Macambo (Theobroma bicolor)
Macambo is a regenerative Amazonian seed expanding the possibilities of chocolate, premium snacks, and plant-based cuisine.
Macambo is a close relative of cacao — and one of the Amazon’s best-kept secrets. Growing in the same ancient rainforest systems as cacao, this large white-to-cream seed has a flavor entirely its own: nutty and mild, reminiscent of cashew, Marcona almond, and pistachio, with subtle notes of melon and butter.
Canopy Bridge has worked with macambo since 2016, developing it from a forgotten forest crop into a premium ingredient now used by chocolatiers, chefs, and food innovators across Europe and the Americas. We are at the forefront of macambo’s commercial development — working directly with over 450 Indigenous farmers in the Ecuadorian Amazon, running our own food innovation laboratory, and supplying export-ready product to professional buyers worldwide.
Why Macambo?
Flavor unlike anything else
Mild yet rich, nutty yet complex. Macambo opens possibilities in chocolate, pastry, and savory cuisine that no other ingredient can replicate.
Nutritional standout
20% protein. Loaded with heart-healthy fats. A clean-label, plant-based seed with a nutritional profile that surprises everyone who sees it.
Regenerative by design
Macambo grows in biodiverse chakra agroforestry systems — traditional Indigenous forest farms. No monocultures. No agrochemicals. Sourced from trees that are 15 to 40 years old.
A supply chain with integrity
90% of our macambo farmers are women from Kichwa and Shuar communities. Full traceability to farm of origin. Transparent, equitable, and built for the long term.
Canopy Bridge and Macambo
When we began working with macambo in 2016, it was falling into disuse. Families were abandoning the harvest, old trees were being felled, and a remarkable ingredient was quietly disappearing from the forest.
We saw something different: an ingredient with extraordinary culinary potential, a nutritional profile ahead of its time, and a supply chain story that connected directly to rainforest conservation. Over nearly a decade, we have built that vision from the ground up — developing processing methods, establishing direct relationships with farming communities, building our Canopy Lab innovation facility in Archidona, and opening markets in Ecuador, Europe, Japan and North America.
Today, macambo is being used in Michelin-starred kitchens, winning international chocolate awards, and attracting attention at the world’s leading food trade fairs. We are proud to have pioneered this — and we remain the primary source for anyone serious about working with it.
