OUR COMMITMENT TO RESPONSIBLY SOURCED COCOA
At Ferrero, the cocoa we use is sourced through independently managed standards such as Rainforest Alliance, Cocoa Horizons, Fairtrade and others. Cocoa is a key ingredient in our products, and we’re committed to actively contributing to a responsible cocoa supply chain and to tracing cocoa beans back to farmer groups.
What is cocoa?
Chocolate is made from cocoa, which is derived from cocoa pods which grow on cacao trees. Every pod contains dozens of large seeds, and when these are put through a special fermenting and drying process, they become cocoa beans. Cocoa is produced in the tropical zones of Africa, South America and Asia by four to five million smallholder farmers. When cocoa beans are delivered to our manufacturing plants, they must then pass meticulous quality checks before being accepted and used in our products. We expertly blend cocoa with other ingredients, such as milk, to create our iconic products.
How does Ferrero source its cocoa?
We mainly source cocoa beans that we then process at our own Ferrero plants, which requires specific know-how and is a distinctive feature of our quality promise. 98% of the cocoa we use is traceable to farmer groups and we are working towards greater traceability, using technology to map farms and sourcing areas so that we know their location, size, and productivity.
Is Ferrero’s cocoa responsibly sourced?
We’re committed to ethical and responsible sourcing, throughout our supply chain and across all our key ingredients, including cocoa. We actively collaborate with others and have been long-term members of the World Cocoa Foundation and the International Cocoa Initiative, and we are founding members of the Cocoa & Forests Initiative.
We also support local communities through our partnership with Save the Children and our sustainability programme, which focuses on three areas: Improving the livelihoods of farmers and communities, protecting children’s rights, and safeguarding the natural capital.
Ferrero, Quality at heart.
