Sustainable business models: Bean-to-bar generation value in the cocoa production chain

After a historic period of conventional cocoa bean production, southern Bahia has shown a strong trend towards diversification and inclusion in the special cocoa market. Producers in the region are cultivating fruits of superior quality and low environmental impact. Inserted in a production model based on the concept of sustainable business, these producers, agrifood entrepreneurs, seek to promote experiences to their consumers in their different alternative lifestyles, such as the philosophy of the Bean-to-bar production model. Elaborated as a theoretical essay, the development of this article aims to identify the contribution of the Bean-to-bar process in generating value in the cocoa production chain, inserted within a context of Short Circuits of Commercialization in the generation of innovative business. It is noted that a good monitoring of the entire process of transforming the input into a product allows entrepreneurs to explore with greater vigor the organoleptic properties of cocoa beans. Among the main initiatives that boosted the performance of the cocoa production chain in southern Bahia, Fortaleza Slow Food, the creation of the Cocoa Innovation Center and the Geographical Indication stand out. The strategies developed make it possible to diversify and foster rural communities. It is essential to understand the dynamics of these processes of local productive arrangements from the integration of public policies in the promotion, valuation of family farming products, sustainable cocoa beans with superior quality and local development. The search for recognition of the value attributed to cocoa products in the southern region of Bahia, from production (bean) to transformation into the final product (bar), intensifies the environmental perspective on the part of cocoa farmers. In this process, the sociocultural dimensions are present mainly in the cabucra production system, valuing and strengthening local family farming. The commercialization of almonds in the short chain segment enables business efficiency, giving space for increased profitability and reduced environmental impact. The frugal innovation model, oriented towards sustainability, becomes a path for the development of innovative businesses that generate value in the cocoa production chain. In this sense, for this topic to become solidified as a field of research that can bring relevant theoretical and practical contributions, it is suggested that new studies focus, among others, on business models that prioritize the cause and not simply the trends.