Barry Callebaut reaches new milestone in sustainable cocoa supply chain

Swiss cocoa products company Barry Callebaut has increased transparency and traceability in its cocoa supply chain by disclosing details about its direct cocoa suppliers in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Cameroon.

As part of this initiative, the Swiss company released a map with the locations of its cooperatives and buying stations from where it directly sources cocoa products.

Barry Callebaut Global Cocoa president Steven Retzlaff said: “By disclosing our direct cocoa suppliers in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Cameroon, we are driving a transparent and traceable cocoa supply chain.”

The map released by the company includes geographical data on cooperatives and districts in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Cameroon.

In addition to details regarding geographical location and cooperative or district name, the map includes details such as certification scheme and the number of farmers it is sourcing from in its supply chain.

Barry Callebaut Global Gourmet head and chief innovation, sustainability and quality officer Pablo Perversi said: “The opening up of the geographical location of the cooperatives and districts we are directly sourcing from to public scrutiny, is proof of the robustness of our approach to exclude cocoa grown in protected forest areas from our direct supply chain.”

Earlier this month, Barry Callebaut collaborated with Japan’s local chocolate manufacturers, artisans, retailers and wholesalers to produce sustainable chocolate for the Japanese market.

As part of this new initiative, Barry Callebaut hosted a virtual press event with Japanese firms, including Morinaga, Yuraku Confectionery, FamilyMart Co., G+ Spread, Le Chocolat De H, Chocolate Design and J Maeda, to voice a shared ambition for a sustainable future.