A good honest update: Managing challenges in global cocoa supply

At Whittaker’s, we live by the belief that best is always better. That’s why we go to the ends of the earth to find the finest quality, ethically sourced cocoa to make delicious chocolate.​

To deliver on our promise of bringing you the best, from time-to-time we have to make some changes, and we want to ensure you are among the first to know. While Whittaker’s has to date sourced only Ghanaian cocoa beans to make our chocolate, we are now supplementing this with cocoa beans that meet our quality and ethical standards from other parts of Africa. ​

From November, Whittaker’s Chocolate Lovers will see changes to our packaging to reflect the cocoa origin change. Rest assured, the cocoa beans we are using are still 100% Rainforest Alliance Certified and fully traceable.​

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.​

“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.”

The Rainforest Alliance not only certifies that the cocoa beans we are using are ethically produced, but also works with cocoa farmers on the ground in Africa to help improve their working conditions. Working with the Rainforest Alliance over the years, we have also achieved 100% traceability of our cocoa beans to farm level. ​

“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,” says Matt.​

These projects have included providing safer and clean drinking water to communities in Ghana and building washrooms in local schools. The 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 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,” says Matt.​

As always, we will continue to keep you updated and welcome feedback from our Chocolate Lovers. We hope you agree that it is a great outcome to have better certainty of cocoa supply, while maintaining the quality and ethical standards Whittaker’s is known for.