Though Africa supplies 70 percent of the world’s cocoa, the “statistical equivalent of 0 percent” of the world’s chocolate is produced there, says Tim McCollum, founder of Beyond Good. He's hoping to change that.

Nestlé UK and Ireland will begin sourcing Rainforest Alliance-certified cocoa for the KitKat brand in October 2020 after a decade of sourcing Fairtrade-certified cocoa.

Fairtrade International’s West Africa Programme is training more cocoa farmers, generating greater understanding of Fairtrade Standards and selling more Fairtrade cocoa after intensive training, according to a new report the organization released last week.

Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate’s 2018-2019 Sustainability Progress Report highlights the company’s efforts to improve transparency and the lives of cocoa farmers in Brazil, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Indonesia.

Fairtrade International says sales of Fairtrade-certified cocoa from Côte d’Ivoire in the fourth quarter of 2019 increased farmers’ earnings by approximately $15.1 million compared to non-Fairtrade cocoa.

Barry Callebaut has announced that in fiscal year 2018/19 it sourced 51 percent of its ingredients sustainably, up from 44 percent the previous year.

Olam Cocoa has launched the Cocoa Compass program, designed to support the creation of an environmentally positive, professionalized and quality focused cocoa supply chain.

Cocoa organizations in Ghana and Cote D’Ivoire now say sustainability programs carried out by chocolate makers and confectionery companies can work in harmony with the new per-tonne living income differential the countries established in July.

Cocoa organizations in Cote D’Ivoire and Ghana are reviewing the status of all cocoa sustainability and certification programs to put greater emphasis on implementing the living income differential the countries established in July.

Jason Harty, Theo’s chief marketing officer, recently spoke with Candy Industry about the thought process behind the brand’s latest redesign, as well as the importance of supporting cocoa farmers.