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Cadbury focus FOOD & AGRICULTURE
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Cadbury Dairy Milk is a South African fairtrade pioneer. South Africa Magazine talks to Greg Banach, Kraft Foods South Africa’s category leader for chocolate, who says there are “numerous benefits” to buying Fairtrade products.
By Ian Armitage
ne billion people worldwide live in ‘extreme poverty’, while another 2.5 billion live in what’s defined as ‘poverty’. Cocoa farmers are some of the world’s poorest people and many of them earn on average about $35 a year. They depend on selling their beans to pay for the essential things in life. Many farmers don’t make enough money and can’t afford food, medicine, clean water or school for their children. Fairtrade is a marketbased approach designed to change that and promote sustainability. It is an initiative about better prices, empowerment, decent working conditions, local sustainability and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world. Not sure what Fairtrade is? Well have you ever bought a Fairtrade product before? Do you know what it means to buy a Fairtrade product? If your answer to any or all of these questions is no, and we’re guessing it is, you’re not alone. Many consumers are unaware of the existence of fair trade products, let alone where to buy them or the benefits of supporting the fair trade industry. www.southafricamag.com
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Cadbury focus food & agriculture
Business Connexion Business Connexion has been proud to support the operations of Kraft Foods in South Africa for the past eight years, ensuring its production is as smooth and reliable as its chocolate. Since Cadbury was purchased by Kraft Foods our relationship has grown to see us provide infrastructure support services to Kraft throughout Africa. Kraft Foods is now reorganising its manufacturing plants to meet growing demand, by producing different snacks in different countries and introducing a multiple shift environment. Managing this process correctly and efficiently is a complex task, and Business Connexion is well placed to support Kraft as it expands its operations and seeks energy-saving initiatives. As a world-class African services company, Business Connexion understands Kraft’s challenges and has the Connective Intelligence to be the technology partner that underpins its business.
You know the old adage ‘Give a man a fish, he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish, he eats for a lifetime?’ That pretty much sums up Fairtrade: to teach producers and developing communities to become self-sufficient rather than put a short-term financial band-aid on poverty. “Cocoa farmers are self sufficient. The challenge is empowering lives and communities so that they continue to farm and produce cocoa?” says Greg Banach, Kraft Foods South Africa’s category leader for chocolate. Kraft Foods is something of a pioneer in this respect and its Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate plain slabs became the first Fairtrade certified confectionery product in South Africa. 4
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Kraft Foods are very proud to be the first major business to achieve Fairtrade certification in this country
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“Kraft Foods are very proud to be the first major business to achieve Fairtrade certification in this country,” says Banach. “For us to go Fairtrade in South Africa is a major breakthrough for the whole of the Fairtrade movement in Africa. We have an all-African cocoa supply chain; it is a totally African affair. “Why is Fairtrade so important?” he asks. “Well, it helps ensure a sustainable supply of top quality cocoa and keeps the country’s millions of chocoholics happy at the same time. The Fairtrade certification guarantees that Africa’s cocoa producers receive at least world market price per ton of cocoa beans. Producers also receive a compulsory investment into economic, social or environmental projects that will benefit their communities. “South African consumers should look out for the distinctive blue, black and green Fairtrade logo on packaging. It is being carried on Cadbury plain Dairy Milk slabs and bars in the 20g, 35g, 90g, 145g and 180g sizes.” Kraft Foods SA cocoa comes from West Africa and it takes a whole year’s crop from one tree to make 1lb (454g) of cocoa. Each tree only produces around 30 pods each year. Each pod contains 30-40 seeds/ cocoa beans. Fairtrade Africa represents over 500,000 African small-scale producers and farm workers supplying the international Fairtrade market in 23 countries. Until 2008, South Africa only exported Fairtrade products to Northern countries, mostly in Europe, but due to a growing demand for locally produced sustainable products, Fairtrade decided to offer its products directly 6
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The Fairtrade certification guarantees that Africa’s cocoa producers receive at least world market price per ton of cocoa beans
Cadbury focus FOOD & AGRICULTURE
to African consumers, starting in South Africa. There are now several local wineries and coffee roasters selling Fairtrade labelled brands in the country and imported coffee, tea and sugar is available. Fairtrade products are available in Pick n Pay’s, Ultra Liquor stores, Spars, Shoprite Checkers and coffee shops. “We have achieved a lot but it could be better,” Banach says. “Unfortunately Fairtrade still has quite a low level of awareness in SA. There’s an awareness of three percent. It’s not something that the market demands but we’re consciously doing it because it’s the right thing to do. We hope that by going Fairtrade it we’ll raise awareness of sustainability and hopefully more and more consumers will get knowledgeable and start to buy and shop with a conscious.”
One initiative Cadbury Dairy Milk is running to boost awareness is Faircrows. “We launched Faircrows off the back of the successful launch of Fairtrade-certified slabs,” Banach says. “Faircrows is an interactive campaign which encourages shoppers to buy with their hearts and live the Fairtrade lifestyle. It is a symbol of how the brand protects and empowers small-scale cocoa farmers. Just as a scarecrow protects farmers’ crops, the iconic Faircrow symbolises the protection and empowerment that Fairtrade certification provides for our producers.” The Faircrows campaign is an exciting and interactive drive which encourages consumers to look out for the Fairtrade logo, to buy Fairtrade, and by doing so, contribute to the empowerment of small scale farmers. “It’s about getting people to understand it in an approachable way,” Banach adds. “Faircrows is a really great visual arc that can bring people in and help them learn about Fairtrade. It helps consumers understand what Fairtrade is, tells the story of cocoa from West Africa, educates consumers and hopefully it’ll get them to pledge to buy with their heart as well as their heads. Hopefully consumers will be aware that this is much more than a sticker on a label and understand what it means and the good that it can do. I think if you give people a great experience instead of telling them in a sort of dry way then people will get the message and want to engage with the Fairtrade brand.” Fairtrade is indeed much more than a sticker on a label. To learn more visit www.cadbury.co.za or www.faircrows.co.za. END www.southafricamag.com
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