A cocoa processing company from the west African nation of Ghana is opening a local plant. Why did the company choose Franklin?

Rick Barrett, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
·3 min read
Steve Wallace, left, and Edmund Poku look over equipment at the new Niche Cocoa processing plant in Franklin. Wallace is with Omanhene Cocoa Bean Co. of Milwaukee Poku is with Niche, a cocoa company from the west African nation of Ghana. They've partnered to open the new plant that's expected to open late this year or in 2023.
Steve Wallace, left, and Edmund Poku look over equipment at the new Niche Cocoa processing plant in Franklin. Wallace is with Omanhene Cocoa Bean Co. of Milwaukee Poku is with Niche, a cocoa company from the west African nation of Ghana. They've partnered to open the new plant that's expected to open late this year or in 2023.

A cocoa company from the western African nation of Ghana says it's opening a processing plant in Franklin that would be the largest food and beverage investment by an Africa-based company in the U.S. and the largest foreign direct investment from Ghana in Wisconsin.

The company, Niche Cocoa, has partnered with Omanhene Cocoa Bean Co., of Milwaukee, in a leased 44,000 square foot plant in the Franklin Business Park. It is the first U.S. facility for Niche, the largest cocoa processor in Ghana, which is second only to Africa's Ivory Coast in cocoa bean production.

Niche chose Wisconsin partly because of the strength of the food and beverage industry here.

"And with cocoa powder, as well as chocolates, the dairy industry is very important," said Niche founder Edmund Poku.

This will be the company's first plant in the United States. It will import cocoa cake from Ghana, which will be pulverized to create cocoa powder for nationwide distribution.

"The U.S. became a natural choice for expansion, given the market size and the potential to develop both semi-finished products and also sell more products, such as chocolates, up the value chain," Poku said.

Niche will initially employ around 36 people in Franklin but could more than double that as production increases. Southeast Wisconsin, with a deep talent pool in the food and beverage industries, is well positioned for the work, according to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp.

Steve Wallace, left and Edmund Poku on Monday, Oct. 3, 2022, from Niche Cocoa of Ghana and Milwaukee based Omanhene Cocoa Bean Co., have partnered to open a processing plant in Franklin. The project is the largest food and beverage investment by an Africa-based company in US history and the largest Ghana foreign direct investment ever in Wisconsin.
Steve Wallace, left and Edmund Poku on Monday, Oct. 3, 2022, from Niche Cocoa of Ghana and Milwaukee based Omanhene Cocoa Bean Co., have partnered to open a processing plant in Franklin. The project is the largest food and beverage investment by an Africa-based company in US history and the largest Ghana foreign direct investment ever in Wisconsin.

"The food and beverage sector is one of our state's economic drivers. Niche Cocoa's decision to locate here complements our existing businesses and opens new possibilities for collaboration in the supply chain," said WEDC Secretary and CEO Missy Hughes.

State and federal agencies confirmed it's the largest food and beverage investment by an Africa-based company in the U.S. and the largest Ghana foreign direct investment in Wisconsin.

"Niche is precisely the type of company we want and can uniquely support in our region," said Rebecca Gries, vice president of corporate attraction and expansion at M7, a Milwaukee regional economic development group.

The partnership between Niche and Omanhene is an example of globalism and international trade creating jobs and value instead of exploiting vulnerabilities in a developing nation, according to Steve Wallace, the founder of Omanhene.

"Together, we're creating cocoa products and compelling employment in both the U.S. and Ghana," he said.

Poku came up with the idea for Niche while pursuing his Masters in Business Administration degree at Columbia University. After graduation he worked in investment banking on Wall Street but wanted to return home to Ghana and start a company that would create jobs and benefit the economy.

"It was something that was very close to my heart," Poku said.

Niche has since become well established in Ghana and also has a processing plant in Germany. It has received Ghana's Presidential National Award for Export Achievement and has been named the nation's  Exporter of the Year.

The company's semi-finished cocoa products have gone into the worldwide chocolate, ice cream and bakery industries as well as manufacturing confectionary for the West African market. Now it wants to capture more profits from finished chocolate products as well.

"The value within the supply chain comes from adding more value upstream, and given the market dynamics, most of those big markets are outside of the African continent," Poku said.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Cocoa processing plant from Ghana comes to Franklin, Wisconsin