S\u00e3o Paulo \u2013 Amid an araucaria grove in Brazil\u2019s Curitiba metropolitan area, there is a fully eco-friendly factory producing healthy foods made from carob, a pod from the carob tree, native to the Mediterranean. The fantastic alternative-to-chocolate factory, Carob House, was founded in 2002 and is now one of Brazil\u2019s best-known healthy brands, with products ranging from its signature bars to tablets and spreads. Now, with Easter approaching, it also offers eggs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Elo\u00edsa Helena Orlandi, the mind behind Carob House, discovered carob while living in Canada with her husband. There, the powder was sold in bulk, and there was also a carob-flavored drink mix produced at Loma Linda University in California. Because of its health appeal, carob became part of the family\u2019s diet.<\/p>\n\n\n
\nCarob bar is one of the brand\u2019s most popular products in Brazil<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
\u201cWhen we returned to Brazil, we identified a gap in the market with the lack of an alternative product that could serve consumers who, for health, ideological, or taste reasons, did not consume conventional chocolate,\u201d Orlandi says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s how the venture began. It took nearly four years of research and development before the company officially opened in 2002, and the product only reached the market in late 2003.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The raw material is imported, as the carob tree is native to desert climates and does not grow in Brazil. Portugal, Spain, Italy, and Greece are among the largest producers. \u201cHowever, given its many properties, several North African countries are investing heavily in carob cultivation. There\u2019re also producers on other continents, such as Asia and Oceania,\u201d says Orlandi, an avid enthusiast and scholar of the subject.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Carob House even supported a doctoral thesis by an Agronomy student at the Federal University of Paran\u00e1 (UFPR), who developed the cultivation of carob trees in the state by creating a controlled environment that would allow them to grow. \u201cThey\u2019re growing,\u201d Orlandi celebrates. The carob tree is known for its slow growth and longevity: it can take up to a decade to begin bearing fruit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Internationalization<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Orlandi describes Carob House now as a food boutique: with cutting-edge technology, modern facilities, and a small team of dedicated staff. \u201cEverything is carefully designed so the product reaches our end consumer carrying all the history and culture that underpin the concept of a premium product that is good for your health.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2022, at the invitation of the government of Fribourg, Switzerland, Carob House set up operations there. At Carob House Swiss, the idea is to position carob as coexisting seamlessly with chocolate, catering to consumers seeking healthier everyday options\u2014a global trend that gained momentum after the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From Switzerland, the company aims to reach new markets beyond Brazil by internationalizing this trend. \u201cWe don\u2019t export products\u2014we export a concept. For me, internationalization goes beyond filling a container and crossing the ocean without knowing whether you\u2019ll do it again,\u201d Orlandi says.<\/p>\n\n\n
\nEaster eggs have been added to Carob House\u2019s catalog<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
To that end, it operates on several fronts. Recently, Orlandi took part in a halal business roundtable at Paran\u00e1 state industry group FIEP. \u201cI see strong alignment between my product and the Arab world, especially with halal, considering that our production process naturally meets the religious requirements for certification. Our plant is 100% vegan,\u201d she says. Carob House\u2019s formulas are patented, meaning it has no competitors in Brazil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Carob\u2019s connection with the Arab world is, in fact, historical. In Ancient Greece, carob seeds (ker\u00e1tion<\/em>) were used as a unit to weigh precious stones. Later, Arab merchants adopted this unit of measurement under the name qirat<\/em>. It eventually became quilate<\/em> in Spain and Portugal, the term still used today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A S\u00e3o Paulo native and granddaughter of mineiros from Passos, Orlandi studied Law and released a book of poetry at the S\u00e3o Paulo Book Biennial in 1984. Before founding Carob House, she also worked at a multinational in the financial sector (while developing the project alongside her husband). Now nearly 25 years old, the company will not be passed on to her children, who, with their own careers, are not interested in taking over the business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMeanwhile, the father handles production and the mother takes care of everything else, until the day this legacy is passed on to endure over time,\u201d she says, confident that her work will continue to exist\u2014and expand\u2014beyond her own lifetime, long-lived like a carob tree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Carob](\"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/alfarroba-9-646x1024.jpeg\")
![\"Easter](\"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/alfarroba-3-768x1024.jpeg\")