The Cocoa Plan

Welcome to The Cocoa Plan

Like many things in life, the story of how cocoa beans produce a scrumptious and tasty bite of chocolate isn’t as simple as it might seem. So, welcome to the start of a fascinating journey.

Our story tells you about where chocolate comes from and how it is made including everything from growing strong cocoa trees to training farmers in Africa and improving their income. All the way from the cocoa farm to the chocolate you enjoy.

The Cocoa Plan Initiative

As one of the world’s biggest chocolate producers, operating in over 32 countries around the world, it has always been important for us to help tackle the many challenges facing the cocoa industry. These include poor living and working conditions for cocoa farmers and their families, poor quality cocoa harvests and declining cocoa production.

We believe that we can continue to make a real difference. That’s why we developed The Cocoa Plan. It brings together a wide number of existing initiatives in cocoa growing communities, as well as some new ones. These initiatives will help to ensure cocoa farming families continue to thrive, encourage higher quality, responsibly farmed cocoa and help us to produce even better chocolate. It’s also a way of showing you what’s behind the chocolate you eat.

Creating Shared Value

The Cocoa Plan is a very clear example of the way we do business at Nestlé. We call it "Creating Shared Value". This means that our business activities not only benefit our employees and shareholders, but also creates value across society including cocoa farmers, their families and local communities.

To ensure a better future for the cocoa industry, we all have a part to play i.e. farmers, traders, distributors, industry groups and producers like us. You, the consumer, also have a role. In fact, every time you buy a chocolate product, you play your part in the cocoa phenomenon that starts on a tree on a small farm often thousands of miles away.