“The amazing story of how small scale cocoa farmers in
Ghana came to own 45% of Divine Chocolate Ltd.”
Social Enterprise
Divine Chocolate Limited
The Best Social Enterprise 2007
Social Enterprise
SOCIAL ENTERPRISE = MISSION DRIVEN BUSINESS
Mission
The heart of what they do
It is what gives them their reason to be
It makes them good at what they do
It gives them their competitive edge
It defines where the money goes
Divine Chocolate ltd
Mission
Founded in 1998 to
Improve the lives and opportunities of small-scale cocoa
farmers in West Africa by establishing a dynamic, branded
fair trade chocolate marketing company in the large UK
chocolate market thus putting the farmers higher up the
value chain.
The Chocolate market
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Average person in the UK eats 16kg
Very mature and competitive market
Dominated by 4 companies
3 companies share 80% of the market
UK Chocolate market worth £3.6 billion
World Cocoa market only £2.14 billion
Divine Chocolate Ltd
Objectives
• To take a quality and affordable range of fair trade
chocolate bars into the mainstream market.
• To raise awareness of fair trade issues among UK retailers,
consumers of all age groups
• To be highly visible and vocal in the chocolate sector and
thereby act as a catalyst for change
• To pay a fair trade price for all the cocoa used in products
Kuapa Kokoo
Farmers Union
A Co-operative of Ghanaian Cocoa Farmers
• Established in 1993 in response to
liberalisation
• 2000 members in 22 village societies
• Work with the cocoa farmers to ensure
quality
• Now 45,000 members in 1,200 village
societies
• Democratically organised
• Voted in 1997 AGM to set up a chocolate
company in UK
Divine partners
TWIN TRADING
• Founders of cafédirect, Coffee traders
• Working with producers to develop new products for
new markets
• PS&D, Agricultural & Business advice
THE BODY SHOP INTERNATIONAL
• Significant customer base sympathetic to the message
• Good products with strong values
• Community Trade partnership & traceable sourcing
Divine partners
CHRISTIAN AID
• 200,000 committed supporters
• Fantastic access to community networks and supporters
COMIC RELIEF
• History of support for Kuapa Kokoo
• Incredible brand awareness
• Celebrity endorsement
DFID
• Bi-lateral support for Ghana
• Guaranteed a bank loan
Latest News
• July 2006 Body Shop International donated their shares to
Kuapa Kokoo, 14 ordinary shares and 250,000 preference
shares.
• Sept 2006 Oikocredit invested £500,000 for 15 shares
• Sept 2006 Divine Chocolate Inc USA incorporated
• 14th February 2007 Divine Chocolate Inc launched
• April 2007 Divine announced its first Dividend £500 a share
Divine Owners
Kuapa Kokoo
Ordinary
Shares
55 shares
Preference
Shares
283,605
Twin Trading
52 shares
379,375
Oikocredit
15 shares
Christian Aid
150,000
Fairtrade Cocoa
• Guaranteed Independent International Guarantee giving
consumers confidence in the claim – Annual audit &
monitoring
• minimum price of $1,600 per tonne providing long term
security
• Social premium of $150 per tonne to be invested in
community projects Long term contracts providing security
• Guaranteed minimum health and safety conditions
• Education and training
Kuapa kokoo
recorder
How Kuapa kokoo
is structured
Kuapa Kokoo Farmers Union
Kuapa Kokoo Ltd
Kuapa Kokoo Farmers Trust
Kuapa Kokoo Credit Union
Divine Chocolate Ltd
Kuapa Kokoo
water well
Kuapa Kokoo
Schools
Kuapa Kokoo
Women’s empowerment
Divine Chocolate
• Creamy smooth milk chocolate developed to appeal to
British palate
• First mainstream Fairtrade chocolate bar
• Natural ingredients and certified GM Free
• 7 Divine varieties of 100g and 4 Divine
45g bars
• First ever Fairtrade chocolate advent calendar
• Divine Mini Eggs and Divine chocolate coins and Divine
drinking chocolate
• Stocked in Tescos, Sainsbury’s, ASDA, Waitrose, Co-op,
wholesales and Independent and Wholefood shops
Divine Chocolate
Divine marketing
• First ever Fairtrade TV advertising campaign featuring Ben
Elton
• Covermounted on BBC Good Food magazine and Party
magazine
• Ongoing women’s monthly magazine coverage, Elle, Eve,
She
• Stoc the Choc with Christian Aid
• Innovative activity with key Fairtrade
audience, e.g Divine poetry competition
• Farmers Tour of UK to engage with
consumers, supermarkets and media
• www.divinechocolate.com
• National Consumer Advertising
• 40g smooth milk chocolate crispy crunch countline bar with
added Comic Relief
• Real cocoa butter and GM ingredients free
• Affordable price
• Money can’t buy promotions – Celebrity Big Brother
• Dubble Vision Competition – Nickleodeon, Samantha
Mumba
• Award winning Teachers pack www.papapaa.org
• Dubble Agents: unique Fairtrade fan club with over
• 55,000 members signed up through
• Latest campaign MISSION:POSSIBLE
www.dubble.co.uk
What Divine Chocolate Ltd
success looks like
2004/05
Turnover
£7,673,298
Profit
£497,481
Sales Growth
36%
2005/06
£8,988,071
£453,091
18%
2006/07
£10,702,500
£434,554
19%
PROFITABLE WITH GOOD GROWTH
What Divine Chocolate ltd
success looks like
Purchase of Kuapa Kokoo Fairtrade cocoa beans
2004/05
Tonnes FT Price Social Premium
996
$1,593,600
$149,400
PS&D
£107,426
2005/06
1165
$1,864,000
$174,750
£125,832
2006/07
1420
$2,272,000
$213,000
£149,835
April 2007 Divine announced its first Dividend £500 a share
SIGNIFICANT BENEFITS TO FARMERS
2007 Highlights
FY2005/06 - Divine Chocolate announced its first dividend.
As co-owners Kuapa Kokoo benefited by sharing in the profits.
What we are trying to address
through ownership
• We are trying to address how poor people can access
more of the value they have indirectly generated
• Alternative is charity which is arbitrary
• Ownership formalizes the relevant contributions and
distribution of income
Benefits of ownership to
the farmers
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Sole supplier of cocoa
A Fairtrade price for their cocoa
Share of the profits, Kuapa Kokoo own 45% of Divine
Seats on the Board
Influence over the end product in the market place
Status - every member owns shares in a UK Company
Capacity Building – understanding the trading chain
Develops business skills & reputation
No one really thought it was
possible
But, they would like to live in a world where it was …
so through
Partnership
Passion
Persistence
The Divine Chocolate has established a market for
a company co-owed by small holder cocoa farmers in one
of the most competitive and mature markets in the world.