Cargill is increasing the range and availability of its certified sustainable cocoa and chocolate products for customers in North America. The products are the latest addition to the company’s sustainable cocoa product portfolio as part of its commitment to supporting sustainable cocoa and chocolate, backed by the Cargill Cocoa Promise.
Cargill’s Gerkens® cocoa powders, as well as its Peter’s®, Wilbur® and Veliche® chocolate brands will now be available with certification options, including UTZ Certified, Rainforest Alliance Certified™ and Fairtrade certification.
The Cargill Cocoa Promise is the company’s commitment to the development of a sustainable cocoa supply chain and to meeting the growing demand for sustainable cocoa beans by making a difference in three key areas: improving the lives of cocoa farmers; supporting cocoa farming communities; and investing in the future of cocoa farming. The company’s long-term approach for a sustainable supply chain uses certification and labels as an enabler to help raise standards and to provide farmers with financial incentives.
“We are now able to provide our North American customers the additional benefit of sustainable certification for the high-quality products and brands they rely on. It means manufacturers will be able to offer products to their consumers with greater reassurance they have been produced sustainably and that they are making a positive difference to smallholder cocoa farmers," said Bryan Wurscher, president of Cargill’s cocoa and chocolate business in North America.
Cargill is training more than 60,000 farmers in Côte d'Ivoire and 15,000 in Ghana and is on target to source over 100,000 tons of certified sustainable cocoa beans from Côte d’Ivoire by 2015—making its program the largest of its kind in the country. It has also extended its activities to other major cocoa producing markets, including Cameroon, Brazil, Vietnam and Indonesia.
