Monday, May 16, 2011

Divine Chocolate - Fair Trade

In the mist of the chocolate haze from the 2011 SF Chocolate Salon, the most notable and admirable trend is the emergence of chocolate companies dealing with the dark side of chocolate. Fair Trade Certified chocolate companies are giving back to countries and people that produce the cocoa bean. Fair Trade is a partnership between producers and consumers that insures a fair price to producers and healthy and safe working conditions.

One of the first chocolate companies to do something about the problems facing the cocoa industry was Divine Chocolate, the creator of the first mass market Fair Trade chocolate bar. Fair Trade certification insures fair pricing and also has standards addressing child labor plaguing the countries of Ghana and Ivory Coast. Divine attended the San Francisco Chocolate Salon with taste samples of their new Dark Chocolate Ginger and Orange bar and told their story. Divine Chocolate was launched in the UK in 1998 and in the US in 2007. It is the product of Kuapa Kokoo, a co-operative of Ghana cocoa farms. Kuapa Kokoo was established in 1993 and two years later it received its first Fair Trade Certification. Kuapa Kokoo’s mission "seeks to develop itself into a formidable farmer-based organization capable of mobilizing quality cocoa products, improving the livelihood of members and satisfying customers". Kuapa Kokoo is owned by its farmers and the farmers in turn own a 45% share of Divine Chocolates.
“It gives farmers empowerment, ownership and dignity.” said Mark Magers CEO of Divine US.

Divine Chocolates is sold nationally in the US in Cost Plus and Whole Foods. It is also sold at many smaller locations focused on Fair Trade.
I recommend my favorite, the Dark Chocolate Raspberry bar. I buy it at Global Exchange on College Ave. in Berkeley. It is a San Francisco based company committed to promoting Fair Trade merchandise. Enjoy the chocolate and help promote Fair Trade!