Outgoing Fairtrade Foundation CEO welcomes retail boost for its product sales

Against a backdrop of continued retail uncertainty, Fairtrade Foundation has reported a strong uplift in retail sales of the social justice movement’s products driven by its annual flagship campaign, reports Neill Barston.

As its outgoing CEO Mike Gidney, who is due to stand down at the end of the year, explained to Confectionery Production, its work has continued to make a positive impact over the past three decades, with confectionery being among the very first ranges of produce it stocked.

Significantly, the organisation has developed its Shared Impact scheme, in which supermarkets collaborate to agree the terms on which they source cocoa, bananas and coffee from a pool of Fairtrade producers, will allow them to target salient risks in their supply chain, give Fairtrade farmers longer-term contractual stability in the face of increasing climate and economic volatility while providing more transparency and traceability for retailers.

According to data from Kantar’s Worldpanel 2024 – which consists of real data scanned in by panelists – Fairtrade sales of confectionery, hot drinks and bananas outperformed that of total volumes versus the two weeks prior to the campaign (2 w/e 8th September 2024).

Moreover, as the organisation noted, many farmers overseas are under pressure to respond to risks such as poor working conditions, climate change and often lack the income security to do so. Selling more of what they produce on Fairtrade terms allows them to tackle these issues and invest in their farms and their communities.

Its research showed that  41% more Fairtrade confectionery was sold during Fairtrade Fortnight compared to the previous two weeks, ranking higher than total confectionery sales which saw a 10% uplift. Meanwhile, retail sales volumes of its own hot drinks grew by 12% compared with total hot drinks (4%). Retail sales volumes of bananas from the organisation increased by 2% vs total bananas (-1%).

The two-week publicity campaign called on the British public to Be the Change and Choose Fairtrade to ensure millions of farmers and workers across 68 countries can secure fairer prices. Fairtrade supporters across the country organised 615 grassroots events, spreading Fairtrade’s message within their communities and urged MPs to take the Fairtrade Be the Change pledge. More than 100 MPs pledged to support Fairtrade. Meanwhile more than 30 business partners including major retailers such as Co-op, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose activated Fairtrade Fortnight online and instore, demonstrating the business case for getting behind Fairtrade, even when times are tough.

Furthermore, according to Kantar Profiles 2024, 23% of people heard about Fairtrade Fortnight 2024 (up from 12% in 2023), and 97% of those who heard about the campaign were able to remember at least one of the campaign messages. The most highly recalled message was ‘a few small changes to the products you put in your basket can make a huge change to the lives of those who produce them’.

Michael Gidney, CEO of the Fairtrade Foundation believed there were many positives for its ongoing mission to support farming communities around the world. He commented : “We are delighted to see sales of Fairtrade products outperforming the market this Fairtrade Fortnight. This shows the unstinting support for Fairtrade from the British public even when times are tough, and it also shows how stocking a range of Fairtrade products makes good business sense. More and more people are choosing Fairtrade when they shop, recognizing the importance of contributing to building better livelihoods for farmers and workers overseas who produce many of the goods on supermarket shelves.

“Our brilliant partners and supporters are at the heart of everything we do and when they join forces, as they did this Fairtrade Fortnight, they have a huge impact. I want to thank everyone who took part for all their hard work – it matters so much, as we work together to innovate and deliver for farming communities around the world in 2025.”