What do the Kuapa farmers get out of their relationship with Divine?
Is Divine suitable for vegetarians?
Could Divine be made more healthy?
Is Divine nut-free?
Is Divine organic?
Is Divine wheat free?
Is Divine Kosher?
Is Divine only available from the USA?
Why isn't Divine made in Ghana?
How is Divine reducing its environmental impact?
What is happening in Ghana to ensure environmental conservation in cocoa farming?
What do the Kuapa farmers get out of their relationship with Divine?
Divine is made with cocoa bought from Kuapa Kokoo at the Fair Trade price of $1600/tonne. In addition, Kuapa Kokoo receives a $150 per tonne Fair Trade social premium that is invested into community projects such as building schools, providing clean drinking water, mobile medical clinics and women’s income generations projects. When the world cocoa prices goes above the $1600 per tonne Fair Trade price, we pay the world price, plus the $150 per tonne social premium. Additionally, a percentage of Divine’s gross sales goes towards producer support and development which Kuapa Kokoo spends on farmer education, and helping to maintain the values and vision of the cooperative as it grows, especially its commitment to democracy. And as owners the farmers of Kuapa Kokoo receive a percentage of dividend distribution when the company declares a profit. In the UK, Divine Chocolate was able to distribute dividends for the first time in 2007. Divine in the US looks forward to the day when we can follow the lead of our sister company in the UK. Of equally important but less tangible value, their ownership stake in Divine gives farmers a seat at the table of global trade. Their brand is their voice is the marketplace and allows them to tell their story to consumers and retailers alike.
Is Divine suitable for vegetarians?
All Divine Chocolate bars are suitable for vegetarians.
Could Divine be made more healthy?
Divine chocolate is made with the best of everything - top quality cocoa, natural cocoa butter and vanilla - and that is what makes it so good and delicious. Any attempt to reduce the fat or sugar or replace ingredients with synthetic alternatives would mean creating an inferior product that fewer people would enjoy. Our aim is to make the best chocolate containing only natural ingredients that most people can enjoy as a treat, as part of a balanced diet.
Is Divine nut-free?
None of the Divine products can be guaranteed totally nut-free as the factory where they are made handles nuts.
Is Divine organic?
At present, there is no national program for organic certification of cocoa in Ghana. Cocoa is very prone to disease which can quickly spread and wipe out huge areas of cocoa production. This in turn would seriously endanger the livelihoods of thousands of small-scale cocoa farmers and threatened the larger Ghanaian economy. Until enough testing of organically approved pesticides have been completed in Ghana, introducing organic production is too risky. It is worth noting that Divine Chocolate is natural product, made with real cocoa butter and real vanilla, Fair Trade sugar and lecithin from GM-free soya.
Is Divine gluten-free?
None of the ingredients in Divine contain gluten. However, the bars are produced in a factory which does produce items that contain gluten. We therefore can not certify that our products are gluten-free.
Is Divine Kosher?
Divine Chocolate bars and coins are certified by Triangle -K.
Is Divine only available from the USA?
No - Divine is growing around the world! You can buy Divine in the UK, across Scandinavia and the Netherlands.
Why isn't Divine made in Ghana?
Divine Chocolate’s mission is to improve the livelihoods of cocoa farmers in West Africa. By creating a chocolate brand with significant ownership by farmers, we have created a way for farmers to access the market at the highest point of the value chain and to receive significant financial benefit. Manufacturing in Ghana would not deliver the same benefits to farmers and would introduce additional financial, logistical and environmental challenges for bringing their chocolate to the market in Europe and in the USA.
How is Divine reducing its environmental impact?
As a responsible company Divine is conscious of its environmental impact, and we are committed to doing our best to continuously make improvements to reduce it. We don’t use airfreight at any stage of our supply chain, and keep up to date with best practice regarding all the materials we use. Our packaging is reviewed annually, and while ensuring our products are all kept protected and delicious, we want to make sure they look lovely and irresistible with as little packaging as possible. Latest developments include keeping our Easter Egg packaging to a minimum with no plastic, using cornstarch trays inside our chocolate boxes, and most recently, removing the cellophane wrapper from the Divine Advent Calendars.
What is happening in Ghana to ensure environmental conservation in cocoa farming?
Twin, the NGO that helped to set up Divine, is working with its trading partners in Africa and Latin America, many of whom grow tree crops in tropical rainforests, to help them find ways to adapt to and mitigate the impact of climate change. Many of these producers are having to cope with increasingly erratic rainfall patterns that are effecting productivity. With support from Twin and local and international experts, these cooperatives are beginning to identify new or rediscover old production practices that can help them adapt to climatic change. In cocoa, for example, farmers can plant more shade trees in order to improve moisture conservation and increase biodiversity. Such tree planting projects are a ‘carbon sink’ and can therefore potentially attract payments from carbon offsetting schemes, which can help fund these important adaptation initiatives and even generate additional income for farmers.
Can I buy Divine Chocolate direct from you?
Divine Chocolate in the US is primarily a wholesale company and at present we do not sell direct to consumers. There are a number of online outlets that sell Divine Chocolate including our partners at A Greater Gift (www.agreatergift.org) as well as a growing network of retailers that stock Divine. You can learn more in the Buy Divine section of the web site. If you can’t find what you need, please contact us. We are happy to help. Wholesalers and Retailers can buy direct by contacting us at 1-877-332-8913 or emailing us for wholesale pricing. Learn more about stocking Divine here.