From this month, Whittaker’s Chocolate Lovers will change its packaging to reflect the change in cocoa origin.
While Whittaker’s has sourced only Ghanaian cocoa beans to make its chocolate to date, it has now supplemented this with cocoa beans from other parts of Africa that meet its quality and ethical standards.
Matt Whittaker, Whittaker’s co-chief operating officer, said this was about responding prudently to the global cocoa supply shortage.
Cocoa supply in this region decreased by around 40 percent compared to previous years' harvests. This shortage was due to challenges in the supply chain and poor harvests from adverse weather in Africa, where 70 percent of the world’s cocoa is produced.
To maintain a reliable supply, Whittaker’s has established relationships with cocoa cooperatives in several countries.
“We’re pleased to have identified additional sources of cocoa bean supply in Africa that meet our stringent ethical standards, and we plan to blend some of these with our Ghanaian cocoa beans to make our chocolate and maintain the same taste and quality Whittaker’s is known for,” said Whittaker.
“Another thing that won’t change is our commitment to using only 100 percent Rainforest Alliance-certified and fully traceable cocoa beans from anywhere we source from across that continent.”
Rainforest Alliance certifies that cocoa beans are ethically produced and works with cocoa farmers to improve their working conditions. Traceability means that cocoa beans can be traced to the individual farms where they are grown, providing even more transparency about how they are produced.
“In addition to working with Rainforest Alliance to build our relationships further with cocoa cooperatives in other parts of Africa, we will continue to work directly with the cocoa cooperatives from which we source our cocoa, investing in initiatives that support their communities.”
Whittaker’s ongoing commitment to improving conditions for the communities of its cocoa farmers was reflected in projects that included income diversification and initiatives like a climate resilience project to invest in 1000ha of shade trees, which support the longevity of the cocoa tree.
The Whittaker’s team has been working on identifying an additional cocoa bean supply and testing different beans and blends to ensure the same delicious Whittaker’s Chocolate as ever.
“At Whittaker’s, we believe the best is always better, and to make the best chocolate, it all starts with the finest cocoa beans that we know are ethically produced. Chocolate Lovers can be assured that quality has been critical in our decision-making.”
He added they welcomed feedback from chocolate lovers and hoped they agreed it was a great outcome to have better certainty of cocoa supply while maintaining the quality and ethical standards Whittaker’s is known for.
“We wanted to be upfront with Whittaker’s Chocolate Lovers about why we need a more diverse cocoa supply chain. The global cocoa shortage looks set to continue, which is also unfortunately likely to have ongoing impacts on the price of all chocolate into the future.”
