Naravid Tejavanija

Naravid Tejavanija (Finn)

Student, inventor and chocolate maker from Bangkok.

My love of chocolate took me from a summer job in a chocolate kitchen to cacao farms across Thailand, where I began building devices, researching supply chains and starting ventures to help farmers earn more. I want to keep building technology that makes people's work easier and gives them more opportunities.

See my projects Get in touch

Finn
PHOTO: finn-portrait.jpg
Portrait of Finn, 4:5

Projects

GOcacao

Founder

Smallholders can't easily tell how a fermentation is going, so farmers struggle to know when to turn the beans or stop. I built GOcacao in my backyard shed, an embedded system pairing an ESP32 microcontroller with a PT100 RTD sensor. I designed the sensor circuitry and engineered firmware that smooths the temperature signal with exponential moving average (EMA) filtering, then uses peak-detection logic to signal when to turn and when to end fermentation. Prof. Na Nan at Chulalongkorn University's ISTC advised on fermentation, and the field version runs offline with LED indicators and remote alerts. A cooperative in Phrae that used it increased its cacao income by 30%. I am now in discussions with cooperatives and organizations in West Africa and Bolivia about using GOcacao outside Thailand.

8 sites · 5+ tonnes monitored · 20.3% more well-fermented beans · 48.7% less relative variation

Trial results from eight batches, cut-tested independently.

Project siteResults paper (EPQ)Engineering paper

Chiang Mai University collaboration

Research Collaborator

The next step was to automate the turning itself. I pitched GOcacao to Asst. Prof. Dr. Supavej Maniyom, Head of Food Engineering at Chiang Mai University, and we adapted it into an automated process control system. I designed the control algorithms, modified the embedded firmware and engineered relay-switching circuitry that connects temperature feedback to a motorized turner. The hardware and software now work as one loop: the system collects sensor data, decides when a batch needs turning and drives the motor, with no one stepping in. It runs three automated fermenters, and research trials are under way.

3 automated fermenters · Research trials beginning

Confirmation of work

de'Finnitive Pods

Founder

Husks make up roughly 70% of a cacao pod, and I wanted them to earn farmers money too. A cooperative had developed a biodegradable leather alternative from them, so I built a circular economy venture around it. I applied design for assembly (DFA) principles and turned each product into a prefabricated kit, with pre-cut components, pre-punched fastening points and a standardized assembly sequence, so village makers can finish it with basic hand tools. That farm-to-maker production system now supplies keychains, jewelry trays and pencil cases to Bangkok retailers. I'm also in discussions with an international designer about a collaboration.

Supplying Bangkok retailers · International design collaboration in development

Products and process

de'Finnitive Chocolates

Founder

I started a bean-to-bar chocolate brand so GOcacao farmers could sell to buyers who pay for quality. Every batch is traceable. I use supply-chain data analytics to link each bar's cacao origin, fermentation profile and production records, and a QR code on the bar opens that page, so buyers can check the sourcing is ethical for themselves. I handle direct procurement from farmers and make the chocolate, then sell B2B to cafés, bakeries, restaurants and retailers, plus direct to customers. Buyers pay more for well-fermented beans, and that premium goes back to the farmers.

15 outlets supplied · 25–45% sourcing premiums · Grand Jury Finalist, International Chocolate Awards Asia-Pacific

ChocolateSample batch recordAward

Thailand cacao supply-chain research

Independent Researcher

When I started, most Thai cacao research covered a single region or production stage, and little of it looked at how value is shared across the national chain. I couldn't find a supervisor, so I ran the study on my own. I designed the questionnaires, traveled to five regions and interviewed 12 farmers, processors and chocolate makers. Then I used value-chain and SWOT analyses to benchmark Thailand against neighboring Southeast Asian countries. In the chains I studied, farmers and fermenters captured less than 8% of the final value.

12 interviews · 5 regions · Published in IEOM proceedings · 1st Place, Poster Competition

PaperProceedings

International involvement

I'm in discussions with organizations in Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Bolivia about bringing GOcacao's fermentation monitoring to cacao-growing regions outside Thailand.

Beyond projects

Co-Founder, Run 4 A Reason

I co-founded a student charity run and sponsorship campaign to pay for air filtration at Mercy Centre. I handled the event logistics, promotion and fundraising finances, and went out to recruit runners and sponsors.

140 runners · 800 sponsors · $14,000 raised over 2 years

Instagram post

Varsity Swim Captain

I led Shrewsbury to third place at the 2026 FOBISIA Swimming Championships, a regional meet for British international schools in Asia. I also coached junior swimmers, pushed for pre-season attendance and helped organize meets.

3rd Place, FOBISIA 2026 · 3× Thai Nationals qualifier · Varsity MVP 2024

Volunteer Survival Swimming Coach

For two years I taught survival swimming to deaf children and children from underserved communities. I adapted the drills with visual demonstrations and hand signals. Later I helped coordinate three student coaches teaching water-safety lessons.

Debate Club President

Politics, economics and ethics pulled me into competitive debate. I joined Shrewsbury Bangkok's club as a member and went on to lead it, coaching seven juniors every week with argument and rebuttal drills I wrote myself.

7 juniors coached weekly · Competition results under Recognition

School Prefect

I served in the Learning Environment Ministry in Year 10 and came back in Year 13 as one of its three prefects. We worked on school-wide policies that pushed students to ask questions, attempt unfamiliar problems and offer their own ideas.

Summer experience

Muang Thai Life Assurance

Paid Intern · Summers 2025 and 2026

I spent summer 2025 with the fixed-income team, researching the UK economic outlook and putting together a presentation for their government-bond analysis. They asked me back in 2026, and I widened the research to central-bank policy and how domestic politics shaped economic decisions.

Kad Kokoa

Intern · Summer 2024

I made cookies, ganache and filled chocolate bars. When I saw how well the ice cream was selling, I started helping with deliveries too. The job got me wondering about the farms and fermentation behind the chocolate I was making.

Recognition

Academic and research

  • Silver Medal, Economics Olympiad International Final Round, 2026. 20th overall out of 160,000 participants, and the highest-ranked Thai student.
  • First Place, Poster Competition, IEOM Asia-Pacific, 2026
  • Speech Day Award, Further Pure Mathematics, 2026
  • Speech Day Award, Economics, 2026
  • Speech Day Award, History, 2025
  • Silver Award, British Physics Olympiad (BPhO), 2026
  • Silver Certificate, UKMT Senior Mathematical Challenge, 2025
  • Commendation, John Locke Institute Essay Competition, 2026

Engineering and entrepreneurship

  • Grand Prize, CNX FINEX (CNX Food and Applied Science Invention & Exhibition), 2026
  • Global Finalist, Business Innovation, Diamond Challenge, 2026
  • Top 100 Emerging Innovator, University of Delaware, 2026
  • Special Awards, World Invention Intellectual Property Associations and International Federation of Inventors' Associations (Middle East Focal Point), iCAN, 2026
  • Grand Jury Finalist, International Chocolate Awards Asia-Pacific, 2026

And more

Debate

  • Semifinalist, Thailand World Schools Debate Competition, 2025
  • Fourth Best Speaker, Thailand High School Debate Competition, 2024
  • High School Novice Champion, European Union in Thailand Debate Competition, 2024 (EU announcement)
View certificates

Media

The Nation · Class of Future · September 30, 2026 Thai Student Turns Backyard Cacao Experiments Into Fermentation Technology and Craft Chocolate

Contact

I want to keep building technology and businesses that help people earn more from their work. If you work in agricultural technology, food systems or product development, I'd be glad to hear from you.

Email me