Liz Parker: What made African Cocoa Marketplace (ACM) want to launch a marketplace?

Dr. Kristy Leissle: I've spent twenty years as a field researcher with African cocoa farmers, and as a consultant within the chocolate industry. I launched ACM because I saw that these two ends of the supply chain struggled to communicate effectively, if at all. Cocoa farming realities are not chocolate industry realities, and vice versa. Growing and selling cocoa, and making and branding chocolate, are entirely different businesses. They operate in different circumstances, have different resources to work with, and require different marketing channels. I wanted to create a marketplace that would give cocoa farmers and chocolate brands an effective, efficient way to communicate around their shared priorities, using a common language around product and production values.

Liz Parker: How does the marketplace connect African cocoa sellers with global buyers and investors?

DKL: ACM's marketplace works a lot like Amazon or AirBNB. Buyers will use powerful search functions to find the cocoa products they need for their businesses. They will be able to specify product criteria like volume, quality, or country of origin, but also to search for sellers that share their values. For example, if a buyer wants to purchase cocoa from a cooperative that champions gender equity, they'll be able to find that on ACM's marketplace. If they want to promote environmental stewardship, they'll be able to find sellers who share that priority.

What's different about ACM's model is that buyers will also need to provide a level of transparency to sellers. The chocolate industry has historically asked only cocoa farmers to be transparent about their production ethics and standards. According to research ACM conducted in 2023, African cocoa sellers also desire transparency from buyers: Is the buyer gender equitable in their business? Do they support local communities? Will they bring strong commitments to cocoa sellers and invest in their communities as well? At ACM, we believe that for a trade relationship to reach its best potential, both buyers and sellers should be up front and open about what they bring to the table, and share something about their values and integrity. ACM's marketplace will make it easy for buyers and sellers alike to search according to the values they prioritize and the products they want to trade.

Liz Parker: What is the goal of the marketplace?

DKL: The goal of ACM's marketplace is ultimately to elevate the value of Africa's cocoa. We believe that African cocoa sellers already work with integrity. Our job is not to tell them how to do their work; it's to help them show the good work they are already doing, to advertise that to buyers in a way that will attract more favorable trade terms. A win for me would be that ACM's marketplace helps cocoa sellers secure contracts that come with higher prices or price premiums, long-term commitments, impact investments, or other supports that are targeted to the seller's needs and elevate the prospects of the women and men farming the cocoa.

Liz Parker: How do cocoa sellers enroll in the marketplace?

DKL: The first step is to complete an online survey, which asks questions about business strengths and capacity. We want to know, for example, what type of cocoa products are for sale and from where, whether a business is officially registered, previous sales volumes, and so forth. It only takes a few minutes to complete, and responses help the Seller Engagement Team prepare for ACM's due diligence with that seller. Our goal is for every marketplace user—buyer, seller, or investor—to feel fully supported throughout the process. There is always an expert, caring person ready to help create a profile for highest-impact marketing and to achieve a robust return on the investment in joining ACM's marketplace.

Liz Parker: What is the cocoa harvest looking like for the 2024–25 season?

DKL: The most recent cocoa season, 2023–2024, was challenging. We were still in an El Niño cycle, which causes both sustained drought and unpredictable rain patterns across West Africa. West Africa's climate has been very good historically for cocoa, with the rains usually falling in the right amounts at the right time during the light season or minor crop, when the farmers are preparing the trees for the upcoming main harvest, which starts in September/October. During the main harvest, the rains taper off and the sun comes out, which is perfect for drying cocoa naturally and giving it a chance to produce a delicious, chocolatey flavor. When that weather cycle is off, as it has been, the harvest tends to drop. This past season, cocoa supply dropped quite dramatically. The estimate is that the 2023–24 global supply was about 4.3 million metric tons, when it has been more around 5 million.

However, farmers that ACM speaks to regularly in Ghana are more hopeful about the upcoming season. The rains were somewhat better in the earlier part of the minor crop, as cocoa farmer John Adamnor explained in ACM's series, "A Cocoa Season in Ghana." Ghana Cocoa Board also recently committed to increasing the producer price—the amount paid to farmers for their cocoa—by about 45% on last season, which should incentivize investment in cocoa farming and hopefully boost production. So we are seeing signs that point to at least a partial recovery from the 2023-24 supply lows, though of course that remains to be seen. We'll learn more from the farmers we speak to across West Africa as the season gets underway in these next few months.

Liz Parker: Any other cocoa predictions for late 2024 or early 2025?

DKL: I'm hopeful for a renewed positive energy for cocoa. The past few years have seen many challenges at farm level, which were magnified by pandemic market disruptions and supply chain challenges from conflict, Panama canal transit restrictions, and other issues. But now as I said there are signs that we might emerge into a more hopeful time. The ACM team is full of energy and optimism, and above all respect for the hard work that happens from farm to factory to bring the world chocolate. We are ready to support buyers and sellers alike through their challenges, and to celebrate their successes. And I hope that those successes will be many in this upcoming season.

Related: African cocoa marketing company launched to ensure fairness across cocoa trade