Barry Callebaut is launching a new Horizons range of sustainable cocoa and chocolate products.

And the company is dovetailing the launch with a collection of stories called The Cocoa Chronicles, which highlight the effects of sustainability and will be used to help promote the new products. 

The move is an effort to further promote company’s efforts to scale impact and drive change on the ground to improve the livelihood of cocoa farmers and their communities.

The Horizons products are slated to be sold to food manufacturers as well as artisanal and professional customers and the line will include cocoa beans, cocoa nibs, cocoa liquor, cocoa butter, cocoa powder, and chocolate. The cocoa is sourced from Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Tanzania.

Money raised from the sale of the products will be used to help improve the livelihoods of cocoa farmers and their communities.

Specifically, the money will be channeled to the recently announced Cocoa Horizons Foundation to fund cocoa sustainability activities such as farmer training and support, and community development, in a transparent and externally verified process.

On the ground, Barry Callebaut’s sustainability team works with cooperatives and its own direct sourcing and farm services organizations to implement these activities for the benefit of registered farmers and farmer groups.

Cocoa produced by farmers involved in these activities — currently about 25,000 — will be sold as Barry Callebaut’s sustainable Horizons cocoa and chocolate products.

Horizons cocoa is the successor to Barry Callebaut’s previous Quality Partner Program. With the creation of the Cocoa Horizons Foundation, the company has evolved and improved its efforts to better scale impact.

“I am excited about the development of Horizons cocoa and chocolate products, with the focus on supporting our customers on their sustainability journey,” says Antoine de Saint-Affrique, Barry Callebaut’s ceo. “We also expect to attract new customers for these sustainable products, thereby scaling impact and driving change in cocoa sustainability globally.."

The Cocoa Chronicles

In order to help its customers drive consumer demand for sustainable cocoa, Barry Callebaut has also developed an innovative set of narratives, the “Cocoa Chronicles,” which are driven by consumer benefits.

These will enable customers of the Horizons products to leverage sustainability initiatives through their brands. Bringing to life the complex world of sustainability in a meaningful and engaging way is a challenging but important task in driving a brand’s purpose and positioning, the company says.

In order to add value for its customers, Barry Callebaut and its partners gathered extensive consumer and market research to build a robust catalog of stories, satisfying the wide variety of customer targets. Each narrative is coupled with on-the-ground proof points, from facts and stats to farmer quotes and testimonials. Inspiration for ways in which customers can bring stories to life is also provided.

Customers of Barry Callebaut’s HORIZONS products will receive full access to the Chronicles and invaluable support. A publicly available peek into the Cocoa Chronicles is available online on the Cocoa Chronicles website.