Swiss confectionery company Barry Callebaut has launched Horizons range of sustainable cocoa and chocolate products.
These sustainable products are part of an initiative which is aimed at improving the livelihoods of cocoa farmers and their communities. The chocolates are sold with a premium to help improve the living conditions of the cocoa farmers.
The custom premiums go towards the Cocoa Horizons Foundation, which was recently initiated to fund the sustainability activities for cocoa farmers such as training and support, community empowerment through a transparent and authorized process.
The Cocoa Horizons Foundation was established to serve as a platform for chocolate companies to invest in sustainable cocoa. The sustainability activities are managed by Barry Callebaut's expertise.
The company's sustainability team works with cooperatives and its direct sourcing and farms service organizations to execute these activities to benefit the registered farmers and groups. The cocoa produced by the farmers participating in these activities will be marketed as Barry Callebaut's sustainable cocoa and chocolate products.
The products will be sold to food manufacturers, artisanal customers and professionals. The products will feature cocoa beans, cocoa nibs, cocoa liquor, cocoa butter, cocoa powder, and chocolate. The cocoa featured in the products is sourced from Cte d'Ivoire, Ghana and Tanzania.
The latest initiative follows Barry Callebaut's previous Quality Partner Program. With the latest Horizons program, Barry Callebaut intends to improve the reach and impact. The program's main areas of focus include farm productivity and community development and offers transparency in fund utilization and breakdown of premiums.
Traceability of beans from farm to the warehouse is an included feature of the Horizons Cocoa program. The cocoa sustainability activities and the distribution of premiums are reviewed by external sources annually.
Barry Callebaut CEO Antoine de Saint-Affrique said: "I am excited about the development of HORIZONS cocoa and chocolate products, with the focus on supporting our customers on their sustainability journey. We also expect to attract new customers for these sustainable products, thereby scaling impact and driving change in cocoa sustainability globally."
The company has introduced a set of narratives called 'the Cocoa Chronicles' to build awareness among consumers regarding the benefits of cocoa. The company hopes that the move will help the sustainbale products to sell better and help its sustainability initiatives.
In order to make value-addition to their products, Barry Callebaut along with its partners, conducted extensive market research to build a catalogue of stories which coupled facts, statistics to farmer quotes, testimonials and on-the-ground proof points, along with providing inspirational insights in which customers can bring the stories to life.
Customers who purchase the Horizons products will gain complete access to the Chronicles to provide their support to the farmers and their communities.
Recently, Barry Callebaut partnered with Mondelez to expand its Cocoa Life program as part of its commitment to empower 200,000 farmers and invest $400m in Cted'Ivoire and five other cocoa origins by 2022. The program entailed that Mondelez partner with Barry Callebaut and Solidaridad, an NGO, to boost the implementing capacity of its Cocoa Life program.
Under the program, Barry Callebaut was to offer agricultural training and access to inputs to improve cocoa productivity and incomes to farmers, while Solidaridad would work with cocoa communities to design community action plans and implement actions to strengthen livelihoods, empower women and promote children's rights.
Image: Cocoa farmers to benefit from the premiums of Horizons products. Photo: Courtesy of Luisovalles/Wikipedia.
