Exclusive: World Confectionery Conference Q&A line-up completed by cocoa expert HRM Oba Dokun Thompson

As plans for our 2025 edition of fifth World Confectionery Conference fast take shape, our centrepiece Q&A session on sustainability within the sector and its supply chains is complete with the addition of HRM Oba Dokun Thompson, a traditional Nigerian ruler and cocoa sector expert, reports Neill Barston.

The session will form a significant showpiece to our event being held on 11 September, at the Brussels Marriott Hotel, Grand Place, and will place the overall topic of how the industry can be more efficient, environmentally mindful and deliver transformative change for the benefit of the wider industry and all involved, in its production and delivery.

There will be a special emphasis on the cocoa segment – which remains vital for many chocolate, snacks and bakery markets, and has continued to experience renewed pressures with delays to crucial EUDR and corporate due diligence legislation designed to bring about greater human rights protections and supply chain transparency.

For his part, HRM Oba Dokun Thompson, makes a welcome appearance at the event, after last year being represented by his wife, the Queen of the Eti-Oni region. Together, they have helped establish a cocoa festival in his native land, as well as a key role with non-profit organisation International Cocoa Diplomacy seeking to drive improvements in the industry, as it faces ongoing challenges over yields, environmental issues and crop pricing.

The Nigerian-based regional ruler will be joined for our QandA by policy expert Francesco Tramontin, of Ferrero, Sabine Schommer, director of the ISM confectionery event in Cologne, Germany, Thierry Touchais of the Rainforest Alliance,  Jason Archie-Acheampong, of the Fairtrade Foundation, for what should prove to be another engaging moment for this year’s show.

Furthermore, keynote speakers for this year’s event have already been confirmed, including Sebastiano Collino, head of nutrition for Ferrero, Julia Ocampo, sustainability specialist for Luker Chocolate, Can Buharali, president of Caobisco European confectionery trade association, and Honorata Jarocka, senior insights analyst at Mintel. Our event is also privileged to have additional research input from Euromonitor International, further cementing the show’s core learning and education offering.

Speaking previously to Confectionery Production, HRM Oba Dokun Thompson, expressed optimism that the ongoing challenges facing the sector could be resolved, and that findings from his own nation’s own approach to the agriculture and cocoa in particular, could be applied widely across the continent.

He said: “For Nigeria, we are going to be working on developing a very vibrant and sustainable industry that is definitely on the table, and we have to go through the necessary routes to make that happen.

“Whatever we learn ourselves, our aim is to help replicate that across other cocoa producing regions – Ghana, Ivory Coast, Cameroon have their challenges, so do other parts of South America. But one way or another, I am sure there are areas that we can discuss with them to move things forward for them,” explained the cocoa expert, as he expanded upon in our previous exclusive video interview with him last year (watch below).

Notably, our previous editions of the World Confectionery Conference have  explored how sustainability plays out on an industrial level in terms of equipment and systems, and how they are being made ever more efficient to deliver finished products across the spectrum of industry that are both high quality an avoid waste and excessive manufacturing inputs.

– Registration for the 2025 event is now open and can be done at the following link, and we would urge attendees to do so as soon as possible to assist with our planning of the conference, which also includes the presentation of our annual World Confectionery Awards, and reception networking to conclude the day.