Where does the Necaayo chocolate come from?
The cocoa beans come from the Ivory Coast, from the Necaayo cooperative, from which Delica has been sourcing its Ivorian cocoa beans since 2012.
Necaayo, is the name of the cooperative founded in 2009, and its full name is “Nouvelle Entreprise Coopérative Agricole Anouanzè d’Oupoyo”. Translated, this means as much as “New agricultural cooperative of the unity of the region of Oupoyo (Ivory Coast)”.
The Necaayo farmers’ cooperative, based in southwestern Côte d’Ivoire, organizes some 1,200 cocoa producers, around 600 of whom produce exclusively for Delica. They live in small villages spread over eight municipalities around the village of Guiré, just under two hours from the port city of San Pedro. The cocoa for the Delica is produced according to Rainforest Alliance standards. The standard advocates for more sustainable cocoa farming and higher yields for cocoa farmers. They receive training and are supported with production resources and an additional bonus.
How is the collaboration between Delica and MGB in developing such a product?
Under the motto “winning together”, we were able to implement this project together for the first time as part of the DtV (Design to Value) process. This project shows that a new era has begun in the cooperation between Migros and Migros Industrie!
The project was realized in a very short time, this could only work through a perfect hand-in-hand work. The project team was diverse on all sides.
By the way, we, the Delica with Migros, were able to crown the success in this project with a first-time internal launch event!
Can you also tell us something about the history of the collaboration between Delica and Necaayo?
A well-known NGO denounced the Swiss chocolate industry in 2009. There is child labor in their supply chain, namely in the Ivory Coast! As a result, hardly any Swiss chocolate producers wanted to buy more cocoa from the Ivory Coast – but we did! Chocolat Frey took it as its mission not to ignore the grievances in the countries of origin, but to help solve them.
So we set out to find a reliable partner from whom we could exclusively source all our Ivorian cocoa beans. Simply because we need to know where the cocoa beans from the Ivory Coast come from. In the Necaayo cooperative we had finally found this partner. And this was the beginning of the long-standing partnership between us, Chocolat Frey – now Delica AG – and the Necaayo farmers’ cooperative, from which we now exclusively source around 1,500 tons per year.
How did you come up with the idea to start this project chocolate?
In the spirit of “do good and talk about it,” Delica was eager to find a way to communicate about this matter of the heart. Now, in recent years, consumer needs have turned more and more toward sustainability. Here we are not only talking about ecological sustainability, but also about social sustainability. A good point to “go for it” once again together as Migros Industrie and Migros and so the project chocolate CÔTE D’IVOIRE was born.
Indulgence and sustainability are two big customer needs in the chocolate category. With the launch of this new line, we combine these two elements. In this way, we also make the producers in the countries of origin of the cocoa more visible.
50 centimes go to Africa, where exactly? To orphanages, to build wells, etc.?
With above-average Rainforest Alliance premium payments, which we have distributed during the 10-year partnership with Necaayo, various general-benefit projects have already been implemented at the origin, such as the construction of schools, health stations, drinking fountains, farmer training, etc.
With the additional donation of 0.50 francs per table, we can further expand the reach together. To this end, we regularly exchange information with the cooperative in order to find out where the needs lie and how we can provide optimal support. In the first step we will provide so called “Schooling-Kit’s” to the cooperative, so that we can remove another financial hurdle and all children from the cooperative will have the possibility to attend school.
In the Necaayo landing page (Frey Necaayo – Migros Online) we will regularly inform about the investments and implemented projects.