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[[File:Cinagra 070.jpg|thumb|600px|none|Crushed Malagasy cocoa with splinters of cocoa nibs ready for processing into liquid chocolate]]
Most if not all cacao plantations in Madagascar are small farms run by families who have been growing cacao in their natural environment without use of fertilisers and mass farming methods for generations. While slave labour is commonly reported in the cacao industry, especially in Ivory Coast, it is non-existing in Madagascar. Much of Sambirano's cacao trees stand on former fruit plantations dating back to the French colonial times. The resulting cocoa has hints of citrus fruit and is naturally sweet, which makes Madagascan cacao cocoa especially suitable for producing non-bitter dark chocolates without use of excessive sugar content or other additives. Furthermore, the final Madagascar chocolate product is usually rich in antioxidant flavoinoids and as well as other healthy and reputedly aphrodisiac ingredients found in high proportions in pure Malagasy cacao. <!--(phenylethylamine??)-->
[[Chocolaterie Robert]] and [[Cinagra]] are the only two bean-to-bar chocolate producers in Madagascar. Their chocolates are of single origin, using cacao grown in Madagascar and with their products made and packaged entirely in Madagascar.
Chocolaterie Robert dates back to 1937, when a French couple, Mr and Mrs Robert, set up Madagascar's first chocolate factory in [[Brickaville]]. Today, Chocolaterie Robert's bars can be found everywhere in Madagascar, from small village shops to upmarket confectionery stores in metropolitan areas. In 2006 Chocolaterie Robert's ''Mora Mora'' and ''Sambirano'' brands respectively won the Chocolate Academy's Silver Cup and the Best Buy Ethical Award.