Whittaker’s has to date sourced only Ghanaian cocoa beans to make its chocolate but is now supplementing this with cocoa beans that meet the company’s quality and ethical standards from other parts of Africa – new packaging will reflect the cocoa origin change from next month.
Whittaker’s co-chief operating officer, Matt Whittaker, says this is about responding prudently to the global cocoa supply shortage due to challenges in the supply chain and poor harvests from the effects of adverse weather in Africa, where 70% of the world’s cocoa is produced. Cocoa supply in this region is down around 40% on previous years’ harvests.
To maintain reliable supply, Whittaker’s is establishing 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.
“Another thing that won’t change is our commitment to using only 100% Rainforest Alliance-certified and fully traceable cocoa beans from anywhere we source from across that continent,” says Whittaker.
Rainforest Alliance not only certifies that cocoa beans are ethically produced but also works with cocoa farmers on the ground to help improve their working conditions. Traceability means all the cocoa beans can be traced right down to the individual farms where they are grown, providing even more transparency around 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 also continue to work directly with the cocoa cooperatives that we source our cocoa from, investing in initiatives that support their communities,” he says.
Whittaker’s ongoing commitment to improving conditions for the communities of its cocoa farmers is reflected in projects that include income diversification (training farmers how they can increase funds by growing fruits and vegetables) 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 for some time on identifying additional cocoa bean supply and on testing different beans and blends to ensure it is the “same delicious Whittaker’s Chocolate as ever”.
“At Whittaker’s, we believe 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 absolutely critical in our decision-making.
“As always, we welcome feedback from our Chocolate Lovers and hope they agree it is a great outcome to have better certainty of cocoa supply, while maintaining the quality and ethical standards Whittaker’s is known for,” says Whittaker.
“We wanted to be upfront with Whittaker’s Chocolate Lovers about why we need to have a more diverse cocoa supply chain. The reality is that 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.”
