Lidl Belgium has launched 'Way to Go', a new range of 'super fair', private-label chocolate SKUs that offer Ghanaian cocoa farmers an extra premium above the Fairtrade price.
Priced at €1.99 per unit, the chocolate is available in four variants: milk, pure, caramel, sea salt, and pecan coconut.
Sustainable Chocolate
The initiative is part of Lidl Belgium's commitment to increase the sustainability of its chocolate supply chain by 10% every year.
Around 440 Ghanaian cocoa farmers will receive the added premium, in addition to training and support facilities.
Collaboration
The supermarket chain has collaborated with Fairtrade, Rikolto (formerly known as Vredeseilanden), and the cooperative Kuapa Kokoo on the new launch.
Kuapa Kokoo supports farmers to grow sustainable and environmentally friendly cocoa.
CEO of Lidl Belgium, Boudewijn van den Brand, commented, "Whoever buys our super fair trade chocolate helps the cocoa farmer make his life and the world even better. [...] By working with Kuapa Kokoo, we give consumers the guarantee that part of the money they pay for the chocolate in the store goes directly to the farmers."
Beyond Chocolate
In December 2018, Lidl, along with dozens of other companies, co-signed the 'Beyond Chocolate' charter, which seeks to encourage Belgian chocolate makers to switch to 100% sustainable chocolate by 2025 and create a viable source of income for all cocoa farmers by 2030.
Belgium's outgoing deputy prime minister and minister of development cooperation, Alexander De Croo, who co-started the charter, said, "One year after the launch of Beyond Chocolate, it is fantastic and encouraging to see how Lidl realises sustainable goals.
"And the story goes beyond the fair remuneration of cocoa farmers, where consumers also help to tackle child labour and combat deforestation."
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
