Climate change will affect many industries, but few more than cocoa. While farmers on the ground struggle with fluctuating climatic conditions changing working practices, large companies grapple with environmental regulation.
Global cocoa and ingredients company Cargill has announced a new commercial partnership with Voyage Foods to produce alternatives to cocoa-based products and nut spreads without using cocoa, peanuts, and hazelnuts.
While there is no indication the world is not about to run out of chocolate any day soon, there are concerns from manufacturers and suppliers that the current high prices and shortage of cocoa beans will push up costs further and, in some cases, restrict...
Barry Callebaut Group, the world’s largest chocolate and cocoa supplier, has announced it is cutting approximately 2,500 manufacturing and administration jobs across its global operations.
Love may be in the air this Valentine's Day – but so is the eye-watering price of cocoa on the market, making the cost of the key ingredient in chocolate more expensive than ever, according to analysts.
Food-tech startup Voyage Foods’ clean-label cocoa-free chocolate offers manufacturers a one-to-one replacement for traditional chocolate that it says doesn’t compromise taste or texture but, according to a new life cycle analysis, bypasses many of the...
Spurred on by a drive to pursue positive impact and leave the corporate world, four founders came together to launch their Mediterranean cacao-free chocolate brand.
Large chocolate and cocoa companies, including multinationals including Mars, Ferrero, Mondelēz, Hershey, Nestlé, and traders like Barry Callebaut and Cargill, are not paying prices that allow cocoa farmers to earn a living. This is the conclusion of...
Mars Incorporated has launched a first-of-its-kind digital and out-of-home campaign that ‘reuses’ fan-favourite advertisements, giving them a second life and claiming the new messages bring hope and progress around climate action.
As part of Mars Inc.’s strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the confectionery major is optimising product recipes to include more environmentally friendly ingredients.
Dark chocolate “can be contaminated with lead and cadmium, two heavy metals linked to serious health problems,” Consumer Reports warned this week, referencing its 2022 test of 23 chocolate brands; while the National Confectioner Association reaffirms...
Cargill, one of the world’s largest cocoa suppliers, has been ordered by a Brazilian court to pay 600,000 reais ($120,185) as indemnity for allegedly buying cocoa from farms where child labour or forced work has been identified.
As snack giant Mondelez faces yet another round of price increases in 2024, CEO Dirk Van de Put says he wonders how much consumers can absorb and what the company needs to do to maintain volume and market share without compromising margins and profitability.
Tradin Organic, a Netherlands-based certified organic food ingredients supplier for the food sector, claims it can help chocolate manufacturers, brands and retailers navigate the new EU laws on deforestation by sharing access with its clients to all data...
The Rainforest Alliance Annual Report has called for a new strategic direction to address interconnected global crises as the organisation sets out its new vision for accelerating action to address the climate emergency, biodiversity loss, systemic poverty,...
Recent bad weather in West Africa has threatened cocoa production resulting in record-high prices for the commodity on the Intercontinental Exchange in London.
Barry Callebaut Group has announced significant changes to its Forever Chocolate sustainability programme adding additional targets and sharpening existing ones as it looks to make sustainable chocolate the norm beyond 2025.
In news over-shadowed by the shock resignation of CEO Peter Boone, Barry Callebaut announced sales volumes in the six months ending 28 February fell 2.9% to 1.13 million tonnes and has lowered its sales volume guidance as inflationary pressures continue...
Strong consumer demand for affordable, sustainable products will drive the Fairtrade market in 2023, the organisation said after a successful awareness campaign in the UK brought ethically sourced products, such as chocolate, bananas and coffee, into...
Conseil du Café-Cacao (CCC), Cote d’Ivoire’s cocoa regulator, has issued a statement that it expects the country’s cocoa exporters to fulfill their contracts despite supply chain issues at ports.
Tony’s Open Chain, an initiative by Tony’s Chocolonely that invites other chocolate manufacturers to ramp up sustainability efforts in their own supply chains, has announced it is partnering with chocolate processor Baronie & Cémoi.
FDA will allow a very narrow set of claims linking cocoa flavanols in high flavanol cocoa powder and reduced risk of cardiovascular disease following a petition from Switzerland-based chocolate and cocoa product manufacturer Barry Callebaut AG.
In a statement, Fairtrade said: ‘Risk assessment and collaboration with farmers and workers are cornerstones of sustainable supply chains and essential for evolving due diligence requirements’.
Consumer Reports, the independent, non-profit member organisation that allegedly tested and discovered harmful levels of cadmium and other harmful heavy metals in some chocolate products, has urged the producers to commit by Valentine's Day to reduce...
'Cocoa used to be in a fruit on a tree. Through technology we make it in a cell mass in a bottle...'
The National Confectioners Association (NCA) has issued a statement on the findings of a consumer report released in the United States that claims to have found dangerous amounts of heavy metals (lead and cadmium) in chocolate from popular brands including...
The chocolate major is ‘redesigning’ how it farms, ferments, and roasts cocoa beans to develop a range of chocolate. We ask Bas Smit, Vice-President, Global Marketing and R&D, how the company is putting ‘cocoa first, sugar last’.
Mondelēz International is investing an additional $600m by 2030 in its cocoa sustainability program, Cocoa Life, for a total investment of $1bn since the start of the program 10 years ago.
Ghanaian cocoa processing company Niche Cocoa has announced a major investment in the US with the opening of a manufacturing facility in Franklin, Wisconsin.
Finnish confectioner Fazer is working to secure a sustainable future cocoa supply. The company believes cellular agriculture could be part of that vision.
Cocoa prices rallied in the week ending 24 June, after the Cote d’Ivoire government reported that cocoa farmers sent a cumulative 2.24 MMT of cocoa to its ports from 1 October 1 to 19 June, down -1.8% y/y.
Voyage Foods – one of a new wave of startups reverse engineering common foods from coffee (without beans) to chocolate (minus the cacao) using more sustainably and ethically-sourced ingredients - will debut its cacao-free chocolate in September in a filled...
UK start-up WNWN Food Labs is launching what it claims to be the ‘world’s first’ cacao-free chocolate. Made from two ‘hero ingredients’ – barley and carob – we ask co-founders Arhum Pak and Dr Johnny Drain what makes their product better than the real...
Nestlé has launched an initiative that promises to help bridge the living income gap for cocoa farmers in its supply chain. With a focus on productivity, resilience, diversification and access to education the company is more than tripling its current...
Record surge for chocolate by American consumers has pushed sales to $29bn, with retail chocolate sales climbing more than 5% a quarter, according to data from Chicago-based researcher IRI.
Cargill and vertical farming pioneer AeroFarms are combining their areas of expertise in a multi-year research agreement to unlock new ways of creating a more resilient and productive cocoa sector.
Neighbouring West African states account for over 60% of global cocoa supplies, but have threatened to name and shame chocolate brands trying to avoid paying the LID, a $400-per-tonne premium, which goes to their farmers.
Ben & Jerry’s has ramped up its living income approach for Cote D’Ivoire cocoa farmers in partnership with Fairtrade. Global Values Led Sourcing Manager Cheryl Pinto tells FoodNavigator that addressing poverty is key to tackling supply chain issues,...
The Rainforest Alliance has said it is ready to fully support Nestlé in its mission to improve sustainability in the cocoa sector, after it was announced the confectionery giant and maker of KitKats is to expand its in-house Cocoa Plan certification scheme...
Mondelēz, Cargill, Nestlé and Tony’s Chocolonely will discuss progress and challenges in implementing Child Labor Monitoring & Remediation Systems (CLMRS) in cocoa communities at a panel during the World Cocoa Conference.
Interview with counsel for six alleged child slaves
A lawyer representing six alleged child slaves working in cocoa in a class action against Nestlé, ADM and Cargill says the ramifications of the case on the chocolate industry could be huge.
Asia is poised to help meet rising demand for cocoa, but its key producer Indonesia faces quality concerns and its government lacks incentive to grow the sector.
