus factory. It is the only chocolate in the world made exclusively with organic cocoa from Amazonian várzea floodplains, intended for conscious consumers seeking authentic organic products with verified Amazonian origin and social impact.
• Na'kau Chocolate com Café Chocolate bar variant combining Amazonian organic várzea cocoa with coffee flavor, sold through the Na'kau e-commerce store. Aimed at consumers seeking differentiated organic chocolate flavors with Amazonian origin.
• Na'kau Chocolate com Pimenta Chocolate bar variant with pepper spice made from Amazonian organic várzea cocoa, sold through the Na'kau e-commerce store. Targeted at consumers seeking bold, spiced organic chocolate with Amazonian origin.

Quantifiable outcome

• 120% above market compensation paid to cocoa farmers
• +2 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• SEBRAE-AM (Serviço Brasileiro de Apoio às Micro e Pequenas Empresas)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerSEBRAE-AM provided critical support for the organic certification process and development of the company's social impact business model in Amazonas. Their support helped enable the participatory organic certification methodology and capacity building for cocoa producers.
• Rede Maniva de Agroecologia (REMA)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerREMA provided essential support for achieving organic certification, contributing to the participatory certification methodology directly involving cocoa producers. The network supports agroecological practices among Amazonian farmers.
• MAPA (Ministério da Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento)coreOthersBrazil's Ministry of Agriculture granted official organic certification to Nakau's chocolate production, providing the regulatory approval and oversight for organic standards compliance. This is the most important certification for the food industry in Brazil.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Dengo Chocolates: Brazilian bean-to-bar premium chocolate brand with strong sustainability and direct-trade sourcing narratives; directly comparable to Nakau in category, customer (conscious Brazilian consumers), and price tier, but with broader product range and urban-based production.
• Amma Chocolates: Brazilian bean-to-bar chocolate maker focused on Brazilian-origin cacao with strong origin storytelling; competes for the same conscious-consumer segment in Brazil and uses a similar single-origin positioning strategy.
• Mast Brothers: Pioneer US bean-to-bar chocolate maker emphasizing single-origin, traceable, craft production; comparable to Nakau in bean-to-bar process and direct-trade sourcing narrative, though operating in a different geography.

Broad incumbents

• Cacau Show: Brazil's dominant mass-market chocolate brand; serves a similar end consumer but at a much lower price point and far broader scale, competing for shelf space and impulse purchase occasions rather than for premium conscious consumers.
• Nestlé: Global CPG incumbent with a chocolate portfolio including premium and sustainability-positioned lines (e.g., Cargill-sourced cocoa); competes broadly for retail shelf and consumer chocolate occasions rather than for Nakau's specific organic várzea niche.

Emerging players

• Tony's Chocolonely: Mission-driven chocolate brand using slave-free and fair-trade cocoa with strong impact storytelling; highly comparable to Nakau's social/environmental value proposition and bean-to-bar positioning, though operating at much larger scale and primarily in Europe/US.
• Divine Chocolate: Fair-trade, farmer-owned chocolate brand focused on smallholder cocoa producers in Africa; comparable to Nakau's farmer-first economic model and premium positioning, though differentiated by geography and cooperative ownership structure.
• Alter Eco: Organic, fair-trade, carbon-neutral chocolate brand; comparable to Nakau in sustainability credentials and premium organic positioning, with broader product range (bars, truffles) and primarily US distribution.
• Endangered Species Chocolate: US chocolate brand donating a portion of profits to conservation causes; comparable to Nakau's conservation-through-commerce model and organic/premium positioning, though with broader retail distribution.
• Original Beans: Premium single-origin, direct-trade, conservation-focused chocolate brand sourcing rare cacao varieties globally; highly comparable to Nakau's rare-origin, conservation-anchored positioning, though operating at broader international scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/chocolatenakau
• Instagraminstagram.com/nakauchocolates

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Nakau