Changing the World One Bar at a Time
Call it chocolate with a mission. Two fledgling chocolate companies — Washington, D.C.-based Divine Chocolate and Theo Chocolate, based in Seattle, — have set out to woo consumers with premium offerings while building businesses around the principles of fair trade and social and environmental responsibility.
Divine Chocolate
“Heavenly chocolate with a heart” —
that’s the tagline for Divine Chocolate, which officially launched in
the United States on Feb. 14. Divine U.S. is the sibling arm of a British
company established a decade ago by members of Ghana-based cocoa farmer
cooperative Kuapa Kokoo with support from investors including Comic Relief
and the Body Shop. Divine U.S. also is part-owned by Kuapa Kokoo with
investment support from several nonprofit/development groups.
Divine’s mission is to improve the livelihoods
of small cocoa producers in Ghana by enabling them to share in the profits
of the company’s branded chocolate sales. “We have a goal of
getting farmers farther up the value chain,” explains Erin Gorman,
CEO of Divine U.S.
All the cocoa used in Divine Chocolate bars is
purchased from Kuapa Kokoo on Fair Trade terms, which means that farmers
receive a guaranteed minimum price for their cocoa plus a “social
premium” that is invested in community projects. To date, the
projects have included building schools, digging wells and financing a
mobile medical clinics program.
In the United Kingdom, Divine Chocolate is sold in
leading retail chains including Tesco, Sainsbury and Asda, and Gorman is
working toward broad-based domestic distribution as well. The products are
available now domestically in a number of independent retail outlets and
natural food stores. The chocolate also is sold to organizers of school
fundraisers and to churches and other religious groups.
Packaging for the bars is decorated with traditional
African symbols. For a 1.5-oz. bar, the suggested retail price is $1.25 -
$1.75; for a 3.5-oz. bar, it’s $2.49 - $2.79.
Theo Chocolate
Like Divine, 15-month-old Theo Chocolate has a strong
ethical agenda.
Company founder Joseph Whinney, a long-time advocate of
sustainable agriculture, describes Theo as a “triple bottom line
company: people, planet, profit.”
Theo makes high-end bars and hand-produced boxed
chocolates at its small factory in Seattle. All products are organic and
Fair Trade Certified.
“We’re rooted in improving the lives of
everyone in the supply chain,” says Debra Music, vice president of
sales and marketing. “What we’re trying to do is define the
intersection of world class chocolate-making with sustainable
practices.”
A passionate commitment to its mission is paying off
for Theo. Since production began in March 2006, business has been going
even better than expected. “We had a phenomenal launch year,”
says Music.
Theo bars are sold by hundreds of retailers nationwide
and have been approved for rollout in Whole Foods, Hannaford and
Shaw’s supermarkets. The fledgling chocolate maker also has been
recognized with several awards, including three medals in the International
Academy of Chocolate Awards in London last fall.
Three-ounce single origin bars have a suggested retail
price of $5.99; 2-ounce bars sold under the brand name 3400 Phinney sell
for $3.29. Limited shelf-life boxed chocolates are sold to retailers only
in the Northwest at prices of $24 for a 12-piece box and $12.99 for a
six-piece.
Price resistance hasn’t been a sticking point for
the company so far. “It’s our responsibility to educate
consumers so they understand why the price point is higher,” says
Music. “It’s a combination of the fact that the product is high
quality and we’re passing [part of the profits] back to the growers,
who are growing organically and sustainably.”
— By Mary Ellen Kuhn
— By Mary Ellen Kuhn
