Is there a crisis in cocoa supply chains?

Anthony Myers is the editor of confectionerynews.com and has a wealth of experience in the confectionery and general food and drink industry. Previously he was web editor on thegrocer.co.uk and a production editor on The Guardian digital and mobile platforms. He has also held senior editorial positions on The South China Morning Post in Hong Kong, the Press Association and The Bahrain Tribune, which he helped to launch.

Joke Aerts, (“Inspire to Actress”) leads the Credible Scaling team for Tony’s Open Chain, an initiative under Tony’s Chocolonely. Our team safeguards that Tony’s Open Chain delivers high impact as we grow to wide scale. At Tony’s we believe that our 5 Sourcing Principles (100% traceable beans, paying a higher price that enables a living income, strong farmers, long-term relationships, and quality & productivity) form the foundation of bringing equality into the cocoa value chain. We want to inspire other chocolate brands to do the same by joining us in our way of working in Tony’s Open Chain and becoming mission allies. Together, we can end exploitation in the cocoa supply chain. Joke has over 20 years of both field (farm) and market experience in nonprofit sustainable agriculture work and sustainability standards (Rainforest Alliance, FSC, RSPO, Fairtrade). She has worked extensively in coffee, tea, bananas, palm oil, and cocoa.

With +15 years experience, Paula’s key expertise is on responsible sourcing in global supply chains, stakeholder engagement and corporate sustainability management. Paula ‘s focus is on helping businesses and people achieve their sustainability goals and identifying new opportunities for collaboration and impact. Paula set up Mind Collective providing sustainability training and consultancy in 2023. Until then she was Sustainability Director Europe for Samsung Electronics where she led the engagement with key customers and NGOs on supply chain due diligence. Previous to 2020 she was Director of Sustainability Management at CSR Europe advising companies in various sectors on corporate sustainability strategy and implementation. Before 2016, Paula worked as Director of sustainability for the EU chocolate Industry engaging with NGOs, Governments and private sector in emerging markets on sustainable (agriculture) development (incl West Africa, SE Asia, South and Latin America). She managed the implementation of a variety of multi-stakeholder projects on sustainable and responsible sourcing in global supply chains (cocoa, palm oil, and hazelnuts).