Boost for Madagascar as chocolatier MIA announces more funding for social programs on island

With its cocoa sourced exclusively from Madagascar, MIA’s Made-In-Africa business model is founded on the promise to create ‘amazing food that does good’.

Its program, 1 for Change, was created to give back to producer communities by funding projects such as a school kitchen the program recently helped build near the Madagascan capital, Antananarivo.

German chocolate distributor Market Grounds announced this month it is doubling its funding for the scheme.

MIA co-founder Brett Beach said MIA delivers on the brand promise by creating three times more value (than cocoa) for communities in Africa, thanks to its policy of sourcing ingredients and making finished chocolate locally in Madagascar.

Commitment

“When we created 1 for Change, we did so to increase the consumer’s impact in Africa and as an extension of the brand ethos. It is really inspiring to see a brand partner take it upon themselves to double this commitment on behalf of their customers. The support means a lot to the communities that combine their hard work to craft MIA chocolate from bean-to-bar in Madagascar​,” said Breach.

MIA and Market Grounds told ConfectioneryNews they have already identified the next social development project to support with the funds they generate from their respective sales. The partnership will fund a Fruit Tree Scholarship Program, which provides Madagascan primary school students with fruit trees and horticultural training.

Timmy Ruppert, Market Grounds marketing manager, said: “We were really excited for the MIA brand to join our portfolio at the start of the year because we saw an opportunity to provide our retail customers with high quality vegan dark chocolates while supporting the African communities that produce the cocoa, sugar and the chocolate itself. We wanted to take our partnership one step further by supporting the brand’s 1 for Change program with an additional 1% of our sales of MIA, essentially doubling the fund for every bar sold in the German market​.”