Can COVID-19 Melt the Craft Chocolate Industry?

Abstract

The craft chocolate and specialty cacao industry has been driving the global chocolate industry towards more sustainable farming and ethical and transparent sourcing practices by prioritizing farmer welfare, environmental resource conservation, and consumer education. However, the craft chocolate and specialty cacao industries are also uniquely vulnerable to the immediate and long term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and many cacao producers are expected to be disproportionately affected. Craft chocolate businesses have been especially hard hit by losses in revenue and specialty cacao producers are facing unique challenges compared to their industrial counterparts. Factors that influence the future of these businesses include: labor intensity, regional politics, risk tolerance, and accessibility. Immediate impacts include loss of revenue and access to markets, which are directly influenced by travel restrictions, access to petrol, global trade networks, and operational limitations. Long term impacts include changes in business strategies, including the use of e-commerce, elevating consumer education to sustain sales and providing access to transparent pricing. The global crisis reveals that there is an ethical imperative to provide investments in the specialty cacao and craft chocolate industry to deliver farmer relief, improve access to technology for business needs, and support farmer empowerment in negotiations to mitigate risks.

Differing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on farmers and intermediaries: insights into the Ecuadorian cocoa value chain

“…We oriented the selection of indicators around theoretical frameworks of farm-level resilience (Cabell and Oelofse 2012 ; Serfilippi and Ramnath 2018b ; Meuwissen et al 2019 ) while ensuring enough flexibility to account for potential indicators that may be unique to the conditions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Integrated impacts that were reported in the literature at the time of survey creation ranged from the loss of sales (Fountain and Hütz-Adams 2020 ; Teye and Nikoi 2021 ) to limited access to supplies and inputs (Mena and Gutiérrez 2021 ), lack of labor (Teye and Nikoi 2021 ), transportation delays (Kumar and Jolly 2021 ), loss of cocoa quality (Cadby 2021 ), and increasing community inequality (Córdoba et al 2021 ), among others. Additional statements were adapted from a flash poll on COVID-19 and its impact on small chocolate businesses by the FCCI ( 2021 ).…”

“…Export-oriented farmers located at the upstream end of those value chains are often considered especially vulnerable to socioeconomic shocks as they depend on other value chain actors (Ansah et al 2019 ). This vulnerability has been demonstrated by the impacts cocoa farmers suffered as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic on a global scale, like loss of sales (Fountain and Hütz-Adams 2020 ), international shipping delays (Kumar and Jolly 2021 ), and subsequent loss of cocoa quality (Cadby 2021 ). In Ecuador, the situation for cocoa farming communities was further exacerbated by reduced access to inputs (Mena and Gutiérrez 2021 ) and rising inequalities among community members (Córdoba et al 2021 ).…”

“…The countries of the Andean Community and Central America (e.g., Ecuador, Peru, and Dominican Republic) have historically stood out for their production of specialty cocoa, but at the same time they have been strongly affected by epidemics, pests, diseases, and natural phenomena that have influenced cocoa producers, affecting their livelihoods. Consequently, the generation of information on the mechanisms used by farmers to cope with the pandemic is a valuable input to mitigate the impact of future global crises (Cadby 2021 ). In this context, the study of the resilience of the actors in Ecuador's cocoa value chain to the pandemic represents a valuable source of information to improve the dissemination of social innovations that promote sustainable development.…”

A influência de estratégias de marketing nas vendas de chocolate ao longo da pandemia de COVID-19: estudo de uma empresa multinacional que atua no mercado brasileiro

“…Esta perspectiva interna contribui de maneira significativa para a validade e relevância dos resultados da pesquisa. Embora pesquisas prévias tenham analisado o impacto da pandemia no comportamento do consumidor (ANDRADE-MATOS et al, 2022;CADBY, 2021), esta dissertação tem a intenção de ir além, avaliando o efeito de estratégias de marketing específicas no mercado de chocolates.…”

“…Essa integração da IAE ganha ainda mais relevância considerando os impactos substanciais da pandemia na indústria de chocolates, desde a produção até a comercialização (CADBY, 2021). Em um cenário em que o mercado busca práticas sustentáveis e éticas, a capacidade de compreender as mudanças no comportamento do consumidor e adaptar as estratégias de marketing de forma eficaz torna-se essencial para enfrentar desafios semelhantes no futuro.…”