We love our Farmers
A fair price for the cacao farmers is just as important to us as improving their living conditions on site and a partnership at eye level.
What is Direct Trade?
We know that "Fair Trade" has a good reputation among the public. However, we have chosen a different purchasing strategy: Direct Trade.
This means that we buy our cacao directly from local farmers' cooperatives. Without intermediaries, so that the purchase price is fully passed on to the farmers. By buying directly from the cooperatives, we ensure that the farmers are paid fairly and treated well for their work.
Production in South-America
Another special feature of our cacao sourcing is that the raw cacao is processed locally in Ecuador and Peru. Unlike most other chocolate manufacturers, we do not ship the beans to Europe or Asia, where further production is cost-effective, but work with our cooperatives in Peru and Ecuador.
For two reasons: First, the processing of raw chocolate requires a very special and sensitive procedure, such as a short temperature-controlled fermentation, a strict qualitative pre-selection of the beans and special drying conditions. We are convinced that our partners in Ecuador and Peru know this best because of the country's know-how and long cacao tradition.
Our Chocolate Factory
And secondly, this way we can help the country with the longest possible process of local added value. The finished raw cacao mass is then shipped to our factory in Heerhugowaard, near Amsterdam.
Organic Production
Our farmers grow cacao strictly organic. Organic quality is important for the taste of chocolate and keeping the earth healthy. No pesticides are used in the sustainable cultivation of Lovechock cacao (Skal 025561).