Tony’s Chocoloney will take its slave-free chocolate mission on the road this spring, launching a ‘Bean to Bar Journey’ experiential truck at South by Southwest in March.
Major cocoa trader Ecom says a Peruvian cocoa cooperative it financially supports is not a ghost organization of Ecom after the co-op was suspended by Fairtrade.
Cocoa producer organizations fear there is a growing number of so-called ‘fake cooperatives’, which are beholden to chocolate companies and cocoa traders that provide financial assistance.
The chocolate industry should explore longer four-year financing projects for cocoa farmers if it is serious about making the cocoa sector sustainable, says certification body Rainforest Alliance (RA).
Divine Chocolate has substantially increased group turnover to £12.6m (almost $18m) for the 12 months to June 2015 after merging its UK and US business units.
Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate has launched an initiative for cocoa cooperatives in Côte d’Ivoire to acquire new trucks through loans that it claims will help farmers to overcome logistical problems.
Fairtrade certified cocoa farmers spend 36% of their premiums on increasing productivity and cocoa quality – far above Fairtrade International’s suggested 25% minimum, a report from the organization reveals.