The Ricoa Chocolate Factory Along EDSA Is Trending, Here's What the Buzz Is All About

(SPOT.ph) If you've ever commuted or lived near EDSA Boni, you would have, at some point, inhaled the chocolatey aroma from the unlikely diffuser that is Ricoa. A photo of the Ricoa chocolate factory is going viral for two reasons: one, it's a nostalgic image you can smell; two, a hypothetical scenario of its demolition, as posted online by urban planner and landscape architect Paulo Alcazaren. But is there actual news of demolition? As far as the urban planner is concerned, there is none. And yet, given Metro Manila's love-hate (mostly hate) relationship with old buildings, it's not entirely impossible.

The Viral Ricoa Chocolate Factory Post

Let's backtrack. The confusion may have started with a February 14 Facebook post, where Alcazaren shared a photo of Ricoa Chocolate Factory. It's one of the surviving local chocolate manufacturers in the Philippines famous for its Flat Tops and Curly Tops.

"Ricoa factory on EDSA... the last mid-20th century industrial building standing. It should be conserved as heritage but probably will be a victim of wrecking balls soon. Where has all the love for heritage gone?" he said in a post.

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Facebook page Old Mandaluyong, which features the city's heritage and history, reposted Alcazaren's photo with this caption:

"According to urban planner and architect Paulo Alcazaren ay gigibain na ito sa Mandaluyong. Probably daw. This is a product of mid-20th century architecture. Built in 1956."

The post garnered mostly sad reactions and more than 5,000 shares. Several pages also reposted this, adding fuel to the belief that it would be torn down soon.

SPOT.ph reached out to urban planner Alcazaren to clarify, to which he responded:

"I never said that I heard any news of impending demolition. I just pointed out that this is what may happen because of pressures to build like its neighbors," Alcazaren told SPOT.ph.

The History of Ricoa

Ricoa put the Philippines on the chocolate world map with its locally manufactured chocolates and cocoa powder used in making the sweet chocolate porridge champorado. The deliciously aromatic Ricoa plant, standing at the same spot along EDSA Mandaluyong, was established in 1956. 

The chocolate brand is under Commonwealth Foods (Comfoods Inc.), a Filipino conglomerate formed in 1968 by three pioneering food manufacturers in the country. Ricoa is under the Philfood Division which handles cocoa and other chocolate products.

Comfoods also has the Fibisco division, which is responsible for its biscuits, cookies, and crackers like Choco Mallows, Choco Crunchies, and Chocolate Chip Cookies; and Cofi division, which produces its roasted and instant coffee products including Cafe Puro.

By the way, if you have a faint memory of the glorious smell of coffee near local bar Saguijo in Bagtikan, Makati, that's because there's a Cafe Puro factory in the area.