Friis-Holm Chocolate was founded by Mikkel Friis-Holm, a Danish chef, who desired to become one of the top three chocolate makers in the world. Mikkel worked in San Francisco in the late 90s where he met the the newly started Scharffenberger Chocolate, and his interest in chocolate began to grow. Through his collaboration with Scharffenberger, Mikkel got in contact with a major cacao project in Nicaragua in 2007. Danida, a Danish government sponsored development organization, supported the idea that farmers should grow high-quality cacao in order to improve the farmers' income. Mikkel started a close cooperation with the local farmers involved in the Danida project, and even today, the cacao beans from the Nicaraguan farmers are a core part of his business.