A CRAZY KIND OF LOVE
From a kitchen experiment to a cult favourite, Loco Love is Emica Penklis’ offering of love, intention and a crazy kind of cacao magic.
Ask Emica Penklis how Loco Love came to be, and she laughs. “I never set out to build a chocolate company.” Like many of us, the cult brand’s founder was simply someone who loved sweets, but, disliking how conventional chocolate made her feel, she began experimenting in her own kitchen to create something healthier.
After years of perfecting the recipe, she started selling to grocers and cafes, developing the name, logo and branding along the way. “It was never a business idea as such; it was more about a sense of purpose,” she says. “And I simply kept meeting demand.” That intuitive beginning became the foundation of a brand as heartfelt as the chocolate itself.
As a nutritionist, Emica already believed in the transformative power of food and mindset. Immersing herself in the world of cacao, she discovered its ancient lineage — the idea that cacao opens the heart and nurtures compassion, awareness and connection. “I wanted to share cacao alongside a message of self-love, and the understanding that loving yourself is how you learn to love others properly, and vice versa,” she says. That philosophy became the centre of Loco Love, shaping the brand more than any business plan could.
Even the name arrived serendipitously, when a friend suggested “Loco Love” and Emica immediately felt its resonance — crazy love, wholehearted love, a willingness to believe in love a little recklessly. It felt true to cacao’s origins and true to her own beliefs. Because cacao, she believes, isn’t just an ingredient; it’s a conduit.
Today, each bar is infused with tonic herbs, healing spices, and superfoods — proof that Emica’s philosophy extends beyond the label. Drawing on her background in nutrition, energetics and psychology, each release aims to carry a message of healing, to spread love, or to help people feel more empowered. It’s why she sums up her guiding principle in one word: intentional.
Creatively, she has always trusted her instincts. One of her earliest risks — the now-iconic rainbow packaging — was a bold departure from the muted creams and blacks typically associated with chocolate. Inspired by the chakra system and the idea of alignment, the rainbow became a visual expression of the brand’s deeper message: colour as energy, chocolate as connection.
Behind the scenes, Emica’s daily rituals keep her grounded. Vedic meditation, practised twice a day for more than fifteen years, is her anchor. She speaks of time as a matter of priorities, not scarcity, moving through her days without rushing. “Rushing only makes me less effective, and it’s a poor way to live,” she says. That gentle pace shapes her creative rhythm, her leadership style and her company’s culture.
For Emica Penklis, chocolate is ultimately an offering. “I hope that when people eat Loco Love, they feel a spark of self-worth,” she says, “a reminder that they matter.” Heal your heart, and you heal the world. Call it crazy, but Emica believes it’s that simple. That’s the magic of intentional cacao.
Come and experience the magic first hand at the Byron Bay Showroom,
63 Centennial Circuit, Byron Bay.
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