Chocolate Truffles, Purpose and Mono Chocolates

Chocolate Truffles, Purpose and Mono Chocolates

We’re so pleased to introduce you to Sarah Voon, the multi-tasker who believes that anything she does should be purpose-driven and produce a positive outcome. While not working in her full-time job, she is a mum and multi-faceted dabbler of projects – the most recent of which has been with chocolate – our favourite ingredient (besides coffee, of course!). Her delicious, keto and diabetic friendly chocolate truffles are one of a kind.

Months of research went into the original recipe and their coffee flavour features Perk Coffee’s Vanguard Blend (available in Malaysia and Singapore). However, we are eagerly awaiting their new Peppermint flavour, due to launch soon, just in time for Christmas. It will be a limited edition so be sure and order as soon as they are released. Check out @monochocolates on Instagram and order using the following form: Mono Chocolates Order Form. 

In the meantime, we are thrilled to share our interview with Sarah with you.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background

I’m Sarah Voon. I just became a mother, 2 years ago, to a little boy named Jedi (yes, officially just Jedi, not short for anything). For my full-time role, I am the general manager for a tech company in Malaysia called theAsianparent and on the side, I also run a team of contributors for my personal food and travel blog, www.foodievstheworld.com. I also sit on the board of a social enterprise that resells donated secondhand items to support causes such as Myanmar refugees, Orang Asli and drug rehabilitation centres.

Why did you start @monochocolates?

I had the idea to start Mono Chocolates in early 2021 when I first went on the keto diet to address my PCOS issues and found that there was a gap in trying to find sugarless chocolate that tasted good. Additionally, my mother has Type 2 diabetes and she also has a sweet tooth. Sometimes, we just want to enjoy a piece of chocolate (rather than an entire keto cake or low-carb, sugar-free dessert) so I started researching and developing the product.

I tried sourcing chocolate from all over the world, from the US to Switzerland to locally and finally, found a local supplier who supplies sugar-free chocolate. From there, I formulated a recipe that only includes a sugar substitute (stevia) and heavy cream. It took me almost 4 months of R&D before deciding to launch at the end of May/early June. When I launched, Father’s Day was around the corner and the business took off immediately considering many of the older generation dads tend to have diabetes or be more health-conscious.

What inspires you and keeps you going?

What keeps me going is doing work that is impactful. No matter what I dabble in, I always ensure that it is purpose-driven and results in a positive outcome. At the end of the day, I want to be able to leave this world with a positive mark. In everything I do, I also have my son in mind. I want him to be able to have a role model that he can look up to, inspire him in the future, just like my mother has done for me.

How do you use coffee as an ingredient?

I have a few different flavours of chocolate truffles, and beyond just being “keto or diabetic-friendly”, I also wanted each of the flavours to play a role in our health. As it is, dark chocolate is high in antioxidants. My other flavours like earl grey tea, coffee, matcha, rose and peppermint, each has their own unique nutrients that contribute to our health. I also use natural, fresh and premium ingredients rather than artificial flavouring, which makes the product a little on the pricey side, but definitely worth it.

The base ingredients are always chocolate and cream, then I add the additional ingredients, like coffee, to give it that flavour. Coffee was a very important flavour for me to include. It was one of the first ones I developed because many people love coffee. These little coffee-flavoured truffles give a boost in energy and will most likely put a smile on your face.