Verkade has a new chocolate bar flavor: Hazelnut & Caramel
Good news from the chocolate front. All the cocoa in Verkade’s chocolate bars and biscuits is now Fairtrade. And they’re celebrating with the introduction of a new chocolate bar flavor: Hazelnut & Caramel.
In the Netherlands, we eat 4.5 kilos of chocolate per person every year. Not eating Fairtrade chocolate is not an option as far as I’m concerned—it leaves a really bitter taste; millions of cocoa farmers and their families still live in poverty and face widespread child labor and deforestation.
Fairtrade premium
Two-thirds of global cocoa production (4.5 million tons) comes from West Africa, specifically Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. Yet only 6% of cocoa worldwide is Fairtrade. Fairtrade has been working for years to improve the position of cocoa farmers and helps farmers and workers in Africa, Latin America and Asia to secure a better place in the supply chain, so they can make a living from their work and invest in a sustainable future. More than 440,000 cocoa farmers, united in cooperatives, are affiliated with Fairtrade worldwide.
Cocoa cooperatives receive at least the Fairtrade minimum price for the cocoa they can sell under Fairtrade conditions. On top of that, farmers’ and workers’ organizations receive a development premium, which they can spend as they see fit, for example on improving production, medical care or education.
Verkade Hazelnut & Caramel
Verkade’s switch to Fairtrade already started in 2021, enabling Verkade to generate an estimated (based on 3 quarters) €200,000 Fairtrade premium for cocoa farmers’ cooperatives in almost one year. So it’s a great time to launch a new bar. And this one features rich, creamy milk chocolate with pieces of hazelnut and crunchy caramel. The new bar (111 grams) costs less than two euros and is available at Albert Heijn and Jumbo, among others.
