Why cultural representation matters in Charlotte Truffles.

At different shows, we often get the question why our display case is filed with such diverse flavor profiles.  And the short answer is that I grew up and live in an intersection of 3-4 cultures.  While living at this intersection can be challenging, it gave me the privilege to see the beauty of each culture and how much we truly have in common. We should celebrate our uniqueness and by amplifying our stories can we truly see how similar we all are. Our mission is for our chocolates to spark these conversations to happen more.  

Now here’s the long version:  I’m Chinese by heritage but culturally I’m Indonesian-Chinese- American and I was born in Germany. Soon after I was born, my family moved back to Indonesia and we lived there for 9 years prior to immigrating to US.

So for me, I could never truly associate with one culture.  And because of that I always felt a little loss.  This experience was intensified when we moved to the US because I couldn’t tell my new friends who I am. When kids ask what my background is, my answers toggled between Indonesian, Chinese or German.  (You should see their faces. =) .) 

Decades have passed since we immigrated here, but I sometimes still feel loss.  I recall one of my early lesson I learned from a girl name Ashley. She told me to be proud of my unique story and to realize that there’s power and beauty in living at the intersection of cultures.

She made me more comfortable with my own journey. And the more I talk about my journey and feelings, the more I realize that there are others who can relate to this.  Some of these folks may have grown up in an inter-cultural family or they’re possibly a 1^st generation of immigrant who have become so Americanized that they can’t relate as much to the rest of their traditional family. I'm sure there are many more scenarios that I can identify. 

But regardless your story, I no longer see the disconnection as a disadvantage.  In fact, it's completely the opposite.  I see our experiences as a big benefit. At this intersection, we can see how experiences impact individuals due to their cultural tendencies and how it can reverberates to the rest of family or even community. And from this experience, I can clearly see the importance of celebrating each culture and how open communication can break barriers.

Our mission is to truly celebrate your story and your journey through chocolate; regardless how multi-faceted they are.  And we hope that our chocolates will spark conversations between generations and between cultural boundaries, so that we can see how much in common we all are.  Our differences is what makes this beautiful.   

This is the exact reason why we have such diverse flavor profiles, like Rose Water Saffron, Vietnamese Coffee, Sesame Praline, and many more.  This is also the reason why we share stories behind each of our product. 

I'd love to hear your thoughts or opinions..  Do you ever feel loss or disconnected?  Maybe sometimes misunderstood because you can't relate as much with the rest of your family?

Have a decadent day! 

Charlotte W