Nestle will begin selling certified Fairtrade Kit Kat bars in the UK and Ireland. Cadbury has been selling mass-market Fairtrade chocolate since earlier this year.
Chocolate makers in the U.K. sold 28 million pounds ($46 million) of Fairtrade chocolate in the U.K. last year. The share of Fairtrade in that market will rise to 10 percent in 2010 because of Nestle and Cadbury's changes from 1 percent in 2008, said Eileen Maybin, a spokeswoman for Fairtrade in the U.K. The Fairtrade designation requires chocolate makers pay an extra $150 per ton of cocoa and guarantee a minimum price of $1,600 a ton, she said. The extra money is used for development projects.
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Nestle plans to provide 12 million stronger, more productive cocoa trees to farmers over the next decade. The company has said it will spend 460 million Swiss francs ($456 million) on cocoa, coffee science and "sustainability" projects over the next decade.
We think this is a great idea. We're ready for our Fairtrade Kit Kat bars here in the U.S.
