Mondelez India, one of India’s leading snacking companies, said that Cadbury chocolate brands like Cadbury Dairy Milk, Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk, Cadbury Bournville, Cadbury Dark Milk, and Cadbury Temptations will now carry the Cocoa Life logo on the front of our packs.
The Cocoa Life programme is the company’s commitment and promises to be sourcing sustainable cocoa for chocolate in India. Cocoa Life is Mondelez International’s cocoa sustainability program that helps communities thrive in six key cocoa-growing origins―Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Indonesia, the Dominican Republic, and Brazil, in addition to India.
The company introduced cocoa farming in India, 55+ years ago in the four states of South India – Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, & Tamil Nadu, and has reached 100,000 cocoa farmers over the years.
Cocoa Life programme
Commenting on this milestone, Anil Viswanathan, Senior Director – Marketing, Mondelez India, said, “At Mondelēz International, we are passionate about chocolates. Cocoa is the essence of our chocolate and vital to our business, so we ensure it is “made right”. Making it right means helping the cocoa farmers gain knowledge and skills to improve their livelihoods, strengthen their communities and inspire the next generation of cocoa farmers. Through the Cocoa Life programme, we are creating a movement for lasting change, rooted in deep understanding through sector-wide collaboration and partnership. We believe that consumers are looking for their most trusted brands to have a point of view on Sustainability. Cocoa Life will thus become another strong pillar for Cadbury to strengthen its purpose of Generosity. When our consumers choose chocolates with the Cocoa Life logo, they have contributed meaningfully to a sustainable future of our planet and our communities.”
Helping 100,000 farmers
The Cocoa Life programme in India has been active since 1965 and has already reached out to a community of more than 100,000 farmers, helping them understand and subsequently adopt the art of cocoa farming. The company today sources a large part of its cocoa requirements indigenously and is the single largest corporate organization to nurture and promote cocoa cultivation in India. The initiative roots from the company’s global vision to transform the lives and livelihoods of cocoa farmers and their communities, and to inspire the next generation.
Chocolate brands can source their cocoa from Cocoa Life
“Cocoa Life builds on our proud legacy and over five decades-long relationships with India’s cocoa farming community, providing us with an opportunity to locally source cocoa beans in India. Through this program, we want to extend our relationship beyond being just a buyer to a fully committed partner for all our cocoa farmers and their communities. We also foresee India playing a very crucial role in the overall strategy of scaling the program even further, globally, so that by 2025, all chocolate brands can source their cocoa from Cocoa Life.” said Roopak Bhat, Cocoa Operations Lead – India, Mondelēz International.
Globally, through its interventions so far, Cocoa Life has worked on the ground with the men and women who make their living from cocoa to turn cocoa farming into a resilient business, successfully supporting more than 188,000 farmers across the six key cocoa-growing countries, creating inclusive communities and conserving the environment. By 2025, all chocolate brands of Mondelēz International, globally, will source their cocoa through Cocoa Life. Currently, 68% of the company’s total cocoa volume for chocolate brands is sourced via Cocoa Life.