Divine Chocolate celebrated it's 10th birthday in 2009.
Read our birthday wishes here.
Richard Curtis
Jo Brand
The Proclaimers
Kwami Kwei-Armah
Freema Ageyman
Reggie Yates
Cherie Lunghi
The Innovator
The Farmer
Managing Director
Chocolate Maker
The Investor
The Partner
The Supporter
The Politician
The Campaigner
The Buyer
"Comic Relief had been supporting development of the Kuapa Kokoo farmers' cooperative for some years when they came up with the idea of setting up their own chocolate company in the UK. Comic Relief aims to find answers to poverty in Africa - and here was a powe
rful new model - an opportunity for smallscale African farmers to benefit from the wealth they indirectly create. We got behind Divine Chocolate and then in 2000 launched a new kids' brand, Dubble, with them - to create a vehicle to reach young people with the Fairtrade message. We have really valued that relationship and would like to acknowledge the amazing passion, resourcefulness and persistence that has made the company the success it is today. Happy Birthday Divine and we look forward to more Dubbly exciting years working together making change happen in Africa"
"When Dubble was launched back in 2000 - I thought it was a great idea and it really struck a chord with kids who know about things being 'fair' and 'not fair'. Just one example of how Divine has galvanised people to get behind Fairtrade - and given us great chocolate at the same time. Happy Birthday Divine"
"We'd walk 500 miles for Divine - but fortunately we can get it in our local shop. Happy Birthday and keep up the good work"
"As someone with Ghanaian roots, I think it's great that the cocoa farmers over there get a fair share of the action. Happy 10th birthday Divine, and keep up the good work." Sway, hip-hop artist.“It’s great to see something helping Ghanaian farmers, which also helps chocaholics everywhere, grow into something amazing ten years later. Here’s to ten more years of delicious Divine chocolate.”
Happy 10th birthday Divine!! You grow even more beautiful with age! Congratulations on a wonderfully successful decade. You do such important work, empowering the farmers of Kuapa Kokoo - which is truly heart warming and encouraging. I'm seeing Divine in increasingly more outlets and I smile to myself every time. You will always have my support and long may you continue to grow and expand.
“Thanks for making me aware of such a great idea that is helping our people back in Ghana”.
“Chocolate is the ultimate feelgood treat – I’m unable to resist a lovely square of chocolate every now and then! But I’m fussy about what I choose, and I buy Divine not just because it’s so good, but also because it’s owned by cocoa farmers which gives them a share of the profits and real power in the chocolate market. That seems like a pretty good reason for indulging..”
Pauline Tiffen, Project Director
“Emboldened by pulling off Cafédirect and moving into profit after 3-4 years, we packed the Divine proposition with our most politically perfectionist dreams of bringing cocoa farmers closer to consumers, and changing the way chocolate is both seen, and eaten. We were determined to take on the handful of global chocolate giants.”
“The extraordinary and poetic thinker Walter Benjamin once reflected that truth is like a secret. Divine is like a powerful secret brought out into the open, something entirely new. Revelation does it justice and ‘unexpectedly raises a heavy claw’ against tradition and the status quo.”
Comfort Kumeah, cocoa farmer, member of Kuapa Kokoo
“Kuapa Kokoo owning Divine has had an impact on my life. It has increased my confidence level and empowered me to approach many important people which any ordinary farmer cannot do. It has enlightened me about the chocolate market especially how my own cocoa can be processed into Fairtrade Chocolate. I am more respected in my community and my organization through my involvement in Divine Chocolate. Divine has helped me in the sense that I have come into contact with many people and it has made me popular both in Ghana and abroad. It has also given me an opportunity to relate with some important figures like the British High Commissioner and other personalities.
My wishes for Divine for the next ten years is that Divine Chocolate is sold in every part of the world”
Long live Divine
Long Live Fairtrade
Long Live Kuapa Kokoo.”
Mr Kwabena Ohemeng-Tinyase
“Divine is a treasure for Kuapa and I am proud to be One of her architects. I pray she grows to be the Golden item for Kuapa Kokoo Farmers.
Kuapa – Papa paa”
Cord Budde, Managing Director, Ludwig Weinrich GmbH & CO. KG, chocolate producer since 1895
10 years ago I met two very nice ladies from England, Sophi Tranchell and Pauline Tiffen, who asked me if we could be interested in being part of the Divine supply chain. I was immediately enthusiastic about that idea because at that time we already had some good experiences in the Fairtrade business in Germany. Only one thing was different which makes Divine almost unique, and that is the fact that the company is owned by the cocoa farmers who have the direct benefit of this co-operation.
Chocolate is a matter of joy and delight and we never should forget whom we have to thank for the raw material which is the most important ingredient of this divine product...... the cocoa. Without the hard work of the farmers in Ghana and many other countries, we never could enjoy the wonderful taste of these brown, dark brown or white specialities.
Therefore I ever will feel obliged in a positive sense of the word to support these people as good as we can, to help themselves.
With ‘Divine’ we all show that there is a way, where people from the industrial nations and people of the non-developed countries are working successfully hand in hand.
I could see the results of this wonderful co-operation during a visit to Ghana and I am convinced that this is the best and most effective way of support, to make the farmers the most important part of the supply chain.
I also believe in Divine because this project is coordinated by people who give all their power and all their enthusiasm for making the idea of Fairtrade much more popular.
Thanks a lot to Sophi and colleagues!
Gordon Roddick
“The idea to invest in Divine was proposed to The Body Shop by Pauline Tiffen and given the credentials of the people involved – Pauline, Twin Trading, Christian Aid and Kuapa Kokoo - it was not a difficult decision for The Body Shop to be involved. From the beginning it was a very personal involvement for both Anita and myself. The fact that the primary producers had a substantial part of the equity was a brave imaginative decision. Instinctively it seemed right and the fantastic growth and development of Divine against all odds has shown that by working in cooperation to a truly mutual end the achievements can be quite remarkable.
Whilst all trading relationships are unique there are several facets of this relationship that should be taken up and used by other companies and government, resulting in a better balance of power in trading relationships.
Daleep Mukarji, Director, Christian Aid
"Back in 1998 Christian Aid got wind of a really pioneering proposition – a cooperative of smallholder cocoa farmers in Ghana starting up their own Fairtrade chocolate company to give them a more sustainable livelihood, a voice in the world cocoa market, and a real chance to improve their prospects and communities. To Christian Aid this was a really exciting and enterprising example of how trade could be different and bring more equitable benefits to the developing world – and we gave the new company our support to get it off the ground. Today – at ten years old – Divine has surpassed expectations and proved a beacon to all those working and praying for a better world. Happy Birthday Divine!"
Barbara Stocking , Director Oxfam UK
"Divine Chocolate, with its innovative farmer-owned business model, has given us passionate and inspiring proof that it is possible to Make Trade Fair, and given thousands of chocolate lovers and people who want a better world the chance to make a difference. Oxfam salutes the first ten years of Divine and looks forward to seeing more businesses take their lead in the future."
Clare Short MP (ex Secretary of State for International Development, DFID 1999)
"Happy Birthday to Divine Chocolate. I am very encouraged by the continuing growth of the Fairtrade movement. It means that people in the UK are thinking about the conditions of the workers who produce the things they buy. Divine Chocolate is particularly special because the cocoa workers in Ghana are represented on the Board of the Company. I feel proud every time I see Divine for sale – which seems to be more and more frequent."
Malcolm Clark, (now Director of Make Votes Count)
“It's amazing how powerful a bar of Divine chocolate can be. I’ve seen bars start conversations, break down barriers and open doors. I’ve even see one stop a Prime Minister in his tracks. But chocolate on its own can only get you so far. It’s the vision, dedication and passion of everything that’s gone into Divine – the cocoa farmers, Fairtrade, the staff, the supporters – that’s really made things happen. And which people respond so positively to. During tours by Kuapa farmers, no amount of creative scheduling I tried could ever do justice to the sheer level of enthusiasm and engagement of local activists and communities wanting to be part of something special. Something that works; that makes a difference; that anyone can join in; that connects and empowers. That to me is the key for Divine’s next ten years. It's about continuing to combine the smile which chocolate brings with the power of people to effect positive change. Chunk by chunk; block by block. And it's also about continuing to learn from Kuapa, and from Africa, to transform the UK. I’m fired up just thinking about it. That is the magic of Divine.”
Jeff Pyne, Business Change Manager, Tesco (formerly Buying Manager 2001-2003)
"I decided to range a number of Divine products in Tesco because first and foremost I personally believed in what they were trying to achieve with their products. Divine chocolate took a belief and a passion and found a way to deliver it and I was delighted to be in a position, thanks to Tesco's fair trade policy, to help them achieve that belief, and to help enable them to become who they are today. It is with happiness that I see the growth of not only Divine's business, but fair trade products in general across Tesco, and it is a Divine birthday wish of mine that the growth in fair trade products continues to grow strongly as a way to provide additional support to some of the poorest people in the world.