- Way to Go! chocolate bars come in three delicious flavours, from classic dark to caramelised almonds & sea salt, and cost just £1.99 each
- A premium from every bar sold will support a living wage for cocoa farmers in Ghana
Getting your chocolate fix just got even sweeter! Lidl has just launched a sustainable own brand Super-Fairtrade chocolate bar Way to Go!, which helps close the income gap of cocoa farmers and push forward towards a living wage.
Available in three indulgent flavours – rich dark chocolate, creamy milk chocolate and moreish milk chocolate with caramelised almonds & sea salt, each bar sold provides an additional premium that is passed directly on to cocoa farmers in Ghana. That means Lidl customers get a delicious, fairly produced and reasonably priced sweet treat, whilst helping to contribute to supporting sustainable livelihoods of Ghanaian farmers.
Way to Go! guarantees cocoa farmers in Ghana the Fairtrade Minimum Price for cocoa and the Fairtrade Premium, an extra sum of money for farmers to invest in their farms and communities. With Way To Go! Lidl go further and have partnered with Fairtrade to pay an additional amount for every tonne of cocoa bought. This money helps farmers grow more local crops, like honey, that support a sustainable future and secure livelihoods for farmers and their families. Farmers are receiving training on sustainable cocoa production, which helps them to increase the quality and value of their crop. Funding is also provided to support farmers to diversify their farms, enabling them to broaden their income streams and reduce their dependence on cocoa yields, further strengthening their income in the long term.
Lidl has long been committed to sourcing cocoa sustainably and since 2017 has sold 100% of the cocoa in its own label products from third party certified sustainable sources such as Fairtrade, the Rainforest Alliance and UTZ. Since 2006, Lidl has funded a training centre for cocoa farmers in the Ivory Coast through the PROCACAO initiative, which has trained over 18,000 cocoa farmers on sustainable production methods. In the UK Lidl is also a founding member of the Retail Cocoa Collaboration, which aims to create greater transparency in the cocoa sector as a whole.
Catherine David, Head of Commercial Partnerships at the Fairtrade Foundation, comments: ‘We’re proud to have partnered with Lidl on this exciting new range that provides added value to farmers beyond the Fairtrade Minimum Price and Premium, through additional investment in the communities that are growing their cocoa. These delicious sweet treats, which we’re all looking forward to tasting, will be even more enjoyable knowing they are fully traceable, sustainable and improving the lives of cocoa farmers. Way to go Lidl!’
Lidl’s Way to Go chocolate bars will be available to pick up on your weekly shop from 28th May.
Notes to Editors
Find farmer images in Kakao Forum’s online photo gallery
For more information please contact: Lidl@goodrelations.co.uk
About Lidl GB
Since establishing itself in Great Britain in 1994, Lidl has experienced continuous growth and today has over 24,500 employees, 800 stores and 13 distribution centres in England, Scotland and Wales.
As part of the Schwarz retail group, Lidl is one of Europe’s leading organisations in the food retail industry. With a presence in 32 countries around the world, the supermarket, which has more than 287,000 employees globally, currently operates approximately 10,800 stores and more than 160 distribution centres in 29 countries globally. The family supermarket takes pride in providing its customers with the highest quality products at the lowest possible prices throughout Great Britain, from Kirkwall to the Isle of Wight. Social responsibility and sustainability are at the core of the company’s daily operations, with the company placing a strong emphasis on its responsibility for people, society and the environment. Lidl GB is passionate about working with British producers and sources two thirds of its products from British suppliers.
The Schwarz Group (Kaufland, Lidl) has been Europe’s largest food retailer since 2014 and generated a turnover of €104.3 billion in financial year 2018.
For more information about Lidl GB visit their website
About Fairtrade
The international Fairtrade system exists to end poverty through trade. The Fairtrade Foundation is an independent certification body and NGO which licenses the use of the FAIRTRADE Mark on more than 5,000 products which meet its rigorous social, economic and environmental standards. This independent label signifies to consumers that farmers and workers across 73 developing countries are getting a better deal from trade.
Today, more than 1.6 million people who work hard to produce coffee, tea, cocoa, bananas, wines, flowers, cotton, gold and many other products benefit from Fairtrade, which campaigns for as well as enables a fairer system of global trade. Beyond certification, the Fairtrade Foundation is deepening its impact by delivering specialist programmes to help disadvantaged communities boost productivity in the face of challenges such as climate change.