Our Story

Malola — the matriarch who gave our chocolate its name.

Our story starts as a family story.

We're an American-born business with Dominican roots. Our family's chocolate story begins in the rural lands of Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, where we have owned cacao fields for generations. Today, we not only grow cacao — we craft chocolate bars of our own.

Malola Chocolates makes the highest-quality, best-tasting chocolate bars we know how to make, using unique recipes and classic flavor combinations.

Our name comes from "Malola" — the nickname of our family matriarch, mother of founder Nino De La Cruz.

Our family's cacao fields in El Mamey, Los Hidalgos — Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.

Malola is a strong, loving mother — the very picture of motherly strength. Making her the face of our brand was an easy decision, and a symbolic stamp of approval on the quality we aim for in every single bar.

Malola Chocolates seeks to be a symbol of motherly strength and love, wrapped up in a delicious chocolate bar — not only in Latino culture, but in every culture across the globe.

Playa Ensenada, Puerto Plata — a short drive from where our story began.

We take immense pride in being welcomed into people's lives through our chocolate. Behind every smiling Malola logo is a family's love of bringing people together — even if it's over a simple piece of chocolate goodness.

About the founder

Founder Nino De La Cruz has had a lifelong love of chocolate, which naturally led him to transform this love into a business. On top of chocolate making, Nino has a background in computer science, emergency 911 dispatching, and municipal database management. He incorporates his strong work ethic and passion into Malola Chocolates and in bringing joy to every person he can through masterfully made, delicious chocolate bars!