As most of the major chocolate players commit to sustainable chocolate within seven years, the 2020 goal poses a slew of challenges for suppliers.
Unlike the doomsday date (Dec. 21, 2012) posed by the cyclic end of the Mayan calendar that some interpreted as the end of the world, the year 2020 has much more credibility as a valid deadline. In fact, it could very well represent the end of cocoa and chocolate as most consumers know it.
With the recent announcement by the Hershey Co. that all of its chocolate will come from a certified cocoa sourcing, thus joining the other “big boys” such as Mars, Nestlé, Mondelez and Ferrero, 2020 looms as a mega challenge for cacao farmers, cooperatives, cocoa and chocolate suppliers.