Is Xocai everything it's made out to be?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Marie on November 15, 2008 at 2:53pm

Hey John,

The reason that three chocolates per day seems excessive to you, is most likely because you saw that each one costs $1.24 and pictured them to be a normal size bar. GET THIS JOHN, the size of the $1.24 chocolate is approx. the same size as a Hershy's Kiss. Yep! Can you imagine paying almost $4.00 for three Hershy's kisses EVERY DAY!!

You have to admit that 3-Hershy's kisses a day doesn't sound excessive.............

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Permalink Reply by John on November 16, 2008 at 11:47am

Hi Marie,

I read your other Xocai-related post and it seems we share a similar experience, except you arrived at your conclusion much more quickly! I agree with your comment that "I do not believe that this company will survive because the consumer has to perceive that they are getting a fair price for the commodity they're consuming. This is Business and Economics 101! No amount of any kind of "chocolate" is worth what I paid. Let's face it, Xocai is selling chocolate - nothing more!"

Regarding Network Marketing, hard to argue with what you said. I've done a lot of investigation and soul searching. If you are interested in trading stories email me at jszydlo1@tampabay.rr.com

-John

Permalink Reply by Starr Metro on April 7, 2009 at 4:29pm

This is totally FALSE.
Xocai nuggets are several times the size of hershy kisses AND are much more dense - to to mention healthy! Power packed with antixoidants. If you'd rather eat a bushel of spinach - or other roughage - to get the same amount of antioxidants, because that's what you'd have to do, go to it, but don't knock the chocolate way of getting the same benefits.

Permalink Reply by Dove Chocolatier on November 26, 2008 at 9:26am

I two have been hounded by those from xocai, they have evan added Dove tags,etc to secretly send people to there web sites . I feel that it is not a Company I would want to be associated with, As far as Dark Chocolate having mystical properties,I did run across an science article that all dark chocolate has the antioxidants as long as ate in moderation, so their claims to them only having a healing chocolate to me is false.

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Permalink Reply by Sydney on September 1, 2008 at 3:26pm

Hi, Samantha. The term "cold processed" is not actually mine; it is the claim on Xocai's literature that my friend in Vermont gave me. I took the words from one of their brochures that says first "Xocai products are produced with unprocessed, non-alkanized, non-lecithinized cacao powder," and later in the brochure under the ingredients for Xocai: The Healthy Chocolate, it says "Cold-processed Belgian cocoa powder."

Just wanted to clear that up because I am not, repeat not, making any claims for Xocai. I think they probably make a decent product that some people are all miffed about because of the whole pyramid scheme type business and because of the price. But it has nothing to do with me.

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Permalink Reply by Samantha Madell on September 1, 2008 at 6:21pm

Hi Sydney - point noted :-)

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Permalink Reply by John on September 1, 2008 at 9:54pm

Samantha, thank you for the detailed reply. It really is very helpful. I wonder whether the average Xocai distributor understands cold-pressed, cold-processed, non-lecithinized, non-alkanized, blanched, unfermented, sun-dried, non-roasted, etc... I know that it left me bewildered. I don't think it is necessary to understand these matters in great detail in order to sell Xocai (some would argue it is a hindrance) but I needed to understand it in order to make a decision on whether to build a business.

Sydney, $98 a box for the nuggets is definitely discounted. Maybe the person she buys from gets the nuggets in bulk. Still, even at $98 it is an expensive addition to my diet and/or supplement regiment. Like you, I can not get past the notion of asking others to spend this amount of money. I tried unsuccessfully to get data on the percentage of chocolate going to consumers versus distributors. I suspect the percentage of true consumer is much smaller then the percentage of distributors, but that is just my opinion.

-John

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Permalink Reply by Sue Ann on July 22, 2010 at 9:45am

I thought you might like to see the answer I got from the MXI head office when I asked what temperature Xocai is cooked at:

-- The products survive temperatures in excess of 60 degrees Celsius during the molding process. Please keep in mind, that even a temp of a 120 degrees Fahrenheit will not reduce the ORAC value on our products.

I replied:

That is a strange reply since 120 degrees Fahrenheit is 48 degrees Celsius, and you are heating Xocai to 60 degrees celcius? Raw food is only heated to 48 degrees, therefore you should not be advertising your products as Raw Cacao?. This is very concerning.

Xocai replied:
We start with Raw Cacao however, we do need to use some heat in the molding process for the solid chocolate or the baked products. The powdered products do not undergo this process.

I replied:
I would have to think all chocolate starts with raw cacao and undergoes a process of heating. However not all products claim to have raw cacao in them or a special patented cold press technology. Do you not think this is false advertising? It is all about the finished product and there is no raw cacao in it, therefore the packaging should not state raw?

I would really like to know If other companies can cook their chocolate at 42 degrees then why should anyone pay so much more for Xocai which is cooked at over 60 degrees?

I wish other companies would get their chocolate products tested for ORAC scores because I think that would put an end to Xocai's over hyped marketing ploys and stop future people like me investing so much lost time and money into a terrible company!

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Permalink Reply by Clay Gordon on July 22, 2010 at 12:32pm

There are a number of misconceptions here.

There is no firm scientific evidence about the temperature 118F - considered by many in the raw foods world to be the max temp to which foods may be subjected during processing. This single temperature suggests that the biochemistry of all foods is the same. It's not that simple - a single temperature is waaaaaay too simplistic.

The single temperature also ignores the very importants variable of contact time and food structure. A nut with an outer shell could be subjected to a very high heat for a very short period of time to kill pathogens on the exterior of the shell without transferring any of that heat to the nut inside. Even foods with very thin shells (e.g., cocoa beans) can be treated this way without raising the temperature of over 99% of the mass of the bean above 118F. Plus, food with a high water content stays relatively cooler (through evaporative cooling) than foods with a low water content.

Also - beware of ORAC. It too is a simplistic measure that taken alone is relatively meaningless. Metabolism is way too complex and individual to make a single ORAC measure generally applicable. Also, there's so much variability in ingredients that it's really necessary to measure every single batch produced to get an accurate score.

However, consumers like simple numbers because they are easy to understand and apply. 118F max temp is easy to understand and adhere to. If the temp were different for every single food it would not be so easy.

8000 ORAC score per serving has to be "better" than 2000, right?

Maybe not. One thing to look at is cost. What' the cost of a serving with 8000 ORAC and is there another way to get the benefit at lower cost. Also, it doesn't matter what's in the food, it matter what metabolites make it into your bloodstream. So - not only might there be a lower-cost means of getting your daily ORAC, there might be a more effective way, too.

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Permalink Reply by Teresa Cordero Cordell on September 5, 2008 at 3:21pm

That certainly is disappointing.. I've been curious about the Xocai for a time now and am glad I looked no further. Chocolate has enough "health" benefits on its own without it being exploited in this way.

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Permalink Reply by Marie on November 15, 2008 at 2:02pm

I bought the Xocai chocolate about a month ago. I liked the chocolate. I thought all the chocolates that they let me sample were wonderful, and yes, I signed up for two boxes. This was a 60 day supply, it cost $289.00, AND you have to sign up for their auto ship program as well (which means you agree to buy one case a month and they will use your credit card to bill you). THIS WAS THE LEAST EXPENSIVE OPTION they offered. I liked the product, but the only reason I agreed to it, was because my friends invited me to their home for the Xocai presentation and I didn't want to leave with out spending something.
I do not believe that this company will survive because the consumer has to perceive that they are getting a fair price for the commodity they're consuming. This is Business and Economics 101! No amount of any kind of "chocolate" is worth what I paid. Let's face it, Xocai is selling chocolate - nothing more!
Through out my life I've seen people get wrapped up into different network marketing companies. These companies depend on people being entrenched to their marketing techniques to a religious extreme. They paint a picture in the minds of the people that support them of how much money they can make. They go to meetings which have been described to me as "soul moving". These people must buy into the company with faith that they will impacted greatly, not only in their everyday life, but their pocketbook too. This is the basis of any network marketing system. Xocai is no different. They have a product that is grossly over-priced, but if the "distributor" (your neighbor or friend who most likely just signed up a month ago...) can make you believe that you too can make a huge monthly income at this, of course you're going to love the chocolate! If you really believed that this product could pay your bills and make you healthy - then who wouldn't go for it - Right? 50% of a network marketing system, such as Xocai, has to sell the "you too can make a fortune at this" as well as "their product has amazing benefits", or they wouldn't be able to stay in business.
I Have a BS in Business from Portland State University. Joining a Network Marketing system would NOT be the way I would choose to make a living. I am a sales representative for my company, and would never ever want my target market to be selling products to my family and friends. Xocai's gross profit margin must be incredibly large! I would not be surprised if the chocolate that they sold to me for $289.00 cost them less than $20.00 to make AND ship. It all comes down to basic business strategies, I firmly believe that ripping off the consumer will soon result in negative profits! If I had purchased this product at 1/3 of the cost... I wouldn't have been so steamed to have written all this. I know a "good deal" from a "bad deal" and spending almost three hundred dollars on 3 lbs of chocolate is INSANE. For the record, I have canceled my auto-ship and will never buy Xocai again at the cost they are currently selling it.

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Permalink Reply by Lowe on July 22, 2010 at 12:07pm

This reply is a classic! It should be put in a Hall of Fame, especially the part about why you spent $289. To me, this post, along with the thread, has made the whole Xocai scheme so abundantly clear that it's a rip-off.

Just think of how much truly great chocolate that you could buy for $144/month?

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