Our Cocoa
Knowing the source of our Cocoa
Our quality cocoa comes mainly from the Ivory Coast and Ghana, two countries that together account for about 65% of world cocoa production. We use complex tracing systems, including technology that allows us to map farms and sourcing areas as well as programmes on the ground. This also helps us in our commitment to deforestation prevention, conduct trainings for farmers in good agricultural practices and drive lasting, positive change in local communities.
Basic Requirements
and Beyond
As of January 2021, all of the cocoa for Ferrero products is sourced through leading certification bodies and other independently managed standards such as Rainforest Alliance (UTZ), Fairtrade, and others. Sourcing sustainable cocoa and ensuring traceability are basic requirements of Ferrero’s approach. Ferrero goes beyond by implementing various initiatives aimed at improving farmer livelihoods, protecting children’s rights, and safeguarding the environment.
Partnerships for progress
Ferrero is a longtime member of the World Cocoa Foundation and the International Cocoa Initiative and a founding member of the Cocoa & Forests Initiative aimed at tackling deforestation. In 2020 Ferrero announced its intention to support two public-private initiatives, the Child Learning and Education Facility (CLEF), and the Early Learning and Nutrition Facility (ELAN), that aim to promote quality education and early childhood development for over 6 million children in Ivory Coast.
Ferrero’s partnership with Save the Children
Ferrero, extending its partnership with Save the Children that was started in 2017, has committed in 2021 to an €8 million project to last 5 years that is expected to directly benefit 37,000 children and adults. The holistic programme will strengthen child protection systems, increase access to quality education and nutrition, support community development and empower women and adolescents.
Improving the sustainability of our Cocoa
From the farms where our cocoa is grown and harvested, to the consumers enjoying our delicious products, is a long journey. During each step of that journey, Ferrero is present to ensure together with its partners, that the cocoa meets our high standards and to continuously improve the environmental and social sustainability of cocoa production.
Tracing our cocoa
to the farm
Ferrero achieves very high traceability of its cocoa from farms to consumers. This is due to its distinctive approach of sourcing the far majority of its cocoa as raw beans, keeping them separate, and then processing them in Ferrero’s own plants. As such, we know which farms the cocoa comes from, which helps to identify issues and drive positive change on the ground together with cooperatives and farmers.
Supporting Women and Empowering Communities
Women in cocoa growing communities are key agents not only for economic, environmental and social change but importantly for ensuring the protection of children. We support women’s empowerment and reduce gender inequality through our targeted programmes and partnerships. To date, with Ferrero’s support, nearly one thousand Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLA) have been established, providing thousands of women with access to small loans to support entrepreneurial activities and training to set up and manage a business.
Partnering with ECOOKIM
For many years, Ferrero has partnered with the Entreprise Coopérative Kimbre, or ECOOKIM, a farming cooperative in Côte d’Ivoire to improve farming and farmers' incomes and community support. An important element of the support that this programme brings is supporting women empowerment. The cooperative has involved women’s groups in setting up tree nurseries, which nurture a wide range of fruit and timber tree seedlings until they are 50cm-1m high. The nurseries provide women with an additional source of income as well as building local agroforestry capacity and improving biodiversity.
Supporting Farmers
Improving cocoa farming practices is important for farmers as it will support them in earning more income. On top of the commercial price, farmers also receive a cash premium. Training for sustainable cocoa production is popular amongst farmers and Ferrero supports investments in these Farmer Field Schools to recruit technicians for trainings.
Diversifying farm income
Cocoa doesn’t provide an income year-round by itself, and often it isn’t sufficient to provide farmers with a decent standard of living. Ferrero supports farmers to diversify their income by planting other crops on their farm such as fruit and timber trees, beekeeping and honey production as well as livestock farming and by setting up income generating activities off-farm.
Farmer Field Schools
At our Farmer Field Schools, farmers receive training in good agricultural, social and environmental practices. Additionally, we provide individual and tailored coaching and support a large segment of our farmers to help them professionalise and diversify their operations.
Quality checks
Cocoa harvests differ from year to year and so does the quality and characteristics of the crop. We use our experience to define the best blends to ensure the quality and delicious taste of Ferrero Rocher. The farmers bring their cocoa in jute bags to the nearby purchasing point, often a small warehouse. This is where the beans will undergo their first of many quality checks until they arrive at our factories.
