04 March 2009
Divine Chocolate leads the way as a catalyst for change in the chocolate market
Unique to Divine is the amazing story of how the smallholder cocoa farmers of the Kuapa Kokoo cooperative in Ghana came to own 45% of a chocolate company. Back in 1998 the company set out to change the way the chocolate industry works for ever, and against the odds, grew to be a £12.4m business with products in all the major supermarkets in the UK, delivering a profit to the farmer-owners of the company. Today, Cadbury’s announcement of their intention to convert approximately 20% of their chocolate range to Fairtrade is the next step in the journey.
Divine is delighted that Cadbury has joined them in saying to the industry that the current way of working is neither sustainable nor fair. Together we really have the chance to create a step change, where the very least companies should do is to pay a Fairtrade price for the ingredients they buy, and that anything less is just not acceptable.
When the team that established Divine first sat down ten years ago, we set converting Cadbury’s to Fairtrade as an objective because Cadbury’s was synonymous with chocolate in the UK. Cadbury’s started as a Quaker company with a philanthropic mission, and we hope that this conversion to Fairtrade is a return to the values on which the company was built.
With Divine, for the first time in the history of chocolate, the farmers that grow the cocoa have a significant share of the wealth they are creating. Divine doesn’t just pay a Fairtrade price. Divine also invests 2% of turnover in a producer support programme that has supported the farmers’ democratic organisation and helped them build their business. But most important, for the past three years the farmers have enjoyed dividends from the brand they own.
“We are very proud that through our company Divine Chocolate we have built the market for Fairtrade chocolate in the UK and shown that consumers want farmers to have a fairer deal”. Kuapa Kokoo Farmers Union
Cadbury’s have the opportunity to make a difference to the livelihood of small holder farmers in Ghana. Their Olympic sponsorship is a real opportunity to go for gold and convert all Cadbury’s products to Fairtrade. We hope they will be true to this goal and deliver on their glass and half promise so that the joy really can be everyone’s.
Ends
Sophi Tranchell, Managing Director of Divine Chocolate Ltd, and Sandy Balfour, Chair of the Board of Divine Chocolate Ltd, are available for interview
For an interview or more information please contact Charlotte Borger on 020 7378 6550 or 07973 394970
Editors’ notes:
• Divine Chocolate Ltd is co-owned by Kuapa Kokoo – a smallholder cocoa farmers’ cooperative with 45000 members in Ghana. Kuapa Kokoo has two representatives on Divine’s Board which meets four times a year, once in Ghana.
• The decision to launch the first Fairtrade chocolate company in the UK was made at the Kuapa Kokoo AGM in 1997. With the help of NGO Twin Trading, and Body Shop International, plus the support of Comic Relief and Christian Aid, and DFID, Divine Chocolate Ltd (formerly The Day Chocolate Company) was launched in UK in 1998.
• In 2006 Body Shop international transferred its entire interest in Divine Chocolate to Kuapa Kokoo, making the co-operative the single largest shareholder with 45%. Today the balance is held by NGO Twin Trading (43%), and by Dutch international development finance institution Oikocredit (12%).
• In 2000 Divine launched a new brand – Dubble – with Comic Relief to offer the first Fairtrade chocolate bar created especially to give young people a Fairtrade option to buy with their pocket money. The collaboration with Comic Relief has created award-winning education resources on cocoa and Fairtrade which have been used in thousands of schools around the country.
• In Nov 2002 Divine worked with the Co-op to become the first (and only) supermarket to convert all its own-brand chocolate to Fairtrade. The chocolate was delivered by Divine and the Co-op published a full report about their decision and the reasons for it.
• In Sept 2002 Divine confirmed a deal with Starbucks in the UK to convert all their own-brand chocolate to Fairtrade. The chocolate was delivered by Divine.
• In 2007 the first Divine Dividend was announced at the Kuapa Kokoo AGM
• In 2007 Divine launched a new company in the USA. This company is 33% owned by Kuapa Kokoo.
• Divine is a dedicated Fairtrade company. This means that all Divine products carry the Fairtrade Mark. This is an independent guarantee certified by the Fairtrade Foundation that the ingredients are sourced under internationally agreed fair trade terms and conditions. These include a guaranteed, secure minimum price, an extra social premium payment for the farmers to invest in their own community programmes, long term trading contracts, decent health and safety conditions – all aimed at empowering farmers to make their own improvements to living standards and prospects for the future.