Sustainability

Cocoa sector set for ‘epic’ week in Amsterdam

31-Jan-2024 - Last updated on 31-Jan-2024 at 09:53 GMT

Amsterdam Cocoa Week takes place in the city's historic stock exchange, Beurs van Berlage from 5-11 February. Pic: Equipoise

Amsterdam Cocoa Week promises an ‘epic collaboration’ when it opens on Monday 5 February at the Beurs van Berlage, the city’s former stock exchange building, where joining forces under one roof will be high-level sustainability conferences Chocoa, the World Cocoa Foundation’s Partnership Meeting, plus the Cacao of Excellence Awards.

Organisers Equipoise said the first ever Amsterdam Cocoa Week brings together 2,000 professionals from all over the world and engages with 8,000 consumers, “inspiring them to collectively transform the cocoa sector and shape the future of cocoa and chocolate”.

The week-long agenda promises more than 40 “interesting and exciting events” with the WCF’s Partnership Meeting kicking off the high-level discussions on Tuesday 6 February followed by Chocoa closing the working-week on Friday 9 February.

World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) Partnership Meeting

The World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) is an international membership organisation spanning the entire global cocoa and chocolate sector, including farmer cooperatives, cocoa processors, chocolate manufacturers, supply chain companies and other global organisations.

An important part of WCF’s work is the Partnership Meeting, an annual global event focused on cocoa sustainability and serving as an opportunity for its members and partners to come together to work to improve sustainability in the cocoa sector. The theme for the 2024 conference is ‘Aligning for Global Action’.

“Combining our World Cocoa Foundation Partnership Meeting and Chocoa will propel us into 2024 in an exciting fashion. It will allow all of us globally across the sector to align and find new ways forward as we transition towards a shared objective of truly sustainable cocoa,” said Chris Vincent, President of WCF.

Chocoa

Chocoa encompasses a 6-day event including a dynamic blend of conferences, forums, and sustainable cocoa and chocolate partner programmes that ‘promise to enlighten, inspire, a collective commitment to positive change’.

The Amsterdam Sustainable Cocoa Conference, includes sessions on cocoa pricing, a session on health at the heart of sustainable cocoa, procurement and also discussions on ‘disruptive innovation’ as well as insights from key leaders and main players in the industry.

Another important event is the Chocolate Makers Forum where trends and hot topics are discussed by peers.

The Cacao of Excellence Award Ceremonies

The Awards show will take place on Thursday 8 February and recognises the work, expertise and origins of each winning producer in Gold, Silver, and Bronze categories. It will also hear from the 2023 producers of Excellence, plus the opportunity to visit and network with over 100 stands representing producers, cacao and chocolate products, service suppliers, distributors and manufacturers from all over the world.