1. Divine Chocolate: A Fairtrade company co-owned by cocoa farmers A Case Study in Social Enterprise

2. The amazing story of how small scale cocoa farmers in Ghana came to own 45% of Divine Chocolate Ltd

3. A business is a legal entity that provides products or services to consumers. Most are privately owned and exist to make money for their owners. Businesses provide products and services that have to meet the needs of consumers. Let’s look at conventional business first  Divine Chocolate is a chocolate company.  Making a good quality product that consumers want to buy is the starting point for everything Divine Chocolate does.

4. In other words, it’s a marriage between business drive and social mission Divine Chocolate aims to ‘walk the talk’; in other words, the brand values reflect the business as a whole At Divine Chocolate the farmers are shareholders too, taking social enterprise to a new level; making a profit becomes a core element of meeting social objectives Divine Chocolate has been a pioneer in the fair trade movement, demonstrating how success can be achieved with an alternative model for business Finally, Divine Chocolate is first and foremost a business that makes and sells delicious chocolate! So what is a Social Enterprise One definition is… “A social enterprise is a business with primarily social objectives whose surpluses are principally reinvested for that purpose in the business or in the community rather than being driven by the need to maximise profit for shareholders and owners.” Source: UK DTI

5. So What is Divine’s Social Mission? Improving the lives of cocoa farmers Divine Chocolate’s mission is to improve the livelihoods of West African cocoa farmers by creating a branded chocolate proposition that puts farmers higher up the value chain

6. There are 1.4 billion smallholder farmers who support 2 billion people – nearly a third of humanity In Ghana domestic markets for crops such as rice and tomatoes are threatened because the EU, US, and even China, are importing their subsidised crops to Ghana Crops grown for foreign markets (eg cocoa) provide export earnings but the farmers often see little of the value from the end product (i.e. chocolate) Unfair trade is one of many factors which threatens the livelihood of small scale farmers, including cocoa farmers Why cocoa farmers? Like other small scale farmers, cocoa farmers remain poor Other threats to small scale farmers Fluctuating oil prices Rising food prices Agrofuels Climate change

7. Ghanaian cocoa farmers typically earn less than £1 each day Farmers have little control over the price they receive for their cocoa beans Wanting to gain more control, farmers pooled resources to create a co- operative of cocoa farmers, known as the Kuapa Kokoo Farmers Union Kuapa Kokoo means ‘good cocoa farmer’ in Twi, the language of the cocoa farmers The Divine Story Begins with cocoa farmers in Africa...

8. Together the farmers of Kuapa Kokoo provide nearly 1% of world cocoa output Around 20% of beans are sold to Fairtrade buyers The Fairtrade market is not yet large enough for them to be able to sell all their beans this way As demand for Fairtrade products rise farmers will be able to sell more of their crop through Fairtrade channels The Divine Story The Kuapa Kokoo Farmers Union In 1997 Kuapa Kokoo made the major and innovative decision to set up a chocolate company in the UK in order to get more value from their cocoa The Kuapa Kokoo slogan, Pa Pa Paa, means “best of the best”

9. The Divine Story …Then moves to the UK where Divine is created Divine produces and sells chocolate sourced solely from Fairtrade cocoa beans bought from Kuapa Kokoo Farmers sell Fairtrade cocoa beans to Divine Chocolate The better Divine performs the more it can spend on improving the supply chain, paying dividends to shareholders and on education The more Fairtrade beans are sold the more the farmers income increases and the more social premium is earned to the benefit of the community

10. The Divine Story objectives combine business drive and social mission To make and sell delicious chocolate Divine aims to sell a quality and affordable range of Fairtrade chocolate bars in the mainstream market Competing in the mainstream market is a challenge but also gives credibility To be a bridge between consumers and producers Raising awareness of fair trade issues among UK retailers and consumers of all age groups To act as a passionate advocate for a trading system that brings dignity and respect to all its participants To be vocal, acting as a catalyst for change To be visible in the debate about fair trade Includes paying a Fairtrade price for all the cocoa used in products

11. …VERY BIG! A very mature and competitive market Globally dominated by six companies Global chocolate market worth £43 billion Global cocoa market £5 billion The average person in the UK eats 10kg each year which is the highest per capita consumption in the world In the UK three companies share 70% of the market: Cadbury’s, Mars and Nestle The Divine Story the chocolate market is… The average UK family spends more on chocolate in a year than a cocoa farmer earns in a year

12. Partnership based Committed to Fairtrade Ownership The Divine Story How is the Divine business model different?

13. The Divine product range 36 Products

14. The Importance of Great marketing Divine does advertising with ethics

15. Marketing Divine Earlier Creative images

16. The Divine Story Marketing – tapping into key trade events

17. Marketing Divine Use of Celebrity endorsement

18. A Story Within a Story The Dubble Bar … boldly going where no chocolate has gone before! In 2000, Comic Relief joined forces with Divine Chocolate Ltd to make the first Fairtrade product for young people – Dubble! Over 10 million Dubble bars have been sold and the Dubble family has also hatched an Easter egg and mini-eggs Over 50,000 young supporters of Fairtrade have signed up as Dubble Agents to change the world, chunk by chunk! www.dubble.co.uk is a source of fun and facts about Fairtrade for young people

19. YearTurnoverProfitSales Growth 2007/08£12,376,340£330,18416% Profitable with good sales growth Able to pay dividends to shareholders What Success looks Like For Divine Chocolate But sales and profits are only one measure of success

20. What Success looks Like Divine Chocolate income to kuapa kokoo YearFairtrade sales Fairtrade Premium Producer support Shared profits 2007/08$2,664,000$249,750£214,050£47,352 Kuapa Kokoo sold 1,665 tonnes of Fairtrade cocoa beans to Divine Chocolate in 2007/08 Four incomes streams altogether from Divine to Kuapa Kokoo “For us, farmer ownership always made Divine Chocolate special. For the first time our members benefit as owners of a wonderful chocolate brand, and not only as suppliers of excellent fairly traded cocoa.” Mr Ohemeng Tinyase, MD of Kuapa Kokoo Ltd until 2009

21. What Success looks Like for the community – water wells

22. What Success looks Like for the farmers’ children - schools

23. What Success looks Like For women - empowerment Comfort Kumeah Chair of Farmers Trust

24. What Success looks Like for the cocoa farmers themselves Ownership in Divine Tangible benefits for farmers Move up value chain Sit on the Divine Board Part of decision-making process Profit share Access to capital Intangible benefits for farmers Pride Respect Status Reputation Inclusion Knowledge A ‘seat at the table’

25. Divine Chocolate Limited has shown that it is possible for small holder farmers from Africa to co-own a successful company in one of the most competitive and mature markets in the world in Summary

26. Now its up to you.... Why not… Tell your family, friends and neighbours about Divine chocolate Take part in the STOCK THE CHOC campaign http://www.dubble.co.uk/stock_the_choc http://www.dubble.co.uk/stock_the_choc –Take action through the Chocolate Challenge Manifesto –Sign up to be a Dubble Agent and get on a MISSION:POSSIBLE Hold a chocolate tasting event with Divine chocolate Sign a petition asking local shops to stock Fairtrade chocolate Estimate what you spend on chocolate each year and what you could do with your ‘buying power’

27. A Decade of Divine “With ‘Divine’ we all show that there is a way, where people from the industrial nations and people of the non-developed countries are working successfully hand in hand…” Corde Budde, chocolate manufacturer "We'd walk 500 miles for Divine - but fortunately we can get it in our local shop. Happy Birthday and keep up the good work“ The Proclaimers “Divine has surpassed expectations and proved a beacon to all those working and praying for a better world…” Daleep Mukarji, Director, Christian Aid “I am more respected in my community and my organization through my involvement with Divine Chocolate…” Comfort Kumeah, cocoa farmer