Mondelēz and Fairtrade to expand Cocoa Life to Cadbury
Chocolate giant Mondelēz International is joining forces with Fairtrade to expand its farmer-focused Cocoa Life programme to cover Cadbury products globally.
The “ground-breaking commitment” aims to drive greater scale and impact for cocoa farmers and their communities. Starting in the UK & Ireland in May 2017, with a phased roll-out, Cocoa Life will be extended across Cadbury chocolate brands in key markets across the world. In the UK, five times as much Cadbury chocolate will be made with sustainably sourced cocoa, according to Mondelēz.
By 2019, all Cadbury chocolate in the UK and Ireland will display the Cocoa Life branding, however, the Cadbury Dairy Milk products that were previously Fairtrade certified will no longer carry the Fairtrade mark.
In Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa, Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate will remain certified throughout 2017. As part of the global roll out of Cocoa Life across Cadbury brands, they will move to carry the Cocoa Life logo on the front of pack during 2018.
Cadbury and Fairtrade will work together on new programmes to enhance the future for farming communities, such as building resilience to climate change – which cocoa farmers say is already a key threat to their livelihoods.
In addition, Fairtrade will work with Cocoa Life to develop farmer organisations and, together, enhance the understanding and reporting of the programme’s impact on cocoa farmers, their families and their communities.
Flocert, which also works as Fairtrade’s independent assurance and certification body, will continue to independently verify the supply chain of Cocoa Life as the programme grows. This involves tracking the quantity of sustainably grown and traded cocoa and the loyalty payments made to farmer organisations.
Glenn Caton, president of northern Europe at Mondelēz International, said, “Through Cocoa Life, we want to become an accountable partner for our cocoa farmers, not just a buyer. We are directly connecting buyers to farmers, enabling them to build long-term businesses. Cocoa Life truly transforms communities by delivering real and measurable improvements for cocoa farmers.
“We want to use our scale as the world’s largest chocolate maker to drive positive change for the communities on which we depend. We support Fairtrade’s vision to drive sustainable livelihoods through empowered farming organisations and communities and fairer terms of trade. We are proud to have Fairtrade’s support in helping us achieve this.”
Launched in Ghana in 2008 as the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership, Cocoa Life has already been rolled out across more than 795 cocoa farming communities globally. Independent verification shows that farmers’ in the Cocoa Life programme in Ghana have seen their incomes increase 49% more than farms outside the scheme.
Michael Gidney, chief executive at the Fairtrade Foundation, added, “The evolution of our partnership with Cadbury and Cocoa Life is an exciting development as it embeds Fairtrade, our values, principles and unique relationships with farmer networks into the whole programme.
“In doing so, together we can increase the scale and impact of Cocoa Life, towards a common goal – one in which cocoa farmers, their organisations and communities are empowered, can invest in their own futures, and go from just surviving, to thriving.”
