Madagascan chocolate brand Madécasse has announced a new sampling campaign to coincide with Fairtrade Fortnight.
The producer will look to raise awareness of the disparity between the 70% of cocoa that is produced in Africa and the sub-1% of chocolate products made on the continent, during two tasting sessions at a London outlet of one of its stockists.
The company will also unveil a month-long window display at the Whole Foods store and donate 2% of its sales during March to the Whole Planet Foundation, which seeks to use microcredit projects to alleviate poverty in some of the world’s poorest countries. The campaign is designed to coincide with Fairtrade Fortnight, which runs until 8 March.
The bookable tastings will include a Madécasse goody bag, beer pairings from three-time beer writer of the year Ben McFarland, and an address from the company’s co-founder Brett Beach on the company’s history and work in a beautiful yet poverty-stricken country.
Whole Foods chocolate buyer Ben Woodgate said: “It’s great to be working closely with Madécasse and have Brett over to help raise awareness and money for such great causes. The chocolate itself is incredible and the company’s ethos and “Fair for life” credentials make it a win-win for our discerning but socially conscious consumer.”
Its announcement follows the news that sales of Fairtrade products have fallen for the first time in the organisation’s 20-year history – a decline blamed on a reduction in spending within the wider groceries sector.
“Our main concern now is that increasingly aggressive competitive behaviour in the grocery sector could undermine the volumes farmers and workers are able to sell on Fairtrade terms,” the Fairtrade Foundation’s chief executive, Michael Gidney, is reported to have said on Monday.
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