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Fortnum & Mason launches 99% carbon-free chocolate from Grenada

By Anthony Myers

- Last updated on GMT

Sailboat Chocolate is available in-store at Fortnum & Mason Piccadilly. Pic: Fortnum & Mason
Sailboat Chocolate is available in-store at Fortnum & Mason Piccadilly. Pic: Fortnum & Mason
Upmarket grocery store Fortnum & Mason claims to have launched the world’s first totally green chocolate slate, transported over 4,000 miles from the island of Grenada to London’s Piccadilly.

Crafted in a solar-powered factory and using only green energy for the entirety of its journey, it's 99% emission-free claim from farm to store (the 1% representing an emergency allowance of fuel onboard the sailboat) is backed up by a variety of zero-emission transport options for the chocolate all the way to Fortnum & Mason in Piccadilly, via horse and carriage, rowing boat, and Fortnum & Mason’s own fleet of electric vans.

Along the journey, the chocolate is broken down, tempered, and packaged using solar power at NearyNógs, one of the oldest chocolatiers in Northern Ireland.

Commitment to the environment

The chocolate, produced by the Grenada Chocolate Company, is crafted not just with a commitment to the environment, but also to the welfare of those who work hard to produce it, a spokesperson for Fortnum & Mason said.

The farmers are all shareholders in the company and are paid 65% more per lb for the beans than the local price, ensuring they benefit fairly from the Trinitario Beans they grow. Producing chocolate where the cocoa grows also allows the co-operative to do its own fermenting, which gives a real advantage in creating the finest, most complex phenolic profile from the beans.

We’re incredibly excited to launch Sailboat Chocolate …. the world’s first ‘Farm to Store’ 99% emission free chocolate slates​,” said Sophie Young, Confectionery Buyer at Fortnum & Mason.

This is an important step in supporting Fortnum’s “Future Matters” commitment to creating long-lasting change, showcasing our values in an innovative way while delivering a delicious bar of high-quality, sustainable chocolate to our customers​.”

  • Sailboat Chocolate is available in-store at Fortnum & Mason Piccadilly and online from 29 October, priced at £24.95 for three 60g pouches.