Divine Chocolate Celebrates Reaching Total £100m Sales, Which Means £2m Invested In Cocoa Farmers, Their Farms, Communities And Business
Divine
Chocolate is celebrating exceeding £100million in cumulative turnover, which in
turn has delivered £2 million investment in working with the co-operative of
farmers that owns 45% of the company.
Managing
Director Sophi Tranchell MBE says: "Divine was set up with the mission to
deliver sustainable income to the farmers in Ghana who supply the cocoa, and to
put them higher up the value chain by making them the biggest shareholder in a
dynamic chocolate brand."
"Our
business model includes investing 2% of our income into support &
development programmes with our farmer owners - so we are delighted to mark the
point at which, through earning £100m in sales, we have delivered not only
Fairtrade Premiums and profit, but also £2m towards diverse projects for the
farmers."
Divine, set
up as a Fairtrade company and social enterprise in 1998, delivers four income
streams to Kuapa Kokoo, the co-operative of farmers that decided to set up
their own chocolate company at their AGM in 1997. Divine pays the world price
for the cocoa (or the Fairtrade minimum of $2000 per ton should the price drop
below that), the Fairtrade premium of $200 per ton, 2% of turnover for
investment in producer support and development and 45% of any distributed
profit.
The
development programme fund has been, over the years, invested in ensuring the
democratic running of the 80,000-strong co-operative (eg financing hustings and
AGMs), introducing new agricultural practice to improve yields, creating better
management systems, enhancing the
women's mentoring and skills programme, and introducing innovative new
communications to reach the 1300 village societies such as their own radio
programme.
One of
Divine's aims has always been to challenge the chocolate industry and prove by
example that a business can both be successful and more equitable, giving
farmers more of a stake in the valuable market they supply. Following Divine blazing the trail for
Fairtrade in the mainstream market, the multinational chocolate companies have
converted some products to Fairtrade - and this year 21% of the UK chocolate
market is Fairtrade certified - an increase of 52% on last year.
Sophi
Tranchell adds: "Chocolate is becoming increasingly popular all around the
world, but if we want to be able to keep eating our favourite treat it has to
be financially sustainable for cocoa farmers to carry on growing cocoa. With
more income the farmers can not just survive, but also invest in their
families, their farms and their business - putting them in control of
developing better farming skills, adapting to climate change, and ultimately in
control of their own future."
Divine
Chocolate is currently celebrating Fairtrade Fortnight with a Pop Up shop in
Covent Garden, and touring with two cocoa farmers Mavis Adu Gyamfi and Mercy
Zaah, here as ambassadors of their co-op Kuapa Kokoo. Divine organises tours for two farmers every
year to present to and meet audiences from MPs to Mayors, shoppers and
retailers, and schoolchildren to church congregations. "Divine is here to give the farmers a
voice in the industry," says Tranchell.
For full details visit
www.divinechocolate.com/uk.
You can also visit Kuapa Kokoo's website at
www.kuapakokoo.com
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