Dominican Diaspora: Bringing the American Dream Home

Janett and Erika Liriano, daughters of Dominican immigrants, have established Inaru, a chocolate factory in the Dominican Republic that incorporates local farmers as stakeholders in the company.

The co-owners transitioned from high-level corporate careers in the United States to build the venture in their parents’ homeland, leveraging their professional backgrounds in biopharmaceuticals and finance to develop the business.

Corporate Background and Transition

Before founding Inaru, both sisters held prominent roles in the U.S. Business sector. Janett Liriano served as the chief of staff at a biopharmaceutical firm and was recognized as a Forbes 30 Under 30 Listmaker. Erika Liriano worked within the venture capital industry.

Despite their professional success in Queens, New York, the sisters expressed a lack of fulfillment in their corporate roles. Janett Liriano stated, We were both comfortable but not happy with our jobs, adding that she felt unfulfilled and anxiously wanted to move forward.

Origins of Inaru

The concept for the chocolate company emerged in early 2019 during a family gathering at Janett Liriano’s home in Kew Gardens. The sisters began discussing the possibility of starting a company after trying a Dominican cacao and coffee drink prepared by their father.

The venture was heavily influenced by the encouragement of their parents, who urged them to pivot from working for others to pursuing their own projects.

Why don’t you commit to your own projects? With how hard you both work for others, you could change the country if you just chose to focus on doing what you really believe in.

Parents of Janett and Erika Liriano

Agricultural Roots and Business Model

The Liriano sisters’ connection to the industry is rooted in their family history. Their maternal grandparents previously worked as farmhands, and their father’s family maintained ownership of a small cocoa farm in the Dominican Republic.

Inaru’s business model departs from traditional chocolate production by granting farmers a stake in the company, aiming to provide a more equitable distribution of success within the local agricultural community.