Chapter 01: Ethics and Social Responsibility—Theo Chocolate
Summary
TLDRTheo Chocolate's founders, Joe and Deborah, share their journey from chocolate enthusiasts to pioneers in ethical chocolate production. They discuss the social and environmental challenges in the cocoa industry and their mission to create positive change through vertical integration, organic fair trade practices, and Fair for Life certification. Emphasizing the importance of fair trade for cocoa farmers, they highlight the need for a holistic approach to business that benefits people, the planet, and profits. As the only organic fair trade certified Bean to Bar factory in the US, Theo Chocolate exemplifies enlightened capitalism, striving for a triple bottom line and advocating for industry-wide change.
Takeaways
- 🍫 The founder of Theo Chocolate fell in love with chocolate from a young age and later became a conservation volunteer, working with indigenous cocoa farmers in Central America.
- 🌍 The founder recognized social and environmental degradation as business problems and aimed to address them through chocolate production.
- 🌱 Theo Chocolate is committed to organic and fair trade practices, focusing on the entire supply chain's integrity from bean to bar.
- 🚀 Theo Chocolate is a vertically integrated business, which allows for greater control over the manufacturing process and the ability to create lasting change.
- 🏭 The barriers to entry in the chocolate industry are high, with only a few large companies controlling most of the market.
- 🌿 Theo Chocolate emphasizes the interconnectedness of life and the importance of health and well-being for consumers, farmers, and the planet.
- 📜 Fair trade certification, specifically Fair for Life, is crucial for Theo Chocolate to build consumer trust and ensure economic and social integrity throughout the supply chain.
- 💰 The cocoa industry often leaves farmers with little to no options, leading to oppressive practices and low incomes, which fair trade aims to address.
- 🏡 Fair trade provides a transparent negotiating system for cocoa farmers, allowing them to improve quality and receive better prices for their products.
- 🌟 Theo Chocolate is an example of 'enlightened capitalism,' being the only organic fair trade certified Bean to Bar factory in the United States.
- 🌐 Theo Chocolate holds itself accountable to fair trade standards, even certifying its own factory to ensure ethical treatment of employees and transparency.
Q & A
What sparked Joe's interest in chocolate?
-Joe's interest in chocolate was sparked as a child due to his love for Halloween candy, but it wasn't until he was a young adult and volunteered as a conservation volunteer in Central America that his curiosity about the origins of chocolate deepened.
What is the significance of the rainforest adventure in Joe's journey?
-The rainforest adventure was significant as it not only involved working with Kechi and Mopän Mayan indigenous cocoa farmers but also heightened Joe's curiosity about chocolate, leading him to understand the social and environmental issues surrounding it.
Why did Joe decide to start his own chocolate company?
-Joe decided to start his own chocolate company to address social and environmental degradation in the cocoa industry by creating a vertically integrated business that could control the entire supply chain from bean to finished product.
What challenges did Joe face in entering the chocolate industry?
-Joe faced high barriers to entry in the chocolate industry, which is dominated by about 12 large companies that control manufacturing and distribution, making it difficult for smaller players to compete.
What is the role of fair trade certification in Theo Chocolate's business model?
-Fair trade certification plays a crucial role in Theo Chocolate's business model by ensuring the economic and social integrity of the entire supply chain, from cocoa farmers to factory operations, and building trust with consumers.
How does fair trade benefit cocoa farmers according to the transcript?
-Fair trade provides a transparent negotiating system that allows cocoa farmers to improve the quality of their beans, which in turn delivers a better price for them, offering an alternative to oppressive industry practices.
What is the 'triple bottom line' approach that Theo Chocolate adopts?
-Theo Chocolate adopts a 'triple bottom line' approach, valuing people, the planet, and profit equally, ensuring that none of these aspects suffer at the expense of the others.
Why did Theo Chocolate undergo IMO certification for its own factory?
-Theo Chocolate underwent IMO certification for its own factory to hold itself accountable to the same fair trade standards that its farmers undergo, demonstrating a commitment to transparency and embodying its values within the company.
What does being the only organic fair trade certified Bean to Bar Chocolate Factory in the United States mean for Theo Chocolate?
-Being the only organic fair trade certified Bean to Bar Chocolate Factory in the United States signifies that Theo Chocolate is unique in its commitment to artisanal chocolate making combined with sustainable practices, setting it apart in the industry.
How does Theo Chocolate view its role in the industry?
-Theo Chocolate sees itself as a voice for change within the industry, using its loyal following and credibility to advocate for necessary changes and share its story and work in meaningful ways.
What is the concept of 'enlightened capitalism' as envisioned by Joe and Deborah?
-The concept of 'enlightened capitalism' as envisioned by Joe and Deborah involves running a business that is profitable while also having a beneficial social and environmental impact, aligning with the principles of sustainable and ethical practices.
Outlines
🍫 Theo Chocolate's Ethical Journey
The paragraph introduces Joe and Deborah, the founder and vice president of Theo Chocolate, respectively. They share their personal stories of how they became passionate about chocolate and its origins. Joe's experience as a conservation volunteer in Central America with indigenous cocoa farmers sparked his curiosity and led him to establish Theo Chocolate. Deborah, a lifelong chocolate enthusiast, joined Joe to understand the deeper story behind chocolate, including its social and environmental impacts. They discuss the importance of controlling the entire supply chain, from bean to bar, to ensure ethical practices. The paragraph also highlights the challenges of entering the chocolate industry due to its complexity and the dominance of a few large companies. Theo Chocolate aims to be a vertically integrated business to create lasting change and was one of the first to produce organic fair trade chocolate, addressing the high barriers to entry in the industry.
🌿 Commitment to Fair Trade and Social Responsibility
This paragraph delves into Theo Chocolate's commitment to fair trade and social responsibility. The company emphasizes the importance of fair trade certification to build trust with consumers and ensure the economic and social integrity of their entire supply chain. They choose IMO Fair for Life certification to guarantee this. The paragraph discusses the plight of cocoa farmers who often earn less than a dollar a day and are trapped in an oppressive industry. Fair trade provides a transparent system that allows farmers to improve their quality and receive a better price for their crops. Theo Chocolate sees this as a holistic approach to business, benefiting both the company and the planet. The paragraph also touches on the concept of 'enlightened capitalism' and Theo Chocolate's status as the only organic fair trade certified Bean to Bar Chocolate Factory in the United States. The company values people, the planet, and profit equally, striving to do good while doing well.
🏭 Employee Well-being and Accountability
The final paragraph discusses Theo Chocolate's commitment to transparency and fair treatment of their own employees. The company recently underwent IMO certification for their factory, holding themselves to the same fair trade standards as their farmers. This demonstrates their dedication to integrity throughout the entire supply chain. The paragraph highlights the ongoing challenge of embodying their values within the company and maintaining good relationships with their employees. As Theo Chocolate grows, they are becoming a voice for change, using their loyal customer base and the credibility earned through their work in developing countries to advocate for necessary changes in the industry. The company's growth and the platforms they have to share their message are sources of excitement for Deborah, as it allows them to influence meaningful change.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Chocolate
💡Conservation Volunteer
💡Social and Environmental Degradation
💡Vertically Integrated Business
💡Organic
💡Fair Trade
💡Fair for Life
💡Enlightened Capitalism
💡Triple Bottom Line
💡Artisan World-Class Chocolate Making
💡Accountability
Highlights
Founder Joe's childhood love for chocolate led to a deeper interest in its origins.
Joe's volunteer work in Central America sparked a curiosity about chocolate production.
Deborah's realization of the social and environmental impact of chocolate production.
Theo Chocolate's mission to create positive change through the chocolate industry.
The importance of controlling the entire supply chain from bean to bar.
The barriers to entry in the chocolate industry are high, with only a few large companies dominating.
Theo Chocolate's focus on organic and fair trade practices to ensure ethical production.
Fair trade certification as a way to build trust with consumers.
Fair for Life certification ensures the economic and social integrity of the entire supply chain.
The plight of cocoa farmers earning less than a dollar a day and the oppressive industry practices.
Fair trade's role in providing a transparent negotiating system for better prices for cocoa farmers.
Theo Chocolate's vision of enlightened capitalism balancing people, planet, and profit.
Theo being the only organic fair trade certified Bean to Bar Chocolate Factory in the United States.
Theo's commitment to artisanal chocolate making combined with sustainable practices.
Theo's triple bottom line approach valuing people, planet, and profit equally.
Theo's IMO certification for their own factory to ensure fair trade standards for employees.
Theo's role as a voice for change in the chocolate industry.
Theo's growth and the impact of their story and work in the developing world.
Transcripts
[Music]
I fell in love with chocolate originally
as a kid I loved Halloween candy but up
until I was a young adult I didn't know
where chocolate came from and so I
volunteered as a conservation volunteer
working with Kechi and mopen Mayan
indigenous cocoa farmers and there were
howler monkeys and we had this whole
Adventure in the rainforest my curiosity
was
off the hook I'm Joe founder and CEO of
Theo Chocolate I'm Deborah vice
president of sales and marketing for
Theo Chocolate
my entire life I've been a daily
chocolate eater but I think it really
was until I get I got to know Joe that I
started to understand
the the depths of the story of chocolate
and all the the social and environmental
issues surrounding chocolate I think it
has special powers
after my experience in Central America I
saw that social and environmental
degradation were really business
problems and I wanted to help save the
world by making chocolate and I got into
the cocoa industry importing cocoa beans
and then working with manufacturers to
make chocolate and we were doing organic
chocolate here in the United States and
in Europe but after doing that for
several years I saw that if that it was
most important to control the brand and
the message controlled the manufacturing
from the the bean all the way to the
finished product and the supply chain
because if I if I was a vert could build
a vertically integrated business I had
the best opportunity to affect every
part of the business and really create
lasting change
[Music]
there were no other companies producing
organic fair trade chocolate because the
barriers to entry are so high in this
industry if you want to go into the
coffee business all you need to do is
buy a roaster and put it in your garage
and you're done chocolate is a very
complicated product to make so the
majority of chocolate is made by only
about 12 companies in the whole country
and they're doing such large volume that
they control not only the manufacturing
but distribution and they have extreme
leverage on the producers
uh you know we're really interested and
care deeply about where all of our
ingredients come from our business ethic
is informed by our belief that all life
on the planet is interconnected that we
need consumers to be healthy and well
our Farmers to be healthy and well in
the entire planet to be healthy and well
in order for us to be successful and
profitable fair trade certification is
important for us to build trust with our
consumers that we do what we say we're
going to do and we choose IMO fair for
life is our certification for fair trade
what's great about fair for life is that
it is a certification that ensures the
economic and social Integrity of our
entire supply chain from the cocoa
Farmers that we work with all the way
through to our own Factory operations
I don't consider I don't consider myself
a whistleblower as much as well in
Fitness way the industry considers me a
nuisance what really we're doing is
trying to give an alternative to
practices that have contributed to
social economic and environmental
degradation
the average cocoa farmer earns less than
a dollar a day for their entire family
and they have very little options in
Cocoa growing regions to sell other cash
crops and as a result they're beholden
to an industry that is very oppressive
the cocoa price has been so low compared
to the costs of their production that in
West Africa cocoa Farmers have had to
resort to slavery
one of the benefits of fair trade for
Cocoa Farmers is that there it's a
transparent negotiating system that
allows the farmers to improve the
quality which in turn delivers a much
better price to them on the farm so we
see this as a truly holistic approach to
not only the products that we make or
accessing certain kinds of customers but
really being creating a profitable
business model that is having a
beneficial plan impact on us and the
planet
Theo Theo for me is an example of what
what Joe and I Envision as enlightened
capitalism
we're the only organic fair trade
certified Bean to Bar Chocolate Factory
in the United States which is pretty
exciting so I like to say that we're
we're trying to define the intersection
of artisan world-class chocolate making
with sustainable practices
I like to say it's doing good while
doing well and so what that means is
that we see ourselves as a triple bottom
line company which means we value people
the planet and profit in equal measure
and none of those things suffer at the
expense of something else
one of the most important steps that
we've taken to hold ourselves
accountable in terms of the way that we
treat our own employees is we recently
underwent
IMO certification for our own Factory so
what that means is that we hold
ourselves accountable to the same fair
trade standards that are that our
Farmers undergo so we're subject to the
same kind of scrutiny but the reason
that's so important to us is because
we're very committed to transparency at
every level of our supply chain and so
if if we don't fulfill our own and and
embody our own values here within the
company within our own relationships
with our own employees then it's really
meaningless so and that's an ongoing
challenge for us
by far the most exciting thing about
Theo as we grow is that we've really
begun to be a voice for change as we've
developed a really loyal
following for our products and and the
story and the work that we're doing in
the developing world it's given us a
certain amount of credibility in terms
of what we think is necessary for Change
and finding platforms to share that with
people in really meaningful ways for me
that's really really exciting
Voir Plus de Vidéos Connexes
The Story of Chocolate: Unwrapping the Bar
Ghana Grows Our Cocoa, So Why Can’t It Make Chocolate? | Big Business
How Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate Are Made in Factory? 🍫🍫 Captain Discovery
Comércio Justo e Solidário | Ep. 1: Coopfam e Coagrosol
Lots More on the Parabolic Surge in Cocoa Prices | Odd Lots
Chocolate: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)