Kit Kat to be Fair Trade certified in the UK and Ireland

FLO has congratuleted the Fairtrade Foundation and Nestle UK for the announcement that Kit Kat will be Fairtrade certified in the UK and Ireland. The first Fairtrade Kit Kat bars will appear on shelves in mid-January 2010. “This announcement brings the possibility of real change to tens of thousands of cocoa farmers and their communities in Ivory Coast – one of the world’s poorest countries. The Fairtrade certification of Kit Kat in the UK and Ireland gives farmers the opportunity to sell more than 16,000 tonnes of cocoa on Fairtrade terms annually to supply the largest global chocolate brand in its largest global market,” says Rob Cameron, CEO of FLO.
 
Farmers in the Kavokiva cocoa cooperative will be one of the first to benefit from the switch. The organization was Fairtrade certified in 2004, but until now has sold only small volumes on Fairtrade terms. The move will not only enable them to increase Fairtrade cocoa sales but will also impact other Fairtrade certified farmers’ groups looking to enter the Fairtrade market. There are currently seven Fairtrade certified cocoa co-operatives in Côte d’Ivoire and many eager to gain certification.

FLO