The Dominican Republic’s beloved annual celebration of artisanal chocolate is gearing up for its sixth iteration, with the Dominican Chocolate Festival scheduled to open its doors at Santiago’s Ágora Santiago Center on October 17 and 18. This two-day immersive event is designed to connect local chocolate producers, emerging and established brands, and chocolate lovers from across the country and beyond, shining a bright spotlight on the nation’s fast-growing cocoa and chocolate sector.
Over the course of the weekend, more than 18 homegrown Dominican chocolate brands will set up exhibits at the venue, showcasing a wide range of premium treats crafted entirely from locally harvested cocoa. Beyond product displays, the festival is packed with interactive experiences for attendees of all ages: guided chocolate tastings that let visitors sample distinct flavor profiles from different growing regions, live cooking demonstrations that show how to incorporate Dominican chocolate into innovative dishes, fun hands-on activities for young attendees, and educational workshops that break down every step of cocoa cultivation and chocolate production, from bean to bar.
A key highlight of this year’s event is a special recognition ceremony honoring the Dominican Association of Chocolate Makers (Adochoco) and all participating brands for their ongoing work to strengthen and grow the country’s chocolate industry on both domestic and global stages.
The 2025 festival arrives at a moment of significant expansion for the Dominican cocoa sector, which has carved out a growing reputation in international markets, particularly for its high-quality organic output. New data from the Dominican Ministry of Agriculture shows that the country produced a total of 85,300 tons of cocoa in 2025, with more than half – 51% of the total harvest – classified as certified organic. As of 2025, the sector counts roughly 42,000 registered cocoa producers across the country, with approximately 2.75 million tareas of farmland cultivated under sustainable agroforestry systems, a practice that supports both biodiversity and long-term crop health.
Organizers outline that the core mission of the festival goes beyond celebration: it aims to bridge the gap between consumers and the full cocoa production chain, giving much-deserved greater visibility to Dominican chocolatiers and their value-added products made from 100% national cocoa. The event is a collaborative effort between the Dominican Environmental Consortium, International Trade Center, Ágora, Mediáticos Comunicación Consultores, and the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and MSMEs (MICM), with additional backing from industry partners Cortés Hermanos, Zorzal Cacao, the Dominican Association of Chefs, and the Ministry of Agriculture.