Chocolate giant's sweet $400M investment in supply chain

Mondelēz International, The largest chocolate company in the world has recently announced their intention to plough over $400 million over the next 10 years into an initiative that will help their suppliers to not only enhance productivity but also significantly improve their sustainability efforts.

Touted as 'Cocoa Life' the initiative is based on the successful Cocoa Partnership programmes that Cadbury (one of their subsidiaries) launched into Ghana, India and the Dominican Republic. Programs which have already assisted thousands of farmers in these countries to boost their own productivity, and therefore profitability, whilst congruently reducing the impact of their work on the environment.

Having committed $70 million worth of investment into its sustainable supply chain programs up until 2018 Cadbury has noted impressive success in Ghana where cocoa yields for farmers taking part in the program are believed to have increased by 20%.

In light of this Mondelēz International has confirmed it will invest around $400 million in similar programs up until the year 2022, including over $100 million which has been specifically dedicated to support over 75,000 farmers in Côte d'Ivoire - the largest cocoa producing country in the world.

In doing this Mondelēz International hope to drastically improve the living and working conditions of 200,000 cocoa farmers around the world. In addition they also aim to accelerate the overall adoption of sustainability best practices that should help to reduce biodiversity loss and soil erosion whilst also enhancing water efficiency and yields.

'I'm proud of Mondelēz International's $400m investment in Cocoa Life – a distinctive, holistic approach to cocoa sustainability that will create a cycle of growth from bean to bar' said Tim Cofer, executive vice president and president for Mondelēz Europe.

'Our mission is to create thriving cocoa communities and help secure the future of the cocoa industry'.

Cofer confirmed the program would target the Côte d'Ivoire, Indonesia, Brazil, Ghana, India and Dominican Republic initially. It would also work in partnership with a number of different NGOs, including the United Nations Development Program, the WWF and the Anti-Slavery International to foster 'a robust set of principles for success and ways to measure progress'.

He also added that as well as committing to education and financing-based efforts to promote more environmentally sustainable farming practices, the initiative would also seek to eradicate child labour and promote community development.

Article posted by Spencer Samaroo, Managing Director, Moo-Lolly-Bar. A true chocoholic, he also is chief editor of I Love USA Candy.


Source: Green Biz

Chocolate Monkeys on display in Paris

An incredibly detailed forest scene made with over five tonnes of couverture chocolate is currently on display in a Parisian chocolate shop.

The lifesize food art, which is meticulous in its every detail, features a five-metre tall tree, complete with sprawling roots and monkeys.

Made by Chocolatier Patrick Roger, the highly impressive and delicate creation has no structural support. According to Roger the size of the pieces and the overall fragility of the chocolate used made it an almost impossible task to acheive.

'It's very risky, because when you carry a piece -- for example yesterday we carried a monkey and it crumbled and then it was completely pulverized' advised Roger.

As impressive as this is, it is not the first chocolate masterpiece Roger has made. In 2009, the man who has been combining a love of chocolate and art for more than 30 years made a reproduction of the Berlin Wall to commemorate the 20th anniversary of its knocking down.

Overall it took over 900 kilos of chocolate to create the artwork and stood 15 metres tall.

Article posted by Spencer Samaroo, Managing Director, Moo-Lolly-Bar. A true chocoholic, he also is chief editor of I Love USA Candy.


Source: Sky News

Cadbury Boost is a favourite amongst UK builders

A recent analysis of the confectionery preferences of builders in the UK construction industry has revealed Cadbury’s Boost to be the most popularly eaten of all chocolate bars.

An examination by VendEase, one of the UK's leading vending machine specialists, of the snacking preferences of over 46,000 construction workers who assisted in the building of the Olympic Park and Village in London has found they collectively bought a whopping 7000 bars a month on average from 25 machines.

Coming out of top ahead of Twirl, Whisper and Snack Shortcake in the favourites list, Cadbury Boost is a smooth textured chocolate flavoured centre with crunchy biscuit pieces surrounded in caramel and covered in Cadbury Milk Chocolate. Weighing in at a hefty 60 grams per bar the product was originally launched in 1985. Famously advertised on television by Reeves and Mortimer the product for many years ran with the slogan 'It's slightly rippled with a flat under-side'. .

Commenting on the survey, VendEase director, Dave Berman said 'The Olympic Park Big Build was a military operation and we’re proud to have played our part in keeping that army of builders marching on its stomach'.

It is not yet known whether VendEase will be sending their vending machines to Rio for the construction process of the 2016 Olympic Games.

Article posted by Spencer Samaroo, Managing Director, Moo-Lolly-Bar. A true chocoholic, he also is chief editor of I Love USA Candy.


Source: Construction Enquirer