Australia and New Zealand have become the latest markets in which Mondelez International has launched its Cocoa Life sustainability programme.
Launched in Ghana in 2008 by the then Cadbury Schweppes as the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership, Cocoa Life is the focus of the now Mondelez International’s drive towards a sustainable cocoa supply chain.
Mondelez put fresh impetus behind Cocoa Life in 2016 when it decided to extend the scheme to all Cadbury products sold in the UK and Ireland under a partnership with Fairtrade, although the move meant Dairy Milk products would no longer carry the Fairtrade label, a move that sparked criticism in some campaign quarters.
In response, Mondelez said its tie-up with Fairtrade, which has endorsed Cocoa Life, would see the organisations “working together to secure the long-term future of cocoa farming communities”.
All Cadbury products sold in the UK and Ireland will carry the Cocoa Life branding by 2019 and now Mondelez has formally launched the scheme in two traditionally major markets for Cadbury – Australia and New Zealand.
The first Cadbury block chocolate made in Australia with the Cocoa Life label on its packaging rolled off the production line at its plant in Tasmania earlier this week.
“A vibrant cocoa supply chain is essential for the future of chocolate. Without cocoa, there is no chocolate and without the next cocoa farming generation, there is no cocoa,” Paul Chatfield, associate director for everyday chocolate at the company, said. “The expansion of our Cocoa Life programme means that twice as much Cadbury chocolate will be made with sustainably sourced cocoa in Australia and New Zealand.
“While the Fairtrade logo appeared on our Cadbury Dairy Milk classic block, Cocoa Life will appear across all 18 blocks in the Cadbury Dairy Milk range, and over time, we will also be sourcing Cocoa Life cocoa for our bars and other products such as Freddo and Caramello Koala.”
