Startup Mount Mayon has developed a special method for processing the pili nut for packaged goods - it enters the market as its raw material grows next to an erupting volcano that has displaced thousands.
Divine Chocolate has announced revenues of £14m ($20m) during the 2016-2017 period (17% YOY growth), the highest to date, with US sales passing $10m for the first time.
The chocolate industry and supply chain actors recognize buying certified cocoa alone is not enough to make the supply chain sustainable. But what more needs to be done?
Mondelēz’s sustainability program, Cocoa Life, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Ghana Cocoa Board to help reduce emissions in its cocoa supply chain, ‘one of the biggest threats to sustainable cocoa production.’
NGO Mighty Earth is calling on chocolate makers to expand deforestation-free commitments after finding widespread forest destruction driven by cocoa in Indonesia, Peru, Ecuador and Cameroon.
Nestlé USA faces a fresh class action lawsuit in the US for allegedly failing to disclose its chocolate brands may use cocoa from unlawful child or slave labor.
Free-from labelled foods seem healthier, with GM-free and palm oil-free labels having the strongest effect, according to a study of almost 2000 French, Swedish, British and Polish individuals.
The chocolate industry must look beyond cocoa alone to avert another big drop in cocoa prices, says the organizer of chocolate festival and cocoa conference Chocoa.
Nine major cocoa and chocolate companies have committed $8.5m to an initiative aiming to prove a business case to improve the quality of education in Ivorian cocoa communities.
Fairtrade auditing body FLOCERT has decertified Peruvian cocoa cooperative COPASA, which was accused of being a ghost organization of major trader Ecom.
Newcomer MIA has its sights on Europe with a selection of premium dark chocolate tablets produced in Madagascar, which use fine flavor cocoa from the country.
Sunny Verghese, co-founder/CEO of Olam International, a leading supplier of cocoa beans, has become chair of The World Business Commission for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) this week, replacing Paul Polman, CEO, Unilever.
A scientist at the Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI) said chocolate would not go extinct as reported by multiple media outlets recently, even though global warming could shrink the cultivatable areas for cocoa trees.
Sourcing to fair trade standards, such as UTZ, Rainforest Alliance and Fairtrade, is an important first step for chocolate makers towards cocoa sustainability, but will not necessarily bring farmers out of extreme poverty, say supply chain actors.
UK supplier Whitakers Chocolates sees increased export opportunities after receiving accreditation to produce Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance and UTZ chocolate for private label customers.
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.
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil and United Nations Environment Project have joined forces to help promote sustainable practices among smallholders producing palm oil as the environmental group sharpens its focus on smallholder farmers.
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.
Competition law can actually hinder industry efforts to boost food security by limiting collaboration, according to a new report from the UK’s Fairtrade Foundation.
Fourteen Mondelēz employees across the global have finished their ‘Joy Ambassadors Program’ in Ghana, gaining a firsthand understanding of ‘the challenges and opportunities in securing a sustainable cocoa supply.’
Mars Wrigley Confectionery says it has achieved income and yield increases for Indian mint farmers in the first year of a five-year sustainability program.
Cocoa & Forests Initiative members have disclosed plans for ending cocoa-driven deforestation, in pledges made at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP23).
Chocolate companies should rethink cocoa sustainability programs to reverse low adoption rates for training and technology, says The Scientific Committee of the International Symposium on Cocoa Research.
Barry Callebaut announced its full-fiscal year 2016/17 sales revenue increased by 1.2%, reaching CHF 6.8bn ($6.8bn), while its net profit grew by 39.6% during the period.
Chocolate and cocoa companies should report more on the impact than the reach of their cocoa sustainability programs, according to a consultation paper by a group of NGOs.
Female cocoa farmers are key to accelerating cocoa sustainability, but lack the access to finance and land rights that men have, says a new network for women in the cocoa supply chain, which includes Hershey's CEO.
Cocoa trader Touton has partnered with Ghanaian government agency Cocobod to curb deforestation in Ghana, where cocoa is the main driver of 3.2% of protected forest loss each year.
Nestlé’s child labor prevention system in its Cocoa Plan will cover around half of the company’s supply by 2020, but full scale up may never be possible, says its public affairs director.
Consumers are demanding pollution-free food sold in biodegradable or recycled packaging. Trailblazing brands are already responding to the trend – and “perceived polluters will be forced to follow”, says Mintel.
Confectionery containing fair trade or organic cocoa and sugar carry one of the highest risks of adulteration and mislabelling in the food & drink industry, according to Ecovia Intelligence.
Traceability from farm to first purchase, common definitions of protected areas and paying farmers a living income are three ways stakeholders say can help end cocoa-driven deforestation in West Africa, which is threatening endangered species.
‘One of the most difficult issues associated with sustainable sourcing is whether companies should adopt third party standards or develop in-house schemes.
Tony’s Chocolonely this month achieved national distribution across the US in natural and specialty channels and is now aiming to enter conventional retail.
