The biennial CHOCOVISION conference will take place this June 7-9 at its traditional venue in Davos, Switzerland.

The event will bring together about 200 relevant stakeholders along the cocoa value chain — farmers, cocoa processors, chocolate makers, FMCG producers, retailers, investors as well as politicians and NGOs — to discuss challenges and opportunities within the chain.

The conference theme will be “MAKE IT MATTER. From cocoa to chocolate — Explore. Empower. Exchange.” building on the notion that stakeholders increasingly judge those in the industry by the impact they create, and not by words.

The show will also feature conversations about various issues facing the industry. For example, the cocoa and chocolate industry is thriving, with a popular product, stable growth rates and a wide spectrum for innovation. But it is also an industry with a complex, highly fragmented supply chain and a number of challenges, as well as opportunities, along that chain. Those challenges include: farmers who seem to be stuck in poverty, sustainability issues which are now center stage, rapidly changing consumer habits, an evolving digital landscape and the looming obesity crisis, to only mention a few.

More than 30  speakers and panelists will be on the program,  including such senior business executives as the following:

●     Tidjane Thiam, ceo, Credit Suisse
●     Olaf Koch, chairman of the management board, Metro Group
●     Markus Conrad, ceo, Tchibo
●     Calvin Grieder, chairman and ceo, Bühler
●     Aldo Uva, coo, supply and strategic business platforms, Ferrero
●     Patrick Firmenich, vice-chairman, Firmenich

The conference also features experts such as:

●     Till Dudler, managing director, EALA Consumer Goods & Services Strategy, Accenture
●     Kate Robertson, founder ‘One Young World’ and former global president and UK chairman at Havas
●     Prof. Pierre Chandon, The L’Oréal chaired professor of marketing, innovation and creativity, INSEAD
●     Dr. Jason Clay, senior v.p., markets and executive director, the Markets Institute, World Wildlife Fund

And stakeholders along the cocoa value chain, including political leaders from cocoa growing countries, are also part of the program:

●     Massandjé Touré-Litsé, director general, Conseil du Café-Cacao
●     Dr. Steven K. Opuni, chief executive, Ghana Cocoa Board
●     Cocoa farmers from Ivory Coast and Ghana
●     Industry representatives from Mars, The Hershey Co., Olam Int’l, Barry Callebaut
●     Representatives of the International Cocoa Initiative ICI, IDH, Swisscontact and VOICE Network; and many more.

The opening night will feature Lord Michael Hastings of Scarisbrick, global head of citizenship, KPMG Int’l, who will discuss the power of partnerships between business and civil society to empower smallholder producers economically and socially.

And, Didier Drogba, legendary international football player from the Ivory Coast, will also speak. He established the Didier Drogba Foundation, which aims to “make it matter” by providing support to the Ivorian people and vulnerable Africans in the areas of health and education.

There will be lots to follow online as well. Highlights of this year’s conference will be tweeted through the event’s Twitter account, @chocovision_org, and shared on the conference LinkedIn page. #CHOCOVISION will be the official hashtag for this year’s conference.

Video interviews with selected participants and daily summaries as well as impressions of the three conference days can be viewed on the conference's YouTube channel.

Pictures of the conference will be shared on a dedicated Flickr account. People not participating live at CHOCOVISION 2016 in Davos will also find interesting content on the conference at a Google+ page to follow, share and discuss with others in the online community.

The conference blog at chocovision.ch/blog will also offer interesting insights and additional content also shared by participants and guest bloggers. Online viewers can directly interact with the authors by commenting on blog entries and re-sharing content

Registration is now open via the conference website. CHOCOVISION targets international senior business leaders from the cocoa, chocolate and retail industry, influential politicians and key representatives from national and international institutions as well as NGOs.

CHOCOVISION was created in 2012 with the goal of bringing key actors in the complex supply chain from the cocoa bean to the chocolate products together to explore and initiate new approaches and solutions for securing a sustainable, successful chocolate future.

CHOCOVISION 2016 is supported by a number of renowned partners, including: Accenture (premium partner), Bühler, Credit Suisse, Ferrero, Firmenich ,The Hershey Co., IDH, Olam Cocoa , BASF, Le Conseil du Café-Cacao, Ghana Cocoa Board, IOI Loders Croklaan, Prova and Ruchi and Barry Callebaut (organizer).