Food Chained

KEY TAKEAWAYS

5:20 – Companies need to step up
There’s a massive disparity between the wealth of the chocolate industry and the poverty of cocoa farmers that needs to be addressed.

“I don't necessarily think that we can point fingers at one entity or one company. It's a supply chain issue, and it’s the way that the supply chain has been designed. Today, the average daily wage for a male cocoa farmer is 78 cents. And the average daily wage for a female cocoa farmer is 28 cents. That's an issue. And so, especially when you see the huge disparity between the fact that the chocolate industry is worth a hundred billion dollars, and cocoa farmers are only receiving less than 5 percent of the profit. There's a complete imbalance within the supply chain. So I think every player should be held accountable and is responsible for what's going on. And I do think that everyone that finds themselves and every company and entity that finds themselves along the supply chain needs to step up if they haven't and is responsible for what's going on,”

7:26 – Educate your audience
People are undereducated when it comes to issues with the cocoa supply chain, so responsible businesses need to start educating their clients and being more transparent.

“There needs to be a lot of change, and it's great to see so many companies, new companies, that are actually taking responsibility and deciding to create that change and eliminating a lot of the middlemen in the process and trying to find a lot more traceability, transparency along the supply chain. I also think that we don't educate consumers enough. When you look at the coffee industry, I'm not even a coffee drinker, and five years ago I knew that there were issues along the coffee supply chain. I think that it's something that consumers were very much made part of, but when it comes to the chocolate industry, I think when you go talk to an average consumer, I don't think they even know that cocoa grows in the African continent. So I do also hope to see a little bit more education on the consumer side, because I do think that ultimately that could create a really big change in pressure for companies to take more responsibility and accountability.”

8:37 – Small businesses have more control
It’s easier to implement transparency and traceability within smaller companies, as they have more control over their business proceedings.

“Especially because these companies start pretty small, it's small businesses, so they have a lot more control, and they start off, like ZORA in our business model, as somewhat vertically integrated. We demand that type of traceability and transparency and connection to the source. And that's what's important for a high quality product, but also for that impact part, which we shouldn't even have to have be having this conversation of impact. It should just be natural that we're able to have direct communication with a cocoa farmer and just pay them directly for their crops and their cocoa beans. But I would say that the emerging companies and small companies that are making a difference, but it's at such a small scale, because as I said, it's small companies compared to the multinational ones.”

13:26 – Pick your sources wisely
ZORA’s business model focuses on working with sources that deliver a high quality product while treating their farmers ethically.

“I designed ZORA and the business model, and the way that I was thinking about it was really from a socioeconomic standpoint. And so it was really first about where we're sourcing our cocoa from. How are we going to be paying the farmers? How are we going to be getting the actual cocoa beans out of Ghana? And just all of those different factors, but then also within those farms, what's going on? What are the resources that they need? How can we support beyond the sourcing of cocoa beans? And my goal is to work with a lot of different cooperatives in both Ghana and Ivory Coast. Today, we're sourcing from a cooperative called ABOCFA in the Eastern region of Ghana. ABOCFA is known for some of the highest quality beans in the region, and they are certified organic, they're certified fair trade. They've invested a lot of energy in teaching farmers how to ferment and dry their beans and post-harvesting techniques. And they're also democratically run. So that means that every single member in the cooperative, and there's over a thousand members today, actually gets to decide where the premiums profits from organic and fair trade certifications, where they're placed.”

18:29 – Cooperate with your competition
Small businesses in a large industry don’t have to see their competitors as enemies. You can actually learn a lot from other people in the industry.

“I do think that there is some sort of an alliance there. I mean, especially when I was working for FCCI, I would go to a lot of different industry events, and a lot of companies are very friendly. And at least for me also, some of my mentors are competitors, owners of competitor companies, but a lot of us do see it in the same way as you just described as, ‘Let’s unite and stick together.’ Because at the end of the day, we're all working towards the same goal, and there's room for all of us. It's a huge market, it's pretty big. Let’s join forces. We're such a minute part of the market share right now so we have nothing to lose, let's do this together.”

23:51 – The limits of fair trade programs
Fair trade can’t always lift farmers out of poverty. While it does ensure the farmers are paid better, there are also many fees that come along with being certified.

“Fair trade is a trade justice program. It's great, but it's not enough to get farmers out of a cycle of perpetual poverty. If you are fair trade certified, as a cocoa farmer, you receive a premium for that certification. And that's usually 16 percent above the commodity price, but the costs increase as well. And so in order to be fair trade certified, you have to pay an application fee. You have to pay an initial certification fee. You have to pay an annual certification fee. You have to pay an audit fee and a couple other more fees. So it's actually very expensive. And so it is not the be-all, end-all solution to cocoa farmer poverty and the issues that we're seeing with living income in cocoa farms. It has shown that consumers are more willing to pay for products that are fair trade certified, and that may be helping retailers and chocolate companies and certification companies as well. But when you look at how it's affecting cocoa farmers, it's been shown that it’s not enough.”

27:26 – Incorporate positive representation
There are a lot of bad stereotypes within the cocoa world about cocoa farmers in West Africa, but ZORA wants to help change those beliefs.

“How do you represent farmers that you buy from in their humanity if you're constantly pushing the narrative about slavery tied to the African continent? And she had also said, these people are mothers, their fathers, their brothers, their sisters, they're human beings. And so when you just put them in this box of employing modern day slavery practices and child labor, it can be harmful to this region. It exists, and we need to take steps to figure out how we can work with farms that don't employ these practices and educate more and take the necessary steps, but having it be a part of your marketing and your slogan, at least to me, isn't that helpful. Because the goal is for us to not have this anymore, and it shouldn't be a part of selling a product. And if you've noticed, ZORA is the antithesis of that, we're starting from a place of positivity, being constructive, and a place of love. We want chocolate consumers to trust us. And in order to do that, we have to trust West Africa. And I think that that is the first place we can start and also creating really strong ties to cocoa farmers as well, and build these relationships that we want to be able to build so that we can move towards a more positive and impactful future.”

29:03 – Create a story of celebration
Fatima-Zohra wants to help people associate West Africa’s cocoa farms with forward thinking and growth instead of negative connotations.

“We have a manifesto at ZORA. And one of the phrases in our manifesto is ‘Hand to heart.’ And the meaning of that is the link between West Africa and the consumer, wherever they are. But it's from the hand of the cocoa farmers, the hearts of the consumers. And I think that chocolate represents so much love and bliss and goodness to consumers, and it's such a celebratory food as well that we want to celebrate the entire chocolate making process. And these farmers, they're hard workers. They're proud of their cocoa. They're proud of what they're selling, and it's passed on from generation to generation. So it's important, I think, for me to have created this story behind ZORA of celebration to invite more openness and transparency and help put Africa on the map, moving away from the negative perspectives, putting more emphasis on a new image of forward thinking and acting growth.”

30:45 – Embrace transparency
Many smaller companies have chosen to implement transparency reports, which Fatima-Zohra hopes will eventually put pressure on larger companies to do the same.

“A lot of companies have transparency reports. And within these transparency reports, they'll tell you how much cocoa they bought, where they bought their cocoa from, the number of male and female cocoa farmers on the farm, even environmental, their carbon footprint. So it's become a trend within these companies, and with ZORA as well. We're planning on putting out a transparency report, but it at least allows us to emphasize this element that there is so much transparency within our supply chain. And we can provide that information to you because there's nothing to hide. It actually plays in our favor to be able to say, ‘Hey look.’ And I think eventually once this bean to bar chocolate market grows, that could also add a little bit more pressure on these larger companies that maybe don't have transparency reports or are not really as open as bean to bar companies.”

39:00 – Prioritize your values
Other people may not understand the values or goals you have for your business, but it’s important that you stick to your ideals.

“So many times I've been in conversations with people, like the early stages of ZORA when I was looking for a little bit of guidance in certain areas. And I've been told, ‘Are you starting a charity, or are you starting a business?’ I think that I've learned so much about me as an individual. I don't know if you can relate, but I've had so much growth as a person through this journey of starting ZORA. And I'm only at the beginning, but so far I've learned so much about what I'm comfortable with, what I'm not comfortable with. What I'm seeing, sometimes I see things that have been done before, just marketing tactics, and I'll do them. And then I'll take a step back and I'll say, ‘Wait, that's not right.’ And then I reroute, but yeah, I completely agree with you. I think, especially when you're starting a company that has such an important cause that you personally care about, that's all that matters.”