Divine by name, divine by nature: how Divine Chocolate’s co-ownership model is transforming the cocoa industry
We sat down with Lydia Stubbins, Marketing Manager at Divine to understand how its co-ownership model is improving the lives of cocoa farmers.
March is B Corp Month. A time when the global B Corp community joins forces to amplify their impact. B Corps are leading the way when it comes to good business, going beyond the minimum requirements for B Corp Certification, with policies and practices that challenge business norms. In this blog we’ll explore how chocolate brand Divine is doing just that — through its co-ownership model with cocoa farmers.
Grab a cup of tea, perhaps a bar of Divine too, and read all about it.
Divine exists to empower its farmers. Alongside paying a fair wage, they provide them with tools to run their businesses, support them with labour rights and upskill them in reading and writing.
Not only that, but Divine creates super tasty chocolate too, innovating with new flavours and blends with every element of the ingredients being Fairtrade (even the cherries in their Bakewell Tart Dessert Bar!).
“Divine is an interesting brand, it has this nostalgic feel — and it’s the original ethical chocolate bar.”
Divine was founded by cocoa farmers in 1998. To this day, it is still co-owned by the Kuapa Kokoo Farmers’ Union. So, what does the co-ownership model mean?
In short, it means that Divine shares its profits with its farmers, but there is a whole lot more to it than that.
There are 130,000 members in the Kuapa Kokoo Farmers’ Union, which means 130,000 people each own part of the brand. Each year, 20% of profits are donated, and even when times have been a little tougher, a portion of revenue is still donated to the Union who get to spend their profits however they like.
On top of that, Divine is also committed to giving its farmers a better future. A large percentage of the farmers are women, and the women in Ghana need better access to education. Women farmers sometimes lack basic literacy and numeracy skills, which means they might not understand or be able to negotiate on their contracts—and run a profitable and thriving business. Divine partnered with the Kuapa Kokoo Farmers’ Union to create and deliver literacy and numeracy courses to the farmers. Since Divine’s inception, it has supported nearly 1,600 farmers through the programme, with 76% of these being women.
Lydia explained to us what difference this has made “It has had such a big impact on them and their communities. Women are able to take local government and community roles, to engage in leadership, we are changing the lives of the farmers through these skills.”
So, in an industry where the average cocoa farmer typically receives 6% of the final cost of the bar, Divine is making a difference. Through putting the cocoa farmers first—the people at the heart of the product—Divine is ensuring equity in its supply chain and challenging the norms of the industry.
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